Featured Group: Couples, Watson, Kim at Riviera CC

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At each PGA TOUR event this season, a featured pairing will be highlighted prior to the first round. Here is the featured group for Thursday and Friday at the Northern Trust Open.

NORTHERN TRUST OPEN: TOUR Report | Tee times | Expert picks | Sleepers | Power Rankings | Fantasy Insider

By PGATOUR.COM Staff

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Fred Couples will be getting an early scouting report on two prospective members of his U.S. Presidents Cup team during the first two rounds of the Northern Trust Open.

Anthony Kim has already played for Couples once -- posting a 3-1 record in his Presidents Cup debut as the U.S. prevailed at Harding Park two years ago. He currently ranks 23rd in the standings.

Watson, on the other hand, is hoping to make his first Presidents Cup team after getting a taste of international team competition last year at the Ryder Cup. And after his win earlier this year at the Farmers Insurance Open, Watson has climbed to sixth in the Presidents Cup standings.

Couples, though, might teach the two young guns a thing or two at Riviera this week in advance of November's Presidents Cup matches in Australia. The two-time champ is playing in his 29th Northern Trust Open, and his record is stellar.

In addition to the 1990 and '92 victories, Couples has 13 total top-10s, and he's finished lower than 25th just 10 times in his nearly three decades of playing at Riviera. Not to mention, Couples has shot under par in more than half (61) of his 105 rounds at the Northern Trust Open.

Couples, who turns 52 in October, won four times on the Champions Tour last year, too -- including three times in his first four starts. The Northern Trust Open will be his fourth start of 2011 on either Tour with a tie for third at the Champions Tour Skins Game his best performance.

Kim, for his part, appears back on track after a 2010 season that was disrupted by surgery to repair a torn ligament at the base of his left thumb. He posted four top-10s in his first eight starts last year, including a win at the Shell Houston Open and solo third at the Masters, but missed most of the rest of the season.

Recovered and re-energized, Kim tied for 19th, 13th and sixth in his first three events this year before missing the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He is a Los Angeles native and should be a crowd favorite this week, as well.

Interestingly, Kim played with Watson in the final round at Torrey Pines earlier this year. Watson fired a 67 to overtake Bill Haas while Kim finished with a 72.

The victory in the Farmers Insurance Open was the second of Watson's career -- both of which have come in the last six months. He's currently fourth in the FedExCup and fifth on the money list with more than $1.43 million in earnings.

Watson may be known for his booming drives -- he currrently leads the TOUR with an average of 316.3 yards -- but he's also tied for third in greens in regulation, which is a career high.

Statistical comparison

Key stats from Couples, Watson and Kim from the 2011 season (TOUR rank in parentheses)

Category COUPLES   WATSON   KIM   Driving distance 302.5 (8th)   316.3 (1st) 288.0 (101st)   Driving accuracy 66.07% (53rd) 61.23% (99th)   57.00% (135th)   Greens in regulation 66.67% (111th)   78.82% (3rd) 73.02% (31st)   Putting average 1.833 (167th)   1.762 (95th)   1.750 (77th) Scoring average 69.00 (4th) 70.87 (77th)   70.33 (46th)

EXPERT PREDICTIONS: We asked some of our PGATOUR.COM experts to predict which player will fare best this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Stan Awtrey: Fred Couples. Not suggesting that he's ever tried, but Couples could roll out of bed and compete at Riviera. He's very comfortable there and will have no trouble competing with the kids -- at least this week.

Craig Dolch: Bubba Watson loves old-school courses such as Riviera, because he can work the ball both ways and that plays to his strengths.

Melanie Hauser: Anthony Kim. Three top-20s in his first three starts of 2011 -- including a tie for sixth at Torrey Pines -- show AK is healthy and back on track. Look for the Los Angeles native to contend at Riviera

FANTASY INSIDER: Rob Bolton only ranks one of this week's featured group members in his Power Rankings. He noted that Bubba possesses a "lethal combination of power (first on TOUR in distance off the tee) and precision (third in greens hit)" and added that Watson has two top-20 finishes in four trips to Riviera.

In the Fantasy Insider, Bolton cautions against Fred Couples in the Yahoo Fantasy game because of sloppy conditions. He does, however, like Watson in Group B.