BlogWGC-Bridgestone Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

• This week is going to be very interesting.  First you have the story of Jordan Spieth, will he continue his great season with a win this week?  He can accomplish a lot in the next 8 weeks between winning his first WGC event, being only the third person behind Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods to hold three majors in a single season if he could win at Whistling Straits and then win the FedEx Cup playoffs.  The way Spieth has played over the last six months these look like easy endeavors but the courses that are next up, Firestone and Whistling Straits aren’t courses that favor Spieth’s game.  Let’s look at Firestone for this week’s WGC-Bridgestone, it’s a course that you have to hit lot’s of fairways and greens.  Since the greens are flat and easy, being a good putter doesn’t have the same meaning as they did for Spieth at Augusta, Chambers Bay and St. Andrews.  As for yearly stats, Spieth is 74th in driving accuracy and 38th in greens in regulation.  These are two keys, especially driving that Spieth needs to improve on in order to play well.  Last year Spieth finished 49th at Firestone with rounds of 71-70-73-71, showing that there wasn’t anything he liked about Firestone.  We saw this at the Players Championship, another course that doesn’t cater to the way Spieth plays the game and he missed the cut.  So the point is, don’t think that Spieth will be automatic this week at Firestone, he will have to rework some parts of his game to play well, something that players like Hogan, Nicklaus and Woods did so well in their careers.
• You also will have the story of Zach Johnson, who has had two weeks of R&R to reflect on his Open Championship victory and see if he could possibly catch Spieth for yearly honors.  In order to do that he needs to win at Bridgestone, then the PGA Championship followed by taking the FedEx Cup playoffs.  This is a possibility but highly unlikely to happen, but it’s still a great thing to dream about.  As for Johnson, he has had some success at Firestone finishing in the top-ten, three times including a T-4th in 2013.  Johnson has the stats to do well this week, he is 3rd in driving accuracy, T-34th in greens hit but the one thing that worries me is that he is T-107th in proximity to the hole, something that is important in making birdies at Firestone.  But two stats give Johnson an edge on playing well this week, he is T-28th in Par 3 scoring average and T-7th in par 4 scoring average, two points important in playing Firestone with it’s long and demanding par 3s and par 4s.  I can see Johnson contending on Sunday and if he has another great day with the putter anything is possible
• It’s hard to believe that guys who were a key in this event a decade ago, guys like Tiger and Vijay and Stewart Cink aren’t in this event this year.  For guys like Ernie Els and Luke Donald are taking the week off while guys like Davis Love III, Tom Lehman and Jeff Maggert are off on the Champions Tour.  Of all these players it’s no problem, but to think that Tiger, who won this event eight of the last 16 years doesn’t have a spot.  Hey look at it this way, if Tiger continues to play in this manner for the next four years, by 2019 the only big events Tiger will be able to get into is the Masters, British Open and PGA Championship.  Results do matter.  Same for Rory McIlory, with him not playing this week if Jordan Spieth wins he takes over Rory’s #1 title, which he took over last year with his Bridgestone win.  Another question is if Rory will be at Whistling Straits, I don’t think so.  At the British Golf Writers dinner at St. Andrews, Rory’s friend Darren Clarke had a bit of a slip up by saying to all that he was looking forward to McIlroy’s comeback when he starts playing early next year.  Kind of tells you something that we all don’t know.

WGC-Bridgeston information:

The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is the fourth of the World Golf Championships for 2015, and it will return to Firestone Country Club for the 16th time in the tournament’s 17-year existents.  The first couple of years of this event it was a limited field affair open to members of previous Ryder Cup and President’s Cup team members, but it changed to reflect the way the WGC-CA Championship picks its players.

The qualification has changed over the years. For a player to qualify, he must meet at least one of the required stipulations:

have been a playing member in the 2014 Ryder Cup team; 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 strength of 115 points or more in the last calendar year.

