Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 30 July 2008 /

One of the toughest courses on the tour will be the scene of a terrific boost for the winner of this top tournament only a week before the next major, says Tareq Quiroz.

The top tournaments are coming thick and fast at the moment and this week we really do have a cracking event. The WGC Bridgestone Invitational is a select field tournament which features only the very best. In recent years this event has been something of a benefit for Tiger so with the great man missing this week it is a great chance for someone else to get their name on the trophy.

The Course

The Firestone Country Club is the regular host of this fine event and will undoubtedly provide a tough test for the players. It is played over 7,400 yards and as a Par 70 you can expect the scoring to be pretty difficult. Robert Trent Jones redesigned this course in 1959 and it is a beast of a course, often referred to as 'The Monster'. Ranked the fourth toughest course on the PGA Tour last year you will not be challenging this week unless you are on top of your game. Holes to particularly look out for are the extremely tough par 4 ninth and the incredible 667 yard Par 5 sixteenth. Get through these at level par for the week and you will certainly have stolen a march on the field.

The Favourite

After failing to get into any kind of contention at Royal Birkdale, Phil Mickelson will be more hopeful of a good performance this week. In the inaugural event here in 1999 he was edged out by just one stroke by Tiger but since then his form at Firestone has been pretty woeful. His position as market leader is understandable considering his record in world golf but is he value? In my opinion, no. The top level of golf is getting more compact than ever and at current odds of [13.5] Mickelson has to be a lay this week.

The Next Best Bets in the Field

It is easy to make a solid case for several of the main protagonists but following on so closely from the Open you will have to take a chance on them being fully tuned-up. Harrington showed a touch of class you rarely see in his win just a couple of weeks ago and in that form would be tremendous value at [21.0], however that cannot be relied upon and he is overlooked this time. It is the first major winner of the year who gets my support for this event, Trevor Immelman has only just got used to the attention a major winner gets and with the spotlight now firmly on Harrington he may start to relax a little more. The course will suit the South African's game and at current odds of [55.0] he is a must bet.

The Massive Outsider

With the limited field on show this week it isn't easy to track down the really juicy outsiders but on the other hand it is a top class field so the big priced players are of a high quality. The players are in this line-up on merit and as such they must all be respected. Do not dismiss last week's surprise winner Chez Reavie from having another good week at odds of around [300.00] but my main outside pick is David Howell. He is too good a player to not regain the form of the last few years and when he does he won't be available at the sort of price he is this week. Howell will be desperate to make a late push for the Ryder Cup team and a big performance at the WGC would help enormously. The signs are that he isn't far away from his top form and at [280.00] he must be supported for this event.

Interesting Info

Virtually all of the stats surrounding the WGC events are based around Tiger Woods. The WGC events only started in 1999 and have been dominated by the world's greatest player. Woods has won an incredible 15 of the 28 events played, including six of the nine WGC Invitational events that have taken place. The only other two players to have more than one win are Darren Clarke and Geoff Ogilvy, who are both in the field this week at odds of [210.0] and [36.0] respectively. Whatever happens this week Tiger will not be adding to his phenomenal record, whilst for one player it will be a huge tournament victory just a week before the year's next major.

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