Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - To play, or not to play?

That is the question.

With the Masters one week away and counting, four of the top 10 in the world golf rankings are teeing it up this week at the Houston Open, with Nos. 11 and 12 also in the field. (Ernie Els is third in the world, but withdrew due to a virus.)

Obviously, enough of golf's elite feel the event is a good way to prepare for Augusta National, and some don't. Tiger Woods has traditionally not played the week before Augusta, and while it's clear that it is a player's personal choice, if I could play it (as opposed to writing about it), I would.

Why wouldn't you? Well, let's play devil's advocate.

Golfer A gets an extra week of practice time, which can be significant for several reasons. For one, if his game is in the hopper, a week of hitting it all over Houston does nothing for you. Golfer A can pound balls for a week in front of an instructor to try and turn water in wine.

With one week to go, golfer A, who is not playing in Houston, is only seeing Augusta. (I believe Augusta has been on players' minds for a while, but humor me.) Golfer A can start working on Augusta-specific things like ball flight and length, two essential ingredients to putting one arm in the green jacket.

Golfer A won't get that in Houston. If the Masters is all that's on his mind, he won't do himself any good in the field this week. He has to evaluate himself honestly, and realize that if his heart is not into the Houston Open, he could do more harm than good by badly missing the cut and destroying his fickle confidence.

Also, don't discount rest and relaxation. Those golfers who aren't into working all hours of the day on the range can kick their feet up, have a fruit drink and catch up on "Lost" on DVR. It's going to be a long week slagging around Augusta, and you can't put a price on that.

Golfer B can, however, and here's why.

The first reason to play would be if the course resembled the venue of the major championship forthcoming. This week's venue, the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club, does not look like Augusta (what does?), but tournament organizers have made serious efforts to change that in order to get a stronger field.

Golfers are creatures of habit, eating at the same places during regular stops, things of that nature. Tournament weeks are considerably different than off weeks, so to get into an early routine might be beneficial for the old internal clock.

Professional sport is a competitive business. There is nothing quite like the butterflies of being in the hunt on Sunday afternoon with just the back nine to play.

That's why playing this week seems like a more logical choice.

"We all want tournament competition or tournament stresses this time of the week because you're going to have them at Augusta," said Stuart Appleby from the Houston Open.

Fresh competition is the best preparation for success. Adam Scott won in Houston last year and he's a world-class star. He could easily be a serious factor less than two weeks from now. You couldn't benefit from battling him for the trophy for two days?

Yes, as earlier indicated, it could blow up in your face and shatter your fragile psyche, but a pro athlete can't think like that. (Lee Westwood acknowledged he played the Open de Andalucia last week on the European Tour because he knew he'd play well and contend.)

What better way is there to work on winning, then winning? I will take Golfer B every week, unless Golfer A is actually Tiger, because he doesn't count.

Play, gentlemen. Play.

QUESTIONS

1.) What happened with Bubba Watson and Steve Elkington?

They got in a little beef Friday on the 10th fairway. Watson, who is so long you can build a Target between his drive and Elkington's, complained that Elkington was moving while he was addressing the ball. Watson, laced with some profanity, said it wasn't the first time. Elkington, never one to shy away from a fun little skirmish, did not appreciate that a relative youngster was speaking to a veteran that way. (I hate that theory by the way. I'm a fan of respect, but I don't get why it should be unconditional based on the fact that one set of parents procreated earlier.) They did not shake hands, but worked it out after the round. Tim Finchem had to love that The Golf Channel had it all on tape. It comes down to when the shorter player should walk up to the longer player's ball. Silly if you ask me.

2.) Is Michelle Wie dating a potential millionaire?

According to SI on Campus, she is dating Robin Lopez of Stanford, who, along with his better twin brother Brook, declared for the NBA Draft. Robin could go late in the first round. Since she's a millionaire already, if they got married not only would they have inordinately tall children, but ones with very expensive diapers.

3.) Who is missing the Masters?

Davis Love III, unless he wins the Houston Open. Chris DiMarco, David Howell and Colin Montgomerie definitely won't be there. Tom Lehman and Chad Campbell need to win as well.

4.) What bothered you about Andres Romero's win Sunday in New Orleans?

Due to horrible weather, the final round saw players paired with their third- round partners. Romero finished hours before the final group. Peter Lonard tied him on 16 and Romero just sat in the clubhouse looking at his laptop. Get stretched and hit some balls, Andres. Are you crazy? You always have to expect the worst.

5.) How tough is Bernhard Langer right now?

Two weeks ago I stated he was the man to beat for Champions Tour Player of the Year. An eight-shot win doesn't hurt the prediction. On Sunday, pgatour.com ran a headline about Langer gearing up for the Masters. He's not long enough anymore, but he will make the cut.

RANKINGS

1.) Tiger Woods

2.) Phil Mickelson

3.) Steve Stricker

4.) K.J. Choi

5.) Vijay Singh

6.) Rory Sabbatini

7.) Ernie Els

8.) Sean O'Hair - could be a mild sleeper at Augusta with his length and creative short game.

9.) Jim Furyk - he's not impressive at the moment, despite the strong showing at the CA Championship. Can't like him at the Masters at the moment.

10.) Stewart Cink

CHAMPIONS

1.) Bernhard Langer - one of three players under par on Sunday at the Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach.

2.) Scott Hoch

3.) Loren Roberts

4.) Fred Funk

5.) Jay Haas

6.) Eduardo Romero

7.) R.W. Eaks

8.) Tom Watson

9.) Brad Bryant

10.) Denis Watson

LPGA

1.) Lorena Ochoa - Langer won by eight, Ochoa won by seven. Two wins in three starts.

2.) Annika Sorenstam

3.) Paula Creamer

4.) Karrie Webb

5.) Suzann Pettersen

6.) Cristie Kerr

7.) Morgan Pressel

8.) Stacy Prammanasudh

9.) Jee Young Lee

10.) Pat Hurst

RANDOM THOUGHTS

- NBC still has the best golf coverage in the sport. Informative (Roger Maltbie, Mark Rolfing and Dottie Pepper are the best three on-course reporters. Love Feherty, but these three are reporters first, and entertainers second.) Johnny Miller brings the honesty, but this week, Maltbie had the entire story on Stewart Cink's withdrawal. CBS would have the disqualification and why, but NBC explained it. Awesome.

Non-golf thought - Fantasy basketball league lasted 22 weeks. The regular- season winner...did well for himself. Came down to record, then the tiebreaker was total points. My friend Pie and I finished at 17-5. Pie - 25,336 points. Me - 25,335 points. Twenty-two weeks and over 25,000 points and it came down to one missed basket by one of my guys in over five months. Unreal.