Shane Lowry Wins the 2015 WGC Bridgestone Invitational

After four rounds of play on Firestone Country Club's South Course, this year's edition of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational has concluded, with the winner being Shane Lowry. The Irishman finished with a final score of 11-under and a win by two shots over Bubba Watson. This is Lowry's first WGC win and first win in three years. He also takes home many World Golf Rankings points which will boost his ranking from 48th (as he stood when he entered the tournament) and has earned a PGA Tour card for three years.

Lowry shot a 66 for his final round today, which consisted of four birdies, including one on the final hole. However, he did run into trouble a few times today but recovered, or rather, "escaped" well. One incident involved a severely hooked tee shot, followed by a pitch over a tree, then a birdie putt. Another involved a bunker and a shot through a tree which led to his birdie on the 18th. He played solid golf all week and went low at times when many players could not. That was key to his success this week.

On a whole, the weekend rounds scored significantly better than the weekday rounds. Low scores were shot all around the South Course and the low round was a 63 shot by Justin Rose and Steven Bowditch. Saturday AKA Moving Day, really lived up to it's name as we saw a mish-mash on the leaderboard as the day progressed. Sunday's rounds were more toned down, but still full of exciting golf.

Our picks didn't finish off too well. Dustin Johnson shot a 75/76 on the weekend (in contrast with the theme of low scores on the weekend) to finish T53 at 7-over. Victor Dubuisson finished a shot ahead of Johnson. And Adam Scott finished a shot ahead of Dubuisson. TGR favourite Graeme McDowell did finish well however, at T17 (1-under). This is one of GMac's best finishes of the year, which is always a good sign.

Next week is the last major of the year, the PGA Championship, which will return to Whistling Straits for the first time since 2010. The storylines are already flowing, with Dustin Johnson being at the centre of them (remember how he would have won if it wasn't from a certain bunker?). That's all coming next week, so be sure to check out our daily coverage of the tournament next week.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Irishman Shane Lowry Wins the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational

Furyk Leads by Four Halfway Through WGC Bridgestone Invitational

After two rounds of play on Firestone's South Course, PGA Tour veteran Jim Furyk holds a four shot lead at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational, going into the weekend. He sits at 8-under; behind him, a three-way tie for second between Irishman Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson, and our pick Dustin Johnson. There is also no cut this week since this is a WGC event.

The South Course wasn't giving up much in the form of low scores over the first two days and played tough. The scoring average of the field was probably around even par or just slightly less, but some low scores were found by some. Australia's Danny Lee shot a 65 in the opening round and our leader Jim Furyk shot back to back 66's. Jim's round today was back and forth, a real battle, consisting of seven birdies and three bogeys. The course today played a bit tougher than yesterday however, with more players shooting over par rounds than sub par rounds.

Another round of note was that of TGR favourite Graeme McDowell, who sits T5 at 3-under. GMac went 66/71 for his first two rounds but despite his higher score today, he admitted in his post-round interview that he still played great and is happy to be in the position he's in. This is the first time in quite a bit where GMac's been in contention. Best of luck to him this weekend.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing so far:

1) Adam Scott: T26 at 1-over
2) Dustin Johnson: T2 at 4-under
3) Victor Dubuisson: T34 at 2-over

Good considering the conditions. Scott opened with a 72 but came back with a 69 today. Johnson once again is showing us why he's the best golfer in the world who hasn't won in the past few months. He shot a 69/67 so far and always seems to be T5 or higher at some point in every tournament he plays in. Dubuisson started strong with a 68 but faltered slightly today with a 74 (which included three straight bogeys).

There's still lots of golf to be played, so anything can happen. Stay tuned Sunday evening for our Results post...


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Jim Furyk hold onto his lead for his second win this year?

2015 WGC Bridgestone Invitational Picks

Just one week before the season's last major, the world's top players flock to the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, for the 3rd WGC event of the season, the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. This is one of the more elite tournaments played on tour and offers one of the largest purses, at $9.25 million. And being a WGC event, it also offers many World Golf Rankings points for the winner and good finishes.

Like other invitational events on Tour and other WGC events, the field at the Bridgestone Invitational is restricted, in this case to just 75 players; most of which are some of the world's best players. The top 50 players on the World Golf Rankings automatically get an invite. Playing members of the last Presidents/Ryder Cup also get an invite. Specific winners on the PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour, and Japan Tour are also invited, resulting in a truly multi-national, diverse, and dense field this week, which is a trait of WGC events.

The South Course has hosted the Bridgestone Invitational since it's inception as a tournament (except for a single instance in 2002). It's the oldest course at Firestone, having been opened in 1929 (designed by Bert Way at the time). In 1960, it underwent a major renovation by Robert Trent Jones and today plays as a par 70, measuring at just under 7,200 yards. It's infamously known as "The Monster", a name given to the South Course by Arnold Palmer due to it's difficulty. One of the more notable holes is #16, a 667-yard par 5, which measures as one of the longest on tour.

This is one of my favourite tournaments to make picks for but also one of the harder ones, due to the top class players in the field. Given that, here's my picks this week:

1) Adam Scott
2) Dustin Johnson
3) Victor Dubuisson

Adam Scott won this tournament in 2011; his first win with his new caddie Steve Williams. Dustin Johnson is on fire at the moment but hasn't capitalized much. And Victor is our dark horse pick this week.

