The World Golf Classic gets underway on Thursday morning live from Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. The WGC Bridgestone Invitational Tiger Woods Tee Time is set for 1:50 p.m. EST and he will play with Branden Grace. The Golf Channel will have live coverage beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
Tiger Woods might be the favorite in this event because it's being played at one of his favorite courses in the world, Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Historically, Woods has played very well at this course, even though he has struggled here the past two years at the WGC. Yet, at Firestone, Woods has an impressive 10 top-5 finishes and seven wins in 12 starts with a 68.33 scoring avg. That sounds pretty good to me.
Adam Scott is coming off a historic meltdown at the British Open Championship held at Royal Lytham, but he figures to be involved here this weekend. Scott has 15-1 odds overall and has won World Golf Classic events in the past. He hit the ball well at the British open and probably has some intentions on having a good tournament. Maybe he's looking to silence some critics here this week. Rickie Fowler finished in a tie for second place last season at Firestone and he has driven the ball well off the tee this year, ranking 11th in total driving. Fowler has five top 10s on the season and one victory. He's a decent option at 30-1 odds.
Hunter Mahan could also be a good pick this week. He picked up a win at Firestone a couple of years ago (2010) and had Top 10 finishes in both 2008 and 2009. He's been playing a pretty decent streak this year as well, just missing a Top 10 at Hartford, finishing in the Top 10 at Congressional and finishing in the Top 20 at the British Open as well. Bubba Watson has also played well at this course and has struggled lately, taking 23rd at the British Open. However he did take second place at Hartford. Donald also plays well at Firestone, taking second place last year and has three Top 10s in seven starts here. By the way, he's still the No. 1 player in the world and tied for fifth at the British Open.
WGC Bridgestone Invitational Odds
Tiger Woods 9-2, Luke Donald 12-1, Lee Westwood 15-1, Adam Scott 15-1, Rory McIlroy 20-1, Hunter Mahan 25-1, Zach Johnson 25-1, Jason Dufner 25-1, Phil Mickelson 30-1, Rickie Fowler 30-1, Graeme McDowell 30-1, Dustin Johnson 30-1, Bubba Watson 30-1, Justin Rose 30-1, Matt Kuchar 30-1, Steve Stricker 30-1, Bo Van Pelt 30-1, Francesco Molinari 40-1, Louis Oosthuizen 40-1, Jason Day 50-1, Nicolas Colsaerts 50-1, Ernie Els 50-1, Jim Furyk 50-1, Ian Poulter 50-1, Charl Schwartzel 50-1, Nick Watney 50-1, Martin Laird 50-1, Sergio Garcia 60-1, Martin Kaymer 60-1, Brandt Snedeker 60-1, Keegan Bradley 60-1, Peter Hanson 60-1, Fredrik Jacobson 60-1, Bill Haas 60-1, Retief Goosen 60-1, Geoff Ogilvy 60-1, Scott Piercy 60-1, John Senden 80-1, David Toms 80-1, Carl Pettersson 80-1, K.J. Choi 80-1, Ben Crayne 100-1, Jonathan Byrd 100-1, Thomas Bjorn 100-1, Paul Lawrie 100-1, Aaron Baddeley 100-1, Kyle Stanley 100-1, Kevin Na 125-1, Ryo Ishikawa 150-1 and The Field 12-1.