WGC Bridgestone Preview

World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Preview

Field: There are 61 (of 76 qualified) players officially committed.
Dates: June 27-July 3, 2016
Where: Firestone Country Club (South Course), Akron, Ohio
Par/Yards: 35-35—70 /7,400
Architect: Bert Way (1929), Robert Trent Jones (1960)
FedExCup Points: 550
Purse: $9,500,000; Winner’s Share: $1,620,000
Format: 72-hole stroke play; no cut
Defending Champion: Shane Lowry, 269 (-11)
Trophy: Gary Player Cup
Website: www.worldgolfchampionships.com
Twitter: @WGC_Bridgestone

Qualification/Eligibility requirements:

• Playing members of the 2015 U.S. and International Presidents Cup teams.
• The top 50 players, including any tied for 50th place, from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, June 20, 2016 (i.e. through completion of the U.S. Open).
• The top 50 players, including any tied for 50th place, from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, June 27, 2016 (i.e. through completion of the Quicken Loans National).
• Tournament winners, whose victories are considered official, of tournaments from the Federation Tours since the prior year’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational with an Official World Golf Ranking strength of field rating of 115 points or more.
• The winner of the following tournaments from each of the following Tours:
  • Japan Golf Tour: Japan Golf Tour Championship (2016) and Bridgestone Open (2015)
  • Australasian Tour: Australian PGA Championship (2015)
  • Southern Africa Tour: Dimension Data Pro-Am (2016)
  • Asian Tour: Thailand Golf Championship (2015)

Shane Lowry and The 2015 Bridgestone

• Ireland’s Shane Lowry entered the final round two shots off the lead before firing a bogey-free 66 to claim a two stroke win over Bubba Watson.
• Lowry saved the best for last as his tee shot on No. 18 in the final round went deep into the left rough. His second shot rattled 141 yards through the trees and landed 11 feet, 1 inch away
  from the pin. Lowry drained the putt for birdie-3 to seal the win with rounds of 70-66-67-66—269 (-11).
• Lowry claimed his first-career PGA TOUR victory, the 2015 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, in his 28th start at the age of 28 years, 4 months and 7 days. Along with the win, he also earned a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR through the 2017-2018 season.
• Lowry’s win came in his third start in the Bridgestone Invitational: 2015/Won, 2013/T48, 2009/77th. He is the first player from Ireland to win a World Golf Championships event. Lowry and Padraig Harrington are the only two golfers from Ireland to win on the PGA TOUR since 1980.
• This will be Lowry’s 13th start in a World Golf Championships event. His best showing in each include
  • Win/2015 Bridgestone Invitational
  • T9/2013 Dell Match Play
  • T17/ 2015 Cadillac Championship
  • 28/2009 HSBC Champions.
• Lowry has played 41 PGA TOUR events recording seven top-10 finishes, including a T2 in his most recent start at the U.S. Open two weeks ago where he led by four strokes after 54 holes
• His final-round 76 left him three back of Dustin Johnson.
• In 2009, Lowry won The 3 Irish Open as an amateur on the European Tour, becoming the third amateur to win on the European Tour (Danny Lee/2009 and Pablo Martin/2007). Lowry followed with another win on the European Tour in 2012 at the Portugal Masters as a professional.
• Lowry’s father, Brendan, was a well-known Gaelic football star who played on the All-Ireland Championship team (County Offaly in 1982).

Field notes

• Each of the top 10 players and 27 of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings are in the Bridgestone Invitational field. 550 FedExCup points are awarded to the winner.
• There are seven of the top 10 and 41 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking in the field.
• Since the FedExCup’s 2007 inception, the winner of the Bridgestone Invitational has made it all the way to the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola all but once, with Shane Lowry missing the 30-player event last year after a victory at Firestone: Rory McIlroy (2014), Tiger Woods (2013, 2009, 2007), Keegan Bradley (2012), Adam Scott (2011), Hunter Mahan (2010) and Vijay Singh (2008). Woods, in 2007 and 2009, and Singh, in 2008, captured both the Bridgestone Invitational and the FedExCup trophy.
• The field includes 13 major championship winners who have combined for 20 total major victories, led by Phil Mickelson with five.
• Along with 48 PGA TOUR winners, the filed includes 32 players who have won titles on foreign Tours.
• Ten players in this week’s field have won World Golf Championships events:
  • Player World Golf Championship Wins
    • Jason Day 2 (2014 & 2016 Dell Match Play)
    • Dustin Johnson 2 (2013 HSBC Champions, 2015 Cadillac Championship)
    • Adam Scott 2 (2011 Bridgestone Invitational, 2016 Cadillac Championship)
    • Russell Knox 1 (2015 HSBC Champions)
    • Matt Kuchar 1 (2013 Dell Match Play)
    • Shane Lowry 1 (2015 Bridgestone Invitational)
    • Phil Mickelson 1 (2009 Cadillac Championship)
    • Patrick Reed 1 (2014 Cadillac Championship)
    • Justin Rose 1 (2012 Cadillac Championship)
    • Bubba Watson 1 (2014 HSBC Champions)

Select Player Notes

• Jason Day, No. 1 in FedExCup, No. 1 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Earlier this year, became the third different player to win THE PLAYERS while ranked No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, joining Greg Norman (1994) and Tiger Woods (2001 and 2013).
  • Owns 10 PGA TOUR victories: 2010 AT&T Byron Nelson, 2014 World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, 2015 Farmers Insurance Open, 2015 RBC Canadian Open, 2015 PGA Championship, 2015 The Barclays, 2015 BMW Championship, 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational, 2016 World Golf Championships-Dell Match
    Play, 2016 THE PLAYERS.
  • Three-time winner this season leads the current FedExCup standings by 255 points over fellow Australian Adam Scott.
  • Won both the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and THE PLAYERS Championship in wire-to-wire fashion this year, the only player to win wire-to-wire this season. Before these two wins, Day was also the last player to win wire-to-wire on TOUR, at the 2015 BMW Championship.
  • Reclaimed the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking when he defeated Brooks Koepka in the Quarterfinals of the 2016 World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, an event he won, defeating Louis Oosthuizen in the final, 5 and 4.
  • Owns a 69.91 scoring average in 22 rounds at Firestone CC.
  • Makes his seventh start at the Bridgestone Invitational. Was T12 last year with T4 in 2011 his only two top-15 results at Firestone.
• Jordan Spieth (2015 FedExCup champion), No. 4 in FedExCup, No. 2 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Owns eight PGA TOUR victories: 2013 John Deere Classic, 2015 Valspar Championship, 2015 Masters Tournament, 2015 U.S. Open, 2015 John Deere Classic, 2015 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, 2016 Hyundai Tournament of Champions, 2016 DEAN & DELUCA Invitational.
  • One of three multiple winners on the PGA TOUR in 2015-16, joined by Jason Day (3) and Adam Scott (2).’Youngest winner of the FedExCup and of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola (22 years, 2 months).
  • With his win at the 2013 John Deere Classic, became youngest PGA TOUR winner since 1931, winning less than two weeks before his 20th birthday.
  • Owns second-most wins on TOUR by a player 22 and younger: Horton Smith (14), Jordan Spieth (8), Tiger Woods (7).
  • Enters his 98th career PGA TOUR start just $611,000 shy of $25 million in career earnings.
  • Will make third appearance at Bridgestone Invitational (49/2014, T10/2015) after improving by nine stroke in his second visit to Firestone (285 in 2014, 276 in 2015).
  • Best result in 11 previous World Golf Championships appearances is T5 at the 2014 Dell Match Play, losing in the Quarterfinals to Ernie Els (4 and 2). He also finished T7 at the HSBC Champions earlier this season.
• Dustin Johnson (2016 U.S. Open champion), No. 3 in FedExCup, No. 3 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Claimed first major title in his previous start at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club becoming the fifth player in the last 100 years to win the U.S. Open a year after finishing runner-up in the championship
    • Johnson joined Tiger Woods (2007-08), Payne Stewart (1998-99), Jack Nicklaus (1971-72) and Bobby Jones (three times).
  • Owns 10 PGA TOUR victories and has won at least once in each of the nine seasons he has been on TOUR, the best current streak on TOUR.
  • Making his seventh appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational with a best finish of 15th in 2010.
  • In 25 previous World Golf Championships appearances, Johnson owns two wins (2015 Cadillac Championship, 2014 HSBC Champions), as well as a runner-up finish in the 2011 Cadillac Championship.
  • Win at the 2015 Cadillac Championship was his most recent win on TOUR before his victory at the U.S. Open two weeks ago. Between those two wins, Johnson has recorded 15 top-10 finishes (see below).
  • 2015
    • T6 – Valero Texas Open
    • T6 – Masters Tournament
    • T8 – AT&T Byron Nelson
    • T2 – U.S. Open Championship
    • T7 – PGA Championship
    • T9 – The Barclays
    • T7 – BMW Championship
    • T5 – TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola
    • T5 – World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
  • 2016
    • T10 – Hyundai Tournament of Champions
    • 4th – Northern Trust Open
    • T5 – World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play
    • T4 – Masters Tournament
    • 3rd – the Memorial Tournament
    • 5th – FedEx St. Jude Classic
• Bubba Watson, No. 20 in FedExCup, No. 6 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Seeking to become the first left-handed player to win the Bridgestone Invitational.
  • His runner-up finishb last year matched Phil Mickelson’s runner-up showing in 1999 as the best result by a left-hander in the Bridgestone Invitational. Watson (2014 HSBC Champions), Phil Mickelson (2009 Cadillac Championship) and Mike Weir (2000 Cadillac Championship) are the only lefties to win World Golf Championships events.
  • Won the 2016 Northern Trust Open for his ninth TOUR win.
  • Making his seventh appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational. He finished second in 2015 for his best result. The only other time he was in the top 20 at Firestone was a T19 in 2012.
  • Shot 6-under 64 in his first official tournament round at Firestone CC to lead by two strokes over Graeme McDowell after the opening round of the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational. It remains his low 18-hole score at this event by two strokes. He has recorded 66 three times, including twice last year.
  • Owns a 69.46 scoring average in 24 rounds at Firestone CC
• Rickie Fowler, No. 26 in FedExCup, No. 7 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Three-time PGA TOUR winner whose first victory was 2012 Wells Fargo Championship with other two wins in 2015 at THE PLAYERS Championship and the Deutsche Bank Championship.
  • Won this year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour.
  • Lost a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and finished T4 at the Wells
  • Fargo Championship for his best results this season.
  • Will make his 23rd appearance in a World Golf Championships event, having posted top-five finishes in three of the four WGC events (3/2014 Dell Match Play, T2/2011 Bridgestone Invitational, T3/2014 HSBC Champions). Best result at Cadillac Championship is 8th in 2011 and T8 in 2016.
  • Has posted three top-10 finishes in six starts at Bridgestone Invitational (T2/2011, T8/2014, T10/2015).
• Adam Scott, No. 2 in FedExCup, No. 8 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Scott has two World Golf Championships victories (2011 Bridgestone Invitational, 2016 Cadillac Championship) and currently lies No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, trailing fellow Aussie Jason Day by 255 points.
  • Scott and defending champion Shane Lowry are the only two players in the field to win at the Bridgestone Invitational.
  • Along with his win in 2011, Scott has three more top-10 results in 13 starts at the Bridgestone Invitational (T8/2014, T9/2010, T10/2006).
  • In his last five TOUR starts Scott has an unusual trend – each of his opening rounds are over-par, his second rounds are par or better and his third rounds are par or worse. Scott has posted second rounds of par or better at Firestone in each of the last seven years.
• Phil Mickelson, No. 19 in FedExCup, No. 20 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Mickelson, who owns 42 PGA TOUR victories, has not missed the Bridgestone Invitational since the event was instituted in 1999 and will make his 18th appearance this week. In his first four starts at this event he posted a runner-up/1999, T4/2000, T8/2001 and T9/2002 but has finished in the top 10 just once since those four consecutive top-10s (T4/2008)
• Davis Love III, No. 177 in FedExCup, No. 187 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Love has 21 PGA TOUR victories, including the 2015 Wyndham Championship which earned him a spot in the field this week.
  • Should he win this week at 52, Love would become the oldest winner of any World Golf Championships event, surpassing Vijay Singh, who at 45 years, 5 months, 12 days won the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational to become the oldest winner in World Golf Championships history.
  • Love has six top-10 finishes at Firestone (T10/1999, T5/2001, 3rd/2003, T4/2004, T4/2006, T6/2007), the third-most in tournament history behind Tiger Woods (12) and Jim Furyk (10).
  • Love has been named the 2016 Ambassador of Golf by Northern Ohio Golf Charities. The Ambassador of Golf Award is presented annually at the Bridgestone Invitational to a person who has fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course. Love will be honored on the first tee at Firestone Country Club on Wednesday, June 29 at 5:30 p.m., an event open to all Wednesday Bridgestone Invitational ticket holders. Fans will hear remarks from Love and PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.
  • · Love is the first Ambassador of Golf to qualify for the Bridgestone Invitational the same year in which he is receiving the award.
  • Love joins an illustrious list of Ambassador of Golf Award winners: 1981 Chi Chi Rodriguez; 1982 Bing Crosby; 1983 Byron Nelson; 1984 Gene Sarazen; 1985 President Gerald Ford; 1986 Bob Hope; 1987 Dinah Shore; 1988 Joe Dey; 1989 Frank Chirkinian; 1990 Barbara Nicklaus; 1991 Arnold Palmer; 1992 Nancy Lopez; 1993 Roberto De Vicenzo; 1994 President George H.W. Bush; 1995 Michael Bonnallack; 1996 Deane Beman; 1997 Peter Thomson; 1998 Ken Venturi; 1999 Gary Player; 2000 Ben Hogan and Sam Snead; 2001 Del de Windt; 2002 Joanne Carner; 2003 Robert Dedman, Sr. and Jack Vickers; 2004 Lee Trevino; 2005 Pete Dye; 2006 Ken Schofield; 2007 Tony Jacklin; 2008 Charlie Sifford; 2009 Hale Irwin; 2010 Tom Watson; 2011 Nick Price; 2012 Nick Faldo; 2013 Jack Nicklaus; 2014 Johnny Miller; and 2015 Judy Rankin.Billy Hurley III, No. 70 in the FedExCup, No. 169 in Official World Ranking
• Billy Hurley III, who was born in Leesburg, Virginia and resides in Annapolis, Maryland, posted a final-round 69 on Sunday, to win the Quicken Loans National by three shots over Vijay Singh for his first PGA TOUR victory to earn the final spot in the field at the Bridgestone Invitational.
  • Hurley’s victory came in his 104th PGA TOUR start at the age of 34 years and 17 days.
  • Hurley will be playing in his first-ever World Golf Championships event.
  • Hurley is a 2004 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, with a degree in Quantitative Economics
• Jim Furyk, No. 130 in FedExCup, No. 18 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Furyk, who finished T2 at the U.S. Open two weeks ago, will make his 17th start at the Bridgestone Invitational.
  • In 16 previous starts at Firestone, Furyk has earned $3,557,167 to rank second behind Tiger Woods ($11,075,625) with most money won at this event.
  • Justin Rose and Adam Scott are the only other players in the field this week with more than $2 million in earnings from the Bridgestone Invitational.
  • Phil Mickelson has $1,953,889 from 17 starts.
• Brooks Koepka, No. 17 in FedExCup, No. 15 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • With his T6 finish at last year’s Bridgestone Invitational, Koepka was the only player to record four founds in the 60s (69-69-68-69) at Firestone CC.
    • In 2014, Rory McIlroy won at Firestone with four sub-70 rounds and was one of five players to post four rounds in the 60s that year (Marc Leishman/3rd, Keegan Bradley/T4, Thomas Bjorn/T15, Jim Furyk/T15).
• Russell Knox, No. 5 in FedExCup, No. 26 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Knox, from Scotland, will make his first appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational.
  • Earlier this season Knox claimed his first PGA TOUR win at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. The following week he lost a playoff at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. Knox also recorded a T2 finish at the RBC Heritage and currently sits at No. 5 on the FedExCup standings
• K.T. Kim, No. 40 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Kim was a member of the International Team at the 2011 Presidents Cup, coming away with a 2-0-2 record.
  • Currently No. 40 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Kim has recorded seven victories in the past 12 months on the Japan Golf Tour. In 2010, he became the first player from South Korea to lead the money list on Japan Golf Tour. He will make his 11th start in a World Golf Championships event and third appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational (T6/2011, T24/2012). It will also be his 27th PGA TOUR start with a best performance of T4 at the 2011 Wyndham Championship.
• Andrew “Beef” Johnston, No. 108 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • Affectionately referred to as Beef, Johnston made his European Tour breakthrough at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España winning by one shot with the first over par winning total in a regular European Tour event since Ian Woosnam was also one over par to win the Scottish Open at Carnoustie in 1996. His post-round comments about wanting to “go home and get hammered with his mates and see his mum” were picked up around the world. The win was one of three top-10s in Europe this season. A T54 finish at the U.S. Open two weeks ago was just his second PGA TOUR start having missed the cut at The Open Championship in 2011. Johnston will be making his World Golf Championships debut this week.
• Nathan Holman, No. 182 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • In only his fifth professional tournament, in November 2013, Nathan Holman made the cut at the 2013 Australian Masters at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club and was tied for the 36-hole lead. He played the third round with Adam Scott, a player he described as his idol.
  • Holman went into the final round tied for second, but faded with a 78 to finish 15th.
  • He finished in the top-25 in six of the seven tournaments he played as a professional that year. Holman, 24, earned the first professional win of his career, the 2015 Australian PGA Championship, defeating Harold Varner III of the United States and Dylan Frittelli of South Africa in a playoff.
  • The win at the tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour earned Holman the top spot on the final 2015 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and a berth in the 2016 Cadillac Championship, where he posted a 56th-place finish in his only PGA TOUR start, 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon and this week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
  • The win also secured Holman’s card on the 2016 European Tour just two weeks after he had failed in his bid to secure a spot on that Tour via the qualifying school.
  • He’s made six cuts in eight starts on the European Tour this season.
  • Holman is currently No. 182 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
• George Coetzee, No. 116 in Official World Golf Ranking
  • George Coetzee, from South Africa, is a three-time European Tour winner. Earlier this year he won the Dimension Data Pro-Am on the Sunshine Tour finishing birdie-birdie-eagle to defeat Dean Burmester by a single stroke to earn a spot in this week’s field. Coetzee has two top-10s in 32 starts on the PGA TOUR, including a T7 at the 2015 PGA Championship. He is currently No. 116 in the Official World Golf Ranking
  • Michio Matsumura, No. 310 in the Official World Golf Ranking
  • Michio Matsumura, 32, has won twice on the Japan Challenge Tour and five times on the Japan Golf Tour, including the 2015 Bridgestone Open which earned him a spot in the field this week. In 2011, he finished T68 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. His only other appearance on the PGA TOUR was a missed cut in 2008 at The Open Championship. He also made two appearances in the HSBC Champions before it was an official event on the PGA TOUR (T60/2010, T59/2011). At No. 310 in the Official World Golf Ranking, he is the lowest ranked player in the field.
• Yosuke Tsukada, No. 306 in the Official World Golf Ranking
  • Yosuke Tsukada, 31, joined the Japan Golf Tour in 2010 but had to wait until early this year to claim his first title, winning the Japan Golf Tour Championship to earn a spot in the field at Firestone this week.
  • His final round 66 at Shishido Hills was three strokes better than any other round that day and it moved him from 12th position after 54 holes to his first win. Tsukada, currently No. 306 in the Official World Golf Ranking, will make his first PGA TOUR start this week.
• Young-han Song, No. 130 in the Official World Golf Ranking
  • Song Young-han, 24, owns three runner-up finishes on the Korean Tour.
  • On the Japan Golf Tour, he also had three runner-up finishes before winning the first tournament of the 2016 season, the SMBC Singapore Open, where he beat Jordan Spieth by one stroke with rounds of 70-63-69-70—272 (-12).
  • Song also played on the One Asia Tour from 2012 to 2014. At No. 130 in the Official World Golf Ranking, he will make his PGA TOUR debut this week.

Most World Golf Championships appearances (Dell Match Play, Cadillac Championship, Bridgestone Invitational and HSBC Champions since it become a World Golf Championships event in 2009)

• Westwood, Lee 54
• Garcia, Sergio 49
• Els, Ernie 48
• Mickelson, Phil 47
• Scott, Adam 47
• Furyk, Jim 46
• Woods, Tiger 44
• Poulter, Ian 44
• (These numbers do not include the 2016 Bridgestone Invitational)

Countries, players represented in the field

• Total players in the field – 61
• Countries represented – 14
• USA 31
• AUS 7
• RSA 4
• KOR 3
• ENG 3
• JPN 3
• ARG 2
• SWE 1
• DEN 1
• THA 1
• IRE 1
• SCO 1
• IND 1
• NZL 1

First-time Bridgestone Invitational participants

• There are 16 players participating in their first-ever Bridgestone Invitational this week, including eight who will make
  their World Golf Championships debut:
  • Kevin Chappell
  • Billy Hurley III
  • Andrew Johnston
  • Michio Matsumura
  • William McGirt
  • Younghan Song
  • Brian Stuard
  • Yosuke Tsukada

Tournament notes

• The best 18-hole score at Firestone CC during the Bridgestone Invitational is 9-under 61, twice by Tiger Woods (2000, 2013) and most recently by Sergio Garcia (2014). Each of the 61s came in the second round.
• Tiger Woods owns the tournament record of 259 (21-under) which he posted in 2000. His 11-stroke win that
  year is also the largest winning margin in tournament history.
• A playoff to decide the Bridgestone Invitational has been required twice. Tiger Woods won both, defeating Jim
  Furyk in 2001 and Stewart Cink in 2006.
• Three players have won the Bridgestone Invitational in wire-to-wire fashion – Tiger Woods (2000, 2005),
  Stewart Cink (2004) and Adam Scott (2011).
• Five aces have been recorded in tournament history with three coming in 2000 (Hal Sutton, Retief Goosen,
  Stewart Cink). Jim Furyk claimed the two most recent holes-in-one, at the 15th in 2006 and the fifth hole in
  2011.
• The PGA TOUR has not witnessed a winner in his 40s this season.
• Vijay Singh, who at 45 years, 5 months, 12 days won the 2008 Bridgestone Invitational, is the oldest winner in
  World Golf Championships history.
• Patrick Reed is the youngest winner of any World Golf Championships event. He won the 2014 Cadillac Championship at 23 years, 7 months, 4 days.
• Tiger Woods is the youngest winner of the Bridgestone Invitational, claiming the title in 1999 at 23 years, 7 months, 30 days.
• Since 1984, professional golf tournaments at Firestone Country Club have given over $20 million to charities
  in Northeast Ohio.