All the talk in the golfing world at the minute is of players pulling out of the Olympics which is sort of ironic given that it is the Rio extravaganza that is the reason the latest World Golf Championship event takes place this week rather than its traditional slot in August.
The WGC Bridgestone Invitational usually hosts the biggest and best names in the world but with the European Tour refusing to sanction this tournament and offering double Ryder Cup points as an incentive for playing the French Open rather than this most of the European stars are missing the competition.
One European who is here though is Shane Lowry who defends the only title he has won across the pond so far. Having gone close in The Masters, Players Championship and the US Open in 2016 he’ll be keen to defend his title successfully.
Recent Winners
2015 – Shane Lowry
2014 – Rory McIlroy
2013 – Tiger Woods
2012 – Keegan Bradley
2011 – Adam Scott
2010 – Hunter Mahan
2009 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Vijay Singh
2007 – Tiger Woods
2006 – Tiger Woods
The Course
Firestone Country Club is a bit of a beast at 7,400 yards for a par 70. In fact it is the longest par 70 that isn’t a major championship so it takes some getting round. It doesn’t play to its full yardage in that the fairways and greens are firm and the ball gets plenty of roll which is why short hitters get into contention.
I always think this is a ball strikers golf course. It is a typically American course in that there isn’t a major premium on finding the fairways but with the greens firm, fast and big in size holding them is going to be a lot easier from the fairways. They’re not easy fairways to hit. Less than half the fairways were hit by the field last year which emphasises how hard they are to hit so I’m going down the tee to green route here.
The greens are large so if you miss the green you need to scramble well and if you find them you’re likely to have plenty of long range putts so this is a real test of golf this week as a tournament of this kind should be.
The Field
With all the European absentees there are just 60 men teeing it up this week and there is no halfway cut. The field includes three of the top four in the world with Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson all teeing it up.
Former champion Adam Scott is in the field while the likes of Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman have all been in the frame in this tournament in the past and they have all entered this tournament and will hope to go well.
Market Leaders
Jason Day heads the betting as he does most times he tees it up these days. He’s an 11/2 favourite to win. He comes into the tournament off the back of a top 10 finish in the US Open which will have been a lot better but for a shambles of a first round. He is the one to beat once again.
Dustin Johnson won that US Open and this is the first time we will have seen him since then. We often see players who win their first major take a while to come to terms with it as if they have achieved their goals and need to reassess things and for that reason the 17/2 on the American doesn’t interest me but if he is the anomaly and can crack on with things as normal he could take some beating with the way he drove it at Oakmont.
Jordan Spieth is 11/1 to win this week and of the three you would suggest he is the least likely to claim the title purely on a lack of length but on a firm course if he can putt like he usually does it would be foolish to write him off completely.
Brooks Koepka is a 20/1 shot to win the title with Adam Scott at 25/1, the same price as Bubba Watson and Justin Rose. Branden Grace and Jim Furyk are 28/1 shots with it being 30/1 bar those named.
Main Bets
Usually I have this tournament being won by an elite star name but the lack of the Europeans in the field might give more of the second string or lesser names the chance to get into contention and maybe even snatch the title from the so called big names.
My first bet this week is a big name though. Nobody is hitting the ball better from tee to green than Adam Scott right now and given that he has won around here before we know he can get the putts to the hole and into it.
I took Scott at Oakmont a couple of weeks ago and his tee to green game was very good there but he didn’t putt brilliantly but those greens were very tough to work out and maybe a little too soon in his transition from long putter to short putter for him. These aren’t as tough and even if they were he knows them well. I think he’s a genuine runner here.
I’ve made no secret of the fact I’m a huge Daniel Berger fan and this week seems like the right time to put my money where my mouth is in that regard. We know he is striking the ball well from his win at the St Jude. His top 10 finishes at The Masters and The Players shows he gets up for the big events and only a poor final round in the US Open denied him a decent finish there.
Berger drives the ball well and fairly long with it and his iron play and most importantly his putting has been proven to be solid as a rock. He might be making his debut in this tournament but the course should suit him perfectly and at 50/1 he looks a fantastic price here.
Outsiders
I’m going to throw darts at a couple at three figures prices here as well and the first of those is a man I won with right at the start of the season in Emiliano Grillo. Grillo showed he was still hitting the ball well when he was just outside the top 10 at The Memorial and had he gone better on the Sunday he might well have gone a lot closer to the title.
He also ran well for the first two rounds of the tournament in the US Open as well and the way he hits the ball from tee to green he should be more than competitive around here too. This isn’t too dissimilar to the course he won on in that hitting the fairways and greens is a priority. There is a question mark over whether it is too long for him but I’ll pay to see that at 100/1.
Another man I’ve already won with this season is Smylie Kaufman and this feels like the right time to back him again as well. Kaufman made it into the top 10 with a solid effort last week so he heads here in good form and his top 20 at The Memorial proves that.
He has missed a number of cuts recently but I’m prepared to give him that because that final round of The Masters will have taken a few weeks for anyone to get over but the fact he was in the final group on Sunday there highlights how good a player he is and at the prices I think he is well worth backing to see if he can get the job done again here.
Tips
Back A.Scott to win WGC Bridgestone Invitational (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back D.Berger to win WGC Bridgestone Invitational (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
Back E.Grillo to win WGC Bridgestone Invitational (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back S.Kaufman to win WGC Bridgestone Invitational (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-6)
Back them here:
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