The Blue Course at Doral Golf Resort and Spa is the venue for the Ford Championship at Doral this week. The Blue Monster, as the course has been nicknamed, is a 7,266-yard, par-72 layout that has 12 holes where water comes into play. The Blue Monster also contains some "beach front property" as 117 sand bunkers are scattered across the course.

Doral welcomes players with a 529-yard par 5 that was one of the easiest opening holes on the PGA TOUR in 2005. At last year's event the average score on the first hole was 4.541, and the first hole surrendered a total of 218 birdies, the most for an opening hole at any event. The second hole is a short par 4 that also offers another early opportunity to put a birdie on the card.

After luring players in with birdie opportunities on the first and second hole, the Blue Monster shows its teeth at the third, a 438-yard, par 4, and the fourth, a 236-yard par 3. In 2005, these were the only consecutive holes on Doral that had average scores over par.

The third hole is the only hole on the course without a greenside bunker and was the second hardest No. 3 hole on the PGA TOUR in 2005 -- surrendering almost twice as many bogeys (91) as it did birdies (46). The fourth hole was the toughest par 3 at Doral and at 236 yards it ranked among the longest par 3s on TOUR in 2005.

At 603 yards the par 5 12th hole was one of 25 par 5 holes that measured over 600 yards on the PGA TOUR in 2005, but it was at the top of the list for fewest attempts to reach in two. Of the 451 times this hole was played at last year's event, only seven attempts were made by players to reach the green in two, and four of those were by the two of the longest hitters on TOUR in 2005 - Scott Hend and Tiger Woods. Interestingly, one of the players who did make the attempt was Skip Kendall, who was ranked 187th in average driving distance on the PGA TOUR in 2005.

The 18th at Doral was the second toughest on hole at Ford Championship in 2005 and ranked as the 16th toughest closing hole on TOUR. One of the most well-known finishing holes on TOUR, water lines the left side of this hole from tee to green and it is guarded on the right by trees and bunkers. Going long is the best way to avoid the trouble as the fairway widens from a width of 29 yards at 250 yards out to 34 yards starting at 275 yards from the tee.

With long holes and lots of danger lurking at the Blue Monster, players will need to have a complete array of skills to prosper at Doral. That may explain why four of the top-five players in the world finished in the top 10 last year, and why nine of the current top 10 are playing in the event this year. At last year's tournament the four players finishing third or better were Tiger Woods (1st), Phil Mickelson (2nd), Vijay Singh (T-3rd), and Zach Johnson (T-3rd). All four of these players were in the top-20 in driving distance, proximity to the hole from the rough, one-putt percentage and par-5 birdie or better percentage, and four of the five were in the top-20 in sand save percentage.

Woods, Singh, Mickelson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk and the other top-ranked players are obviously the favorites, but which of the other players could have a strong week at Doral based on their stats? J.B. Holmes heads the list, as he is having a great year and ranks in the top-25 in driving distance, sand saves, one-putt percentage and par-5 birdie or better percentage. The other players who could make some noise at the Ford Championship this week are Rory Sabbatini, Trevor Immelman and Justin Rose.