Lastly the winner of the following tournaments from each of the following Tours:

Japan Golf Tour Championship (2015) and Bridgestone Open (2014) from the Japan Golf Tour;

Australian PGA Championship (2014) from the Australasian Tour; Dimension Data Pro-Am (2015) from the Southern Africa Tour; and Thailand Golf Championship (2014) from the Asian Tour.

Firestone South has been the site of the events and before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational began, the course was the site of the World Series of Golf.  From 1962 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 played over there.  What happened 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 had held the event every year except for 2002 when it was held at Sahalee Country Club just outside of Seattle, Washington.

Course information:

• Firestone Country Club (South Course)
• Akron, Ohio
• 7,400 yards     Par 35-35–70
• Firestone C.C. has been a major part of golf for over 60 years.  Since 1960, the South Course had 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 played in Seattle, Washington.  The South Course has gone through several changes in its 85-year history.  It was originally designed by Bert Way and opened in 1929.  30 years later in 1959 the course was completely remodeled by Robert Trent Jones, who made the course what it is today.  In 1986 Jack Nicklaus did some touch-up work.
• The course has held more professional tournaments than any other course in America except for probably Augusta, Colonial and Pebble.  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 had 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 played 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 Pencross 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 Perennial 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 7,400 yards, the Par 70. It features a 76.1 course rating and 132 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 microcosm 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. Five years ago it played a big part in Tiger Woods victory when he was tied with Padraig Harrington until the Irishman took 8 on the 16th hole.
• Other difficult holes include the 471-yard par 4, 4th hole 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 and 108th toughest on the PGA Tour playing to an average of 4.225.  The second hardest hole on the course and the 164th toughest on the PGA Tour in 2014 was the ninth, the 494 yard par 4 that played to an average of 4.171. 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 tenth-toughest hole of the week and 400th on the PGA Tour playing to a 4.047 average.
• Last year the course played to a 70.389 average, making it the 18th hardest course on the PGA Tour.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational:

Firestone is one of the most respected courses on the PGA Tour.  The par-70 layout plays to over 7,400 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 and Vijay Singh 2008) have won a tournament five months prior to their Firestone victory.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

• Since the course will play at more than 7,400 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 the rough has always played a factor.    Of the 20 players that have finished in the top-five in the tournaments first three years (1999-2001), 15 of them have finished in the top-20 of the driving accuracy category.  Things changed drastically in 2007 as only five players out of the top 21 finished in the top-ten of the driving distance category.  In 2008 of the players in the top-19, only four were in the top-ten. The same in 2009 as of those in the top-15 the best rank in driving accuracy is T10th.  In 2010 only two players out of the top 22 finished in the top-ten of fairways hit.  Things got better in 2011 as six of the top-six were in the top-15 while in 2012 ten of the top-15 were in the top-20.  In 2013 nine of the top-12 were in the top-11 while in 2014 only three players were in the top-20 out of the top-11.   So if fairways get dry this week, look for accuracy to again be the King and secret to playing well this week at Firestone.
• The only problem is that the course will not be dry.  Lot’s of rain have dropped in the last month and rain is in the forecast for Thursday and Friday.  After that the rain goes away for the weekend, but the course will again be soft, helping those that don’t drive it straight.
• 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.  In 2009 greens hit was the key to victory for Tiger as he ranked T2nd in that stat, while in 2010 Hunter Mahan was T8th in greens hit and T4th in number of putts.  In 2011 Adam Scott was T9th in greens hit and T4th in putting while in 2012 Keegan Bradley was T11th in greens hit and T2nd in putting.  In 2013 Tiger Woods was 2nd in greens hit and T-5th in putting while in 2014 McIlroy was T-1st in greens hit and T-42nd in putting  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 this week?  Could Thongchai Jaidee, Anirban Lahiri or even the Quicken Loan champion Troy Merritt win?  Not a chance, look for either one of the usual suspects or someone like a Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama or Jim Furyk who really wants to do well in a big event.  As for an underdog, no chance as underdogs have not fared well at Firestone.