World Golf Championship – Bridgestone Invitational
Date: August 02 – 05, 2012
Course: Firestone CC (South) – Akron, OH
TV: The Golf Channel/CBS
by Evergreen, PGA Handicapper, Predictem.com
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The summer portion of the PGA Tour schedule is perfect for seeing the
biggest names in golf and this week is no different as only the best
in the world are in attendance in Akron, Ohio for the 2012
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The Bridgestone is part of a six-week
stretch that includes the final three Majors of the year and leads
directly into the FedExCup Playoffs. Only the top-50 in the World
plus select champions are invited to Firestone Country Club this week
and positioning for the Barclays and beyond will be on the mind of
more than a few. Tiger Woods will not have to worry about points as
he continues to lead the Playoff standings and he is looking for an
absurd 8th WGC-Bridestone title. Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee
Westwood lead the Euro contingent and the best of the rest are here,
too, including defending champion Adam Scott.
Firestone CC South has been part of the PGA Tour rotation for decades
and has hosted every WGC-Bridestone since 1999. The 7,400 yard,
par-70 course is long by anyone’s standards and features one of the
longest holes in the world with the par-5, seventeenth stretching to
nearly 670 yards. The layout is playable despite the length and
players will have good chances to hole putts on greens that run very
fast and true. Tiger owns the course record after shooting a 61 in
2000 but several players have had a run at that score, most recently
last year when Adam Scott opened with a 62 on his way to a 17-under
winning total. The course can be attacked off the tee and the longest
players will have an advantage simply by getting the shorter irons in
theirs hands.
Each week, we take a look at the online betting sites and highlight a few players that we think can win it all. We make a short, middle and
long odds pick to win and breakdown a couple of head to head matches
that you can find at any golf sportsbook.
Here are our picks to win
the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational:
Short Favorite: Bubba Watson (28 to 1 odds to win)
Tiger is too short for value this week at 5 to 1 and the top Euros have honestly come up short lately so Bubba looks to be a great pick
and brings great value. There is no secret about what Watson wants to
do every week. He leads the Tour in driving distance and no matter
where those drives wind up, he takes a whack at the green and enters
the week leading in GIR% both from the fairway and elsewhere. Bubba
looks like he has shaken off the poor play that followed his Masters
win and he is back on track after a T2 at the Travelers. Watson has
been in the top-25 the last two years at Firestone and should have no
problem shortening the course this week.
Middle of the Road: Dustin Johnson (33 to 1 odds to win)
The 2012 St. Judes champ is another that has ample horsepower to
attack and shrink Firestone. After some struggles this year and a
nagging back, Dustin is looking good after a T9 at the British and has
been in the top-22 in his last two Bridgestone starts. Johnson is 7th
in driving distance and enters the week with the 13th best scoring
average. That scoring mark is made even more impressive considering
DJ is outside the top-100 in greens hit and putting average. He will
have to improve those stats to contend this week but Firestone is a
course that allows for good looks at the greens. If the putter is
working at all, Johnson will be a factor.
Longshot: Jason Day (50 to 1 odds to win)
2012 hasn’t been the year Day was probably looking for but the results
haven’t been all bad as Jason has been in the top-25 in nearly all of
his made cuts. Day was T4 here last year and in the top-25 in 2010 so
the course fits him and he needs a good week to get set for the start
of the Playoffs. Day is 10th in driving distance and 32nd in strokes
gained with the putter so the problems have come in the middle. Jason
just hasn’t hit enough greens to produce the good scoring numbers but
he hasn’t been giving back a ton of strokes either, rather just making
a ton of pars. That’s not going to be good enough to win on Tour but
he’s closer to winning than if he’d be all over the place and blowing
up every round. A solid ballstriking week will give him those birdie
looks and the putter has been good enough to get him in the mix.
Head to Head Matches *picks to win based on final score after all four rounds. Check with
your favorite online bookie for single round matches and a variety of
prop bets.
Justin Rose (-115) v. Phil Mickelson (-115) (our pick to win: Rose)
With so much talk about the state of Tiger’s game, the struggles of
Mickelson have gone somewhat under the radar. It might be injury or
just the decline that comes with age but Lefty is struggling by his
standards and really isn’t showing signs of turning it around. Maybe
he comes out and wins this week but the numbers don’t support that and
the numbers don’t support him beating Rose in a match. Justin is
hitting significantly more fairways and greens and owns a scoring
advantage despite making fewer birdies per round. Phil has the right
to coast on his past accomplishments but make him put up some results
before putting any money on him.
Jason Dufner (-115) v. Rickie Fowler (-115) (our pick to win: Dufner)
Both of these players broke though with their first career wins this
year but it is Dufner that has been more consistent throughout the
year and looks to be the better pick here. Dufner owns the edge in
both fairways and greens and is the better overall ballstriker. Both
have similar putting stats but Jason is a good margin ahead on birdie
and scoring averages. Fowler is a bit longer and can succeed at
Firestone but it looks like Dufner is the better pick with a more
consistent overall game.
Good Luck!
