2015 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational
Where: Firestone CC, Akron, Ohio
When: Thursday 5th August 2015 (First tee off 9:00pm AEST)
Purse: $9,250,000
With just one more week until the fourth and final major of the year we take a look at the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational. The Firestone Country Club will be hosting this week and it is well known for its long par 4’s and a signature hole par 5 measuring 667 yards.
Earlier in the week a picture was circulating twitter. It was a sprinkler head on the signature hole and instead of having a distance to the hole it simply said “just hit it” clearly the greens keepers in Akron have a sense of humour.
Once again Jordan Spieth will start as heavy favourite. As world number 1 and last year’s defending champion Rory McIlroy is still recovering from the ankle injury. He is clearly focused on getting back for next week’s PGA Championship.
Another big name we won’t be seeing this week is Tiger Woods.
Woods has won here an incredible 8 times yet he did not qualify for this event. He might have been good value after showing a “tiny” bit of resilience last week.
Dustin Johnson will try to become just the 3rd player in history to win two WGC events in the same year. He is the most talented and also the most frustrating golfer to bet on. If you can handle the swings then by all means follow this golfer. Personally my heart can’t handle it. We will look at some other golfers that don’t give up after a couple of bogies on the card.
The last 5 winners of this event were all blue chip players including McIlroy, Woods, Bradley, Scott and Mahan. Four of them have Majors but all of them had similar Driving stats and Greens-in-regulation stats the week they won. I have 3 premium players and 3 value players this week as I believe there is value with Rory and Tiger out and Spieth only playing here once before.
Justin Rose
Ticks all the boxes including driving distance averaging over 300 yards (301) and also ranks very high in greens-in-regulation at (69.95 %) plus he has a major something that past winners have in common here.
Bet on Justin Rose - $17.50 at Betfair
Paul Casey
He has been knocking at the door. Just behind Rose in Driving distance but ranks higher than him in GIR. 80-1 is very generous odds in my opinion.
Bet on Paul Casey - $80 at Betfair
Ricky Fowler
This guy is oh-so close at becoming the face of golf. He is ranked 5th in the world. Although he doesn’t have a major (he did win The Players this year which is said to be the fifth major). He is sneaky long off the tee at 295 yards and hits the green 65.99% of the time. One stat that does favour him for this event is his long iron approaches especially if he misses the fairway. Sunday-Orange-Firestone the stars are aligning.
Bet on Ricky Fowler - $19 at Betfair
And here are three value players all at 200-1 + that I believe could play well this week and win
Graeme McDowell - $310 at Betfair
Lee Westwood - $220 at Betfair
Padraig Harrington - $310 at Betfair
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
