Battle for No.Bijay Singh뭩 spot at the top of the Official World Golf Ranking is safe ?which is not surprising since he뭩 coming off yet another win Sunday at the Sony Open in Hawaii. But Ernie Els could bypass Tiger Woods for No. 2 this week at the Buick Invitational. He can leapfrog Woods with a second-place finish ?providing Woods doesn뭪 win the tournament for the third time in his career. Els, who is making his Buick Invitational debut, can actually overtake Woods with a finish lower than solo second. The lower the big South African places, though, the greater the margin he needs to finish ahead of Woods to close the gap of .38 average points. Woods, on the other hand, will retain the No. 2 spot if he finishes in any position tied or ahead of Els. The world's top three players are joined by No. 5 Phil Mickelson, who is making his 2005 season debut at the Buick Invitational, a tournament he뭩 has already won three times. So the competition at Torrey Pines is sure to be intense ?and imminently entertaining. PGATOUR.COM takes a look at how the four players have performed at the Buick Invitational below. Mercedes Championships historical review Phil Mickelson | Vijay Singh | Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson Events Rounds 1st 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Cuts Money Earned Made Missed 15 51 3 1 1 7 8 11 4 $1,940,840.50 Buick Invitational Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 2004 T4 74 69 69 67 279 -9 174,000 2003 T4 69 68 69 72 278 -10 186,000 2002 CUT 73 75 148 2001 1 68 64 71 66 269 -19 630,000 2000 1 66 67 67 70 270 -18 540,000 1999 CUT 72 70 142 1998 T49 70 69 73 212 -4 5,050 1997 T38 69 67 77 72 285 -3 6,150 1996 2 68 70 66 67 271 -17 129,600 Buick Invitational of California Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 1995 T16 65 69 75 69 278 -10 15,240 1994 3 68 69 69 64 270 -18 74,800 1993 1 75 69 69 65 278 -10 180,000 1992 CUT 73 72 145 Shearson Lehman Brothers Open Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 1991 T42 66 74 71 70 281 -7 Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 1988 CUT 74 71 145 Average 70 69.53 70.55 68.2 -11.3 129,389.33 Vijay Singh Events Rounds 1st 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Cuts Money Earned Made Missed 3 10 1 2 1 $88,743.00 Buick Invitational Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 2004 CUT 71 73 144 2002 T11 69 71 71 69 280 -8 86,400 Buick Invitational of California Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 1994 T61 67 73 72 72 284 -4 2,343 Average 69 72.33 71.5 70.5 -6 29,581.00 Tiger Woods Events Rounds 1st 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Cuts Money Earned Made Missed 7 27 2 1 1 7 7 7 $2,075,000.00 Buick Invitational Year Pos. Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Total To Par Winnings 2004 T10 71 68 72 69 280 -8 106,400 2003 1 70 66 68 68 272 -16 810,000 2002 T5 66 77 69 66 278 -10 131,400 2001 4 70 67 67 67 271 -17 168,000 2000 T2 71 68 67 68 274 -14 264,000 1999 1 68 71 62 65 266 -22 486,000 1998 T3 71 66 68 205 -11 109,200 Average 69.57 69 67.57 67.17 -14 296,428.57