The World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational

August 2-5, 2007
Firestone Country Club
Akron, OH
Par: 70 / Yardage: 7,360
Purse: $8.05 million with $1.35 million going to the winner
Defending Champion: Tiger Woods

List of Champions & Scores

Results & Scores 2006 Canadian Open

Box Score of 2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Tournament facts:

Tournament information:

But the qualification has changed and this year, for a player to qualify, he must meet at least one of the required stipulations: have been a playing member in either the most recent President's or Ryder Cup; be ranked in the Top 50 in the official World Golf Rankings one or two weeks prior to the event; or win a worldwide event with an Official World Golf Ranking field stength of 100 points or more in the last calendar year. With this the field has bloated and this year 84 players will be in the field.

Before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational began, the course was the site of the World Series of Golf. From 1982 through 1975 it was a four man showdown of the four major winners. The format changed in 1976 when it became a special invitational which invited around 50 professionals. In the history of that event only two players had won it twice, Greg Norman in 1995 & '97 and Jose Maria Olazabal in 1990 & 1994. Olazabal wins were unique, the first one in 1990 set a lot of records that nobody had been able to touch. The win in 1994 was a bit different because it was held on the North course, the only time in the World Series that the tournament was held over there. What happened was a month before the tournament all of the greens on the South course mysteriously died. At most tournaments this would cause a big stir but not at Firestone, they just switched things across the street on the North Course which was the venue for the American golf classics in the 70s. To add a nice touch Olazabal added another World Series crown and thus can say that he is the only player to win on both of Firestone's two golf courses.

In 1998 the World Series of golf stopped and the World Golf Championship started play at Firestone and has held the event every year except for 2002 when it was held at Sahalee Country Club just outside of Seattle, Washington.

Course information:

The course has held more professional tournaments than any other course in America. In 1954 it was the site of the Rubber City Open which was held for five years. In 1960 the course was the venue of the PGA Championship and two years later held the World Series of Golf. Since 1960 the South Course has held a PGA Tour event with the except of two years, in 1994 when the greens died and the tournament was moved across the street and in 2002 when the event was held in Washington. It also has held three majors the 1960, '66 & '75 PGA Championship. The club also held eight CBS Golf Classics and 14 American Golf Classics. In the late 50s and early 60s it was also the site of the CBS Golf Classic, which was one of the first made for TV golf series. So there is no two ways about it, Firestone is at the forefront of professional golf.

The South course features Creeping Bent Grass and Poa Annua on the tee boxes, fairways, and greens. The 3/8" cut in the fairway provides good roll off the tee, while the skimpy 0.10" cut on the greens makes for extremely quick putting surfaces. The 4" cut of Kentucky Blue Grass and Perrennial Rye Grass in the rough is plenty long enough to penalize golfers for errant tee shots.

Above all, the South Course at Firestone is noted for its length at 7,360 yards, the Par 70. It features a 75.1 course rating and 128 slope rating. Though the slope of the course isn't too dramatic, the course still puts up a test simply because of its length. The Par 5 16th is a microchasm for the course. At 667-yards, it is one of the longest Par 5's on Tour. A green-side pond captures errant second shots by golfers trying to reach in two as well as third shots from golfers who hit a poor tee shot.

Other difficult holes include the 471-yard Par 4, which requires a long, straight tee shot followed by a high, soft approach shot to hold the elevated green. Last year it was the toughest hole on the course playing to an average of 4.397. The 667-yard Par 5. 16th was given the nickname of "The Monster," which was made famous by Jack Nicklaus's miraculous par at the 1975 PGA Championship en route to a come from behind victory. It also has one of the best finishing holes in golf, the 464-yard Par 4 18th that is very narrow and is protected by bunkers to the front of the green. Last year it was the fifth toughest hole of the week playing to a 4.139 average.

The Buzz:

Talking about the British Open, this will be the first time that we will see Padraig Harrington, who won the Open and Sergio Garcia, who lost the event. Look for some sort of reaction from Garcia after the poor press he got for his childish attitude after losing that Championship. Many in the media have be harsh on him, rightfully so and it will be interesting to see if Garcia takes this too heart and continue his whining.

Tiger Woods will be back looking for his sixth win at Firestone. It will be interesting to see if any member of the media will ask him about his partnership with Hank Haney. Some noticed that Haney didn't spend much time with Woods over the weekend at the British Open and rumors are starting to float around that Tiger may be looking for another change. Even though Woods has been winning, he is still not hitting the ball like he did between 1999 and 2002 and at the British Open he seemed out of sort with his swing. Of course Woods is a very private person and if he does make a change it may be weeks or months before we find out about it. Still it's become a topic that many in the media are talking about.

Another interesting item will be Phil Mickelson and if the wrist is a problem. Now he never said anything about it at the British Open but many are wondering if it's a problem for Mickelson It's also a subject of disappointment because after his Player Championship win many were feeling that golf could get some great duels with Mickelson involved and it never materialized, with Mickelson struggling most of the summer.

Lastly many are wondering if Ernie Els can savage something out of this year. He has played well in his last two events finishing 3rd in the Barclays Scottish Open and T4th at the British Open. Now Els hasn't played very well at Firestone the last course of years but you never know if he comes into the week playing well he will contend.

Here are some things to look for this week:

Photo: © Montana Pritchard/Getty Images The 18th Hole of The Firestone Country Club, home of the 2007 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational..

Firestone is one of the most respected courses on the PGA Tour. The par-70 layout plays to over 7,300 yards and if there is a key to the course its the long par 3s and par 4s. Three of the par 3s play over 200 yards while eleven of the twelve par 4s play over 400 yards and eight play over 440 yards. You have to be accurate with your drives, as the fairways are very well bunkered and bordered with high rough. Shots into the greeens, usually with long irons, have to be precise and if the players do get a break its in the greens, they are pretty flat with very little undulations. The list of champions is pretty impressive but underdogs have won the event. Its also interesting to note that since 1995 all of the winners (except for Darren Clarke in 2003) have won a tournament four months prior to their Firestone victory.

• Key stat for the winner:
  Since the course will play at more than 7,300 yards, the "experts" will say bombers hold an advantage. Still as you will see length is not the only strength you need to play well at Firestone. Average hitters like Jim Furyk, David Toms and Stewart Cink have done well at Firestone, so does long hitters have an advantage, yes because Tiger seems to win a lot but don't discount the shorter hitter.
• Accuracy will rule this week. The fairways are very narrow and could earn the reputation as narrowest on Tour. Of the 20 players that have finished in the top-five in the tournaments first three years, 15 of them have finished in the top-20 of the driving accuracy category. Things changed drastically last year as only five players out of the top 21 finished in the top-ten of the driving distance category. With fairways tending to be dry this week, look for accuracy not being the King this week.
• Now I don't want to jinx the tournament, but weather in Ohio is suppose to heat up considerably so those that play well in hot, humid weather will do well.
• Now in the years that Woods has won, Hitting greens was the key to victory, but in the two years that Darren Clarke and Stewart Cink won putting was the key. So which one is the favorite? I have to say that the ball striker will always win.
• Does a non-marquee guy have a chance? Could Brian Bateman or Anton Haig win? Not a chance, look for either one of the usual suspects or someone like a Anders Hansen that is playing well. But as for an underdog, no chance.
• Previous
• For the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational picks, next page