Golf Bets / Mike Norman / 03 August 2010 /

In an event that has been dominated by Tiger Woods since its first staging, Mike Norman still believes there's some value in following a few in-form European Tour players to shine in Ohio this week.

I could be wrong, but I doubt there's a golf tournament anywhere in the world that has been dominated so much by just one person. The WGC Bridgestone Invitational - formerly the WGC-NEC Invitational - has been staged at the Firestone Country Club on 10 previous occasions (it was held at Sahalee CC in 2002), and quite incredibly, it has been won seven times by the seemingly untouchable Tiger Woods.

In fact Woods' record at Firestone in this tournament is arguably one of the greatest sporting records in recent history; he's played at the venue on nine occasions, won seven times, and finished in the top four on the two occasions when he hasn't won.

It goes without saying then, that at a rather tempting price of [6.2], Woods is going to be the selection of a lot of Betfairians this week. But I've been against the great man ever since he returned to the game following allegations about his private life, and I'm still not prepared to back him until he shows the brilliance of old. Instead I'm putting forward three of the European Tour's in-form players, all of which are worth a punt in the Winner, Top European, and Top Five Finish markets.


Rory McIlory ([26.0] Winner; [9.0] Top European; [6.4] Top 5 Finish)

I'm perhaps cheating a little bit by claiming young Rory to be one of the European Tour's in-form players as he generally plies his trade in America these days. But in the last month he has made three appearances in Europe and has undoubtedly proved his game to be in top order. An excellent fourth place finish at the Alstom Open de France was followed by an even better - and quite miraculous - third place finish at the Open Championship. He wasn't so good at last week's Irish Open admittedly, but I'm more than willing to forgive McIlroy one below-par performance.

The Ulsterman's only appearance at Firestone - where he finished in a disappointing 68th position in 2009 - is obviously a concern, but I get the feeling the world number eight is a quick learner of golf courses and he will have learned sufficiently during his first visit to do himself justice this time around.


Ross Fisher ([46.0] W; [16.0] TE; [11.0] T5F)

Regular readers will know that I'm not a fan of selecting a golfer to win back-to-back tournaments, but in Ross Fisher's case I feel obliged to make an exception. He strikes me as a player who, when in form, could easily win two or three event in a short space of time. The Englishman showed he was somewhere near his best when finishing second at the BMW International Open five weeks ago and followed that up by finishing in the top-10 at the Scottish Open. His second round score of 61 at last week's Irish Open - which he would eventually win - was more like the Fisher of last year and he could easily follow up this week in Ohio.

Like McIlroy, Fisher's previous attempts around Firestone haven't been spectacular, but at least this year he comes into the event on a high as opposed to last year when he'd just thrown away a glorious chance of winning the Open Championship.


Edoardo Molinari ([100.0] W; [28.0] TE; [16.0] T5F)

Very few golfers are in better form than Edoardo Molinari currently. He first caught my attention as a player to follow when finishing runner-up at the Arnold Palmer Invitational four months back, but it's only been in the last two months that he has stepped up a gear. A fourth place finish at the Celtic Manor Wales Open was later followed by a victory in the Barclays Scottish Open and a third place finish at the Scandinavian Masters. A tie for 27th at the Open Championship sandwiched those last two performances meaning this young Italian - brother of Francesco - should arrive at Firestone full of confidence.

Molinari is making his Bridgestone Invitational debut this week but I certainly wouldn't let that stop you backing him. This time last season he was plying his trade on the Challenge Tour, yet right now he is ranked 18th in the world rankings - and I fully expect him to continue his upward curve during the course of the next four days.

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