Play kicks off tomorrow morning so stay tuned for our Weekend Update post,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Adam Scott is our top pick this week

2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational Picks - Weekend Update

The weekday rounds have now concluded at the 2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational at the South Course at Firestone Country Club. The leader going into the weekend is Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia, who shot an impressive 68 61 to stand at 11-under (-11) with a three shot lead over Englishman Justin Rose. And since this is a WGC event, there is no cut this week.

Garcia shot a stunning back nine score of 27 earlier in his round today, which is a new record. He birdied every single hole on the back nine except for No. 11 and made eleven one-putts over his entire round. His spectacular play even impressed playing partner Phil Mickelson, who fist-bumped him after his round.

Weather conditions were not too bad over the two rounds, but there was a lingering threat of precipitation during the end of the last round. Saturday's tee times have also been moved up slightly to take into account possible weather conditions.

As for our picks, here is how they are doing:

1) Graeme McDowell: T36 at 1-over (+1)
2) Miguel Angel Jimenez: T18 at 2-under (-2)
3) Adam Scott: T12 at 3-under (-3)

It always amazing to see Miguel Angel Jimenez near the top of the leaderboard week after week. Truly a remarkable player no doubt.

Tiger Woods is also tied for 25th and 10 shots back

Stay tuned Sunday evening to see who ended up winning the tournament this year,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Is Sergio Garcia's lead good enough for the win? (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational Picks

Tomorrow is the start of the 2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational at the South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. This is the third out of four World Golf Championship (WGC) events played during the season. WGC events are really unique and elite tournaments for a few reasons. They typically give out more prize money than majors, offer a lot of World Golf Rankings points, and feature a lower number of players in the field.

As for the Bridgestone Invitational in order to be "invited" a player must have done one of the the following. i) play on the previous Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team (whichever was more recent). ii) Rank in the top 50 in the World Golf Rankings. iii) Be a winner of one select tournament on other tours (Japan Tour, Sunshine Tour, etc.). The tournament's purse is also $9 million.

Firestone Country Club is also one of the tougher courses that players will play during the golf season and usually ranks within the top 5 courses of average shots over par. It's also a long course; 7400 yards and only a par 70. However this has not seemed to deter Tiger Woods over the years, who has won this tournament eight times, his last win coming just last year. He's no doubt a favourite going into the tournament.

Finally here are our favourites for the winner this week:

1) Graeme McDowell: He's played really well in the past two weeks and in the previous two WGC events, including a T10 last week. We're always picking him when he plays.

2) Miguel Angel Jimenez: He may be the oldest player in the field this week, but he did tie for 4th place last year. He also has to do well this week to hopefully ensure a Ryder Cup spot.

3) Adam Scott: A T5 at the Open Championship among others means that his game is in a good spot at the moment. He also knows what it takes to win this tournament, having won it in 2011.

Stay tuned Friday for our Weekend Update of the 2014 Bridgestone Invitational,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Day 2: The 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational

The weekday rounds are now complete for the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational, however due to the smaller field of players, there is no cut in this event. The 2nd round wasn't filled with too many players scoring low, but the main story, as most have become accustomed to at Firestone over the years, is Tiger Woods, who leads the field by 7 strokes at 13-under.

Shortly into his 2nd round, Tiger was on "59 watch" having gone 4-under in just his first three holes (keep in mind that Firestone Country Club is a par 70). He would add 5 more birdies to that score including 4-in-a-row, finishing two short with a 61. Despite not being the 59 that everyone wanted, he still shot 9-under on a day where the field average was one or two under par and tied the lowest round for the event.

Keegan Bradley and Englishman Chris Wood are tied in second place at 6-under.

 

Tiger Woods after a tee-shot during his second round at the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational (Phil Long/The Associated Press)

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Day 1: The 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational

The first round has concluded and the overnight leader is Webb Simpson, who shot a 6-under 64, in a round that included 8 birdies and two bogeys. He has a one shot lead over Sweden's Henrik Stenson who among others, played well.

Conditions seemed well during the first round, as a little under half of the field played under par for the day. Notable rounds included Tiger Woods (-4, T3), Bubba Watson (-3, T7), Ian Poulter (-1, T17)

Some golfers weren't so lucky in their first round. 2012 Australian PGA Championship winner, Danial Popovic, ended up carding a 9-over 79 for the day.

The second round looks to also be promising, so be sure to check it out on the Golf Channel,

1st round leader Webb Simpson eyes his ball during the opening round of the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational (Associated Press)

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational Preview

The third WGC event begin today; The Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio at the Firestone Country Club. The tournament consists of only 75 players, who must be in the Top 50 of the World Golf Rankings or on a past Ryder or Presidents Cup team, in order to be "invited".

This tournament is probably most famous for having been won a record 7 times by Tiger Woods since 1999 and for having been Australian Adam Scott's first win in 2011 with Tiger Woods' former caddy, Steve Williams, which also happened to be Tiger's first event since his return to golf.

To me, I consider this tournament one of the more "elite" tournaments, simply since it contains only top members of the World Golf Rankings and there has been some good golf played at Firestone over the years. The tournament is popular to most golfers as it offers a high number of World Gold Ranking points.

As always I have a few picks who I think will win or place in the top 10:

1) Ian Poulter - ENG
2) Matteo Mannasarro - ITA
3) Martin Kaymer - GER

This will be one of the more exciting tournaments of the year, so be sure to watch it,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews