SAN DIEGO — For two guys who hardly spoke to each other as Ryder Cup partners, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson appear to be on the same page when it comes to their time off.

Mickelson vanished from the PGA Tour in the middle of October, skipping the Tour Championship and playing only one time — a two-day appearance at the PGA Grand Slam — until he returned to competition last week in the Bob Hope Classic and tied for fifth.

Woods toured the world late last year, then decided to take the longest self-imposed break in his 10-year career by skipping the season-opening Mercedes Championships. When the Buick Invitational gets under way on Thursday, it will mark his first competition in six weeks.

Both of them made a point not to touch a club until the calendar turned to 2006.

"Those last three or four weeks, I really had to fight myself not to play," Mickelson said.

Woods last touched a club on Dec. 11 at his Target World Challenge, then went 24 days — his longest time without gripping a golf club — before he returned to Florida to get in the swing.

"I basically had made a decision not to touch a club until the following year," he said.

They have other things in common.

Woods (No. 1) and Mickelson (No. 4) are the highest-ranked players at Torrey Pines. Both are the only players who have won the Buick Invitational three times. And they know the course as well as anyone, having played it as juniors, although give Lefty the edge having grown up in San Diego.

"I think Torrey Pines South is the hardest golf course I've ever played day in and day out," Mickelson said.

The only other course Woods plays better on the PGA Tour is Firestone, where he has won four times and has never finished worse than a tie for fourth. His worst performance in eight starts at the Buick Invitational is a tie for 10th in 2004, and even then he finished two shots out of a playoff.

"I've been playing here since I was 12," Woods said. "I've had some success here even in the junior ranks. The golf course just suits my eye."

Woods is the defending champion at Torrey Pines, where the field isn't as strong as it was a year ago. Only three of the top 10 players from the world ranking are at the Buick Invitational — Woods, Mickelson and Sergio Garcia.

Ernie Els is making his '06 debut at the Qatar Masters, joined by Vijay Singh.

Woods and Garcia, not the best of friends, will be grouped with Stuart Appleby the first two rounds, starting Thursday on the shorter, easier North Course at Torrey Pines that plays about three strokes easier than the South Course, site of the 2008 U.S. Open.

"I can't wait to get out there and compete," Woods said. "I've missed the competition. I've missed the rush of trying to shoot low numbers and win tournaments."

A year ago, the Buick Invitational was a launching pad.

Woods hadn't won a stroke-play event on the PGA Tour in 16 months when he took advantage of late mistakes by Tom Lehman and Luke Donald, to win by three shots. Swing changes with Hank Haney kept rounding into form, and Woods went on to win the Masters, British Open and two World Golf Championships.

Woods said there's still room to improve, although he's much further along than he was last year.

"I don't have as far to go to get ready for the Masters this year," he said. "Last year, I had a long way to go. I had a lot of different things I needed to fix to be ready for Augusta. This year, it's not as many. The list is a lot shorter, and the changes aren't as big.

"From that standpoint, I've got a head start on last year."

There are other changes outside of golf. The Tiger Woods Learning Center, an after-school project for kids in the Anaheim area, will have its grand opening Feb. 10. And he recently completed a $38 million purchase of a 10-acre property in south Florida that stretches from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Atlantic Ocean.

Woods didn't say when he would move from Orlando, Fla., or where he would play, although he has an invitation from Jack Nicklaus to the exclusive Bear's Club.

"I told Tiger that he is more than welcome," Nicklaus said. "He may choose to come to The Bear's Club, and he may choose not to come here ... may not want to feel like he's imposing on my situation while he's trying to break my record. He's certainly been invited."

Woods said he likely would keep a house or villa at Isleworth, a course he said was ideal for major preparations.

And that's ultimately what matters to him this year, just like always.

"Hopefully, I can put together some wins and have a more successful season than I did last year," he said.