By PGATOUR.com Staff

Tiger Woods opens his 2006 season this week in San Diego at the Buick Invitational with the first of his six title defenses. He’ll be joined by a standout field that includes three of the top six players in the Official World Golf Rankings -- among them San Diego native Phil Mickelson.

But that’s not all.

The 2006 season is also significant in that it marks Woods’ 10th season on the PGA TOUR. The game’s No. 1 player turned professional at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee the week after he won the U.S. Amateur for the third straight time.

Woods finished a distant 60th at Brown Deer Park but that turned out to be something of an aberration. Woods won twice and posted top-10 finishes in his five of his eight starts on the PGA TOUR in 1996, winning Rookie of the Year honors in the process.

Woods’ first victory came in his fifth start as a pro when he beat Davis Love III in a playoff at the Las Vegas Invitational. Two weeks later, he closed with a 66 to win the FUNAI Classic at the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort by one stroke after Taylor Smith was disqualified for using non-conforming grips on his putter.

Woods is now a married man of 30, and he comes to Torrey Pines this year with 46 victories and more than $55 million in earnings. The native Californian has 10 major championships -- including his wins at the Masters and British Open last year.

Woods’ victory last year in the Buick Invitational was his third in that event -- and with two World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship wins and one Mercedes Championships title, marked his sixth win in San Diego County alone.

Woods came from two strokes off the pace last year with a 68 on a 31-hole Sunday to beat Luke Donald, Charles Howell III and Tom Lehman by three. The win was the ninth come-from-behind victory of his career and assured Woods of a 10th consecutive season with at least one win, the longest active streak on TOUR.

Woods, who also won at Torrey Pines in 1999 and 2005, is trying to become the first player to win the Buick Invitational four times. Mickelson could accomplish the same feat after wins in 1993, 2000 and 2001.

Interestingly, Woods’ career scoring average there improves with each round played -- 68.50 (first), 68.25 (second), 68.13 (third) and 67.29 (fourth).

PGATOUR.com will chronicle Woods’ impact on the game throughout the 2006 season, leading up to the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, which will be played July 24-30. First, here’s a look at some of his key stats over the last 10 years.