PGA First Look: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2018-08-01 21:24:36

The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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Event Preview

A week after Dustin Johnson ran away from the field, the PGA Tour heads to Akron, Ohio for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. This will serve as a warm up for the best golfers in the world, as the year’s final major is only one week away. The key note at this event is that there isn’t a cut. There are only 73 golfers in the field. Barring a withdrawal (fingers crossed that this doesn’t happen after the tournament starts), all golfers are guaranteed to play four rounds. This changes our strategy a bit when it comes to DFS, as we don’t have to worry about getting all of our golfers through the cut. Instead, we should be focusing on birdie-making and golfers that can add those finishing position points.

Firestone Country Club is nicknamed “The Monster” and is routinely one of the hardest stops on the PGA Tour (usually in the top third in difficulty). The fact that this is a stacked WGC field says a lot about the difficulty of the course, as these are the best golfers in the world that play here each year. The course measures 7,400 yards (there’s something about nice round numbers) and is a Par 70 that only features two par fives. The first of the two is reachable by the field, but the second measures 667 yards and features a water hazard in front of the green. Only the longest and most daring hitters will be going for the 16th hole in two.

While this is a long golf course that requires some length off the tee, a look at the strokes gained statistics of the top ten finishers here in the past shows that most of the strokes gained come from approaches and putting. Do you know who does those two well? Tiger Woods, who just so happens to have won here seven times (and yes, I will be loading up on him this week). The fairways aren’t too narrow, but they are difficult to hit (under 50% over the last few years). The greens are fairly small and made of a bentgrass/poa mix. They typically run around 13 on the stimpmeter, so they are on the quicker side of things.

As for the type of golfer that I’m targeting this week, I’m really looking for those with a complete all-around game. You can’t have a glaring weakness or this course will expose it. We’ve seen shorter hitters compete here, but generally the longer off the tee you are, the better. I’m definitely placing a big emphasis on iron play and par four scoring. I typically like to look at birdie or better percentage, but I decided to take eagles out of the equation since there is really one only eagle-able hole (the par five second). That should just about do it for this week. If you are a premium member, make sure to digest all of our great content that will be posted throughout the week.

Cut Rule: No cut this week.

Recent Winners of this Event: Hideki Matsuyama (2017), Dustin Johnson (2016), Shane Lowry (2015), Rory McIlroy (2014), Tiger Woods (2013)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Tee to Green
2) Birdies Gained
3) Par 4 Scoring
4) Greens in Regulation
5) Driving Distance

Hole by Hole Breakdown

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)

Golfer	DK Salary	FD Salary	FDRFT Salary	OWGR	Odds	DK Odds	FD Odds	FDRFT Odds	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Dustin Johnson	$11,700	$12,700	$18,500	1	7	0%	0%	0%	17	1	53	500	33
Rory McIlroy	$11,300	$12,100	$17,600	7	11	0%	33%	0%	5	500	500	1	27
Tiger Woods	$10,800	$11,300	$17,400	50	12	0%	70%	0%	500	500	500	500	1
Jordan Spieth	$10,400	$11,400	$16,600	8	17	0%	29%	0%	13	3	10	49	500
Rickie Fowler	$10,000	$11,300	$16,100	9	19	0%	40%	0%	9	10	10	8	21
Jason Day	$9,800	$11,700	$16,000	10	21	0%	-75%	0%	24	3	12	500	53
Jon Rahm	$9,600	$10,900	$15,900	5	24	0%	43%	0%	28	500	500	500	500
Francesco Molinari	$9,400	$11,200	$15,800	6	24	0%	31%	0%	24	500	61	31	44
Tommy Fleetwood	$9,200	$11,400	$15,800	11	26	0%	-43%	-11%	28	500	500	500	500
Henrik Stenson	$9,000	$11,500	$15,600	17	28	-18%	-117%	0%	17	500	6	19	2
Brooks Koepka	$8,900	$11,600	$15,700	4	27	0%	-140%	-9%	17	500	6	500	500
Justin Thomas	$8,800	$11,400	$15,700	3	27	15%	-57%	0%	28	33	500	500	500
Alexander Noren	$8,700	$9,900	$15,400	13	33	0%	39%	0%	28	500	500	500	500
Paul Casey	$8,600	$10,800	$15,000	15	36	0%	0%	6%	5	16	17	500	27
Bubba Watson	$8,500	$10,000	$15,000	14	42	-25%	9%	-25%	17	14	2	37	27
Hideki Matsuyama	$8,400	$10,200	$15,100	16	40	6%	20%	-7%	1	42	37	12	21
Patrick Reed	$8,300	$11,300	$14,900	12	41	0%	-80%	0%	36	52	15	4	500
Patrick Cantlay	$8,200	$9,700	$14,700	26	44	-16%	19%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Zach Johnson	$8,100	$9,800	$14,900	51	41	5%	24%	-6%	2	10	33	23	4
Tony Finau	$8,000	$10,600	$14,800	28	42	0%	-24%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Xander Schauffele	$7,900	$9,900	$14,900	18	41	23%	26%	6%	13	500	500	500	500
Marc Leishman	$7,900	$9,500	$14,400	19	54	-5%	26%	0%	41	55	33	3	500
Bryson DeChambeau	$7,800	$10,200	$14,300	23	55	-4%	-25%	-4%	60	500	500	500	500
Matt Kuchar	$7,700	$10,500	$14,300	27	59	-4%	-44%	-8%	17	3	25	12	27
Webb Simpson	$7,600	$10,700	$14,300	20	55	8%	-50%	0%	500	500	25	31	14
Branden Grace	$7,600	$9,600	$14,100	35	64	-15%	-3%	0%	28	10	17	23	65
Charley Hoffman	$7,500	$9,100	$14,200	34	62	-4%	17%	-7%	3	33	31	500	500
Louis Oosthuizen	$7,500	$9,800	$14,200	33	60	4%	-8%	0%	50	21	42	61	500
Adam Scott	$7,500	$9,500	$13,900	77	68	-18%	-6%	-3%	13	10	45	8	14
Thorbjorn Olesen	$7,500	$8,100	$13,900	57	68	-25%	36%	-9%	10	500	500	500	48
Phil Mickelson	$7,400	$10,400	$14,200	21	61	13%	-47%	-4%	39	27	63	15	21
Byeong-Hun An	$7,400	$9,000	$14,000	40	65	3%	16%	0%	500	49	57	500	500
Sergio Garcia	$7,400	$9,600	$13,900	22	68	0%	-10%	0%	39	500	37	2	40
Tyrrell Hatton	$7,400	$8,800	$13,900	24	68	-3%	20%	-3%	36	500	500	500	500
Ian Poulter	$7,300	$9,100	$13,500	32	79	-3%	-6%	0%	500	500	17	52	19
Kevin Chappell	$7,300	$9,300	$13,800	48	70	0%	-6%	0%	13	3	500	500	500
Russell Knox	$7,300	$8,700	$13,500	54	84	-6%	12%	-3%	5	54	500	500	500
Kevin Na	$7,200	$8,600	$12,600	42	109	-10%	4%	0%	500	27	15	23	500
Luke List	$7,200	$8,300	$12,900	45	99	-3%	22%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Charl Schwartzel	$7,200	$8,200	$12,600	49	115	-13%	17%	-2%	24	7	31	4	21
Kyle Stanley	$7,200	$8,500	$12,800	36	108	-5%	13%	0%	41	500	500	500	500
Kevin Kisner	$7,200	$8,500	$13,000	25	96	0%	17%	0%	28	16	37	500	500
Emiliano Grillo	$7,100	$8,200	$12,600	61	117	-5%	13%	-7%	50	14	500	500	500
Gary Woodland	$7,100	$8,900	$12,500	44	125	-7%	-21%	0%	63	500	57	19	500
Daniel Berger	$7,100	$9,400	$12,600	41	116	-2%	-36%	-5%	17	500	500	500	500
Matthew Fitzpatrick	$7,100	$8,800	$12,800	39	108	7%	0%	0%	50	500	500	500	500
Rafael Cabrera-Bello	$7,000	$9,700	$12,100	29	143	0%	-78%	2%	72	500	500	500	500
Austin Cook	$7,000	$7,700	$12,100	97	147	-4%	15%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Brian Harman	$7,000	$8,900	$12,100	30	146	-2%	-26%	0%	50	500	500	65	500
Pat Perez	$7,000	$8,600	$12,100	38	149	-8%	-16%	-6%	69	500	500	500	500
Hao-Tong Li	$7,000	$8,300	$12,200	43	148	-6%	0%	-6%	500	500	500	500	500
Brendan Steele	$6,900	$8,700	$11,700	59	179	-6%	-30%	0%	24	500	500	500	500
Ross Fisher	$6,900	$7,900	$12,000	46	162	-2%	4%	0%	44	500	500	500	500
Kiradech Aphibarnrat	$6,900	$9,000	$11,700	31	187	-8%	-54%	-2%	500	53	500	500	40
Cameron Smith	$6,900	$7,800	$11,800	47	173	-4%	4%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Paul Dunne	$6,800	$7,500	$11,700	79	194	0%	6%	-4%	500	500	500	500	500
Anirban Lahiri	$6,800	$7,700	$11,700	108	205	-3%	-2%	-7%	500	33	53	500	500
Si Woo Kim	$6,800	$8,400	$11,700	53	199	-2%	-20%	-5%	50	500	500	500	500
Jhonattan Vegas	$6,800	$7,400	$11,700	84	206	-5%	5%	-9%	17	500	500	500	500
Alexander Bjork	$6,800	$7,000	$11,700	73	211	-7%	7%	-11%	500	500	500	500	500
Aaron Wise	$6,700	$7,200	$11,500	81	225	0%	3%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Shubhankar Sharma	$6,700	$7,800	$11,300	88	243	-3%	-14%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Satoshi Kodaira	$6,700	$7,600	$11,100	37	267	-5%	-8%	0%	47	500	500	500	65
Brandon Stone	$6,700	$7,500	$11,500	107	228	-2%	-3%	-2%	500	500	500	500	500
Patton Kizzire	$6,600	$7,000	$10,700	81	318	-1%	-1%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Andrew Landry	$6,600	$7,000	$10,900	78	289	0%	0%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Wade Ormsby	$6,600	$7,000	$10,500	156	355	-3%	-3%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Ryuko Tokimatsu	$6,500	$7,000	$10,400	109	371	0%	-4%	0%	500	500	500	500	500
Kodai Ichihara	$6,500	$7,000	$10,400	363	397	-1%	-6%	-1%	500	500	500	500	500
Ted Potter	$6,500	$7,100	$10,400	93	439	-3%	-9%	-3%	500	500	500	500	500
Jaco Ahlers	$6,500	$7,000	$10,200	271	614	-4%	-9%	0%	500	500	500	500	500

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend