Hunter Mahan Cruises to Bridgestone Invitational Win

Hunter Mahan shot 66, 64 on the weekend to lock up the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. Only 25 putts, many of the 10-20 foot variety, contributed to his Sunday 64, -12. Mahan waited near the 18th green to watch Ryan Palmer's eagle attempt from the fairway fall short. Palmer finished two strokes back in solo 2nd at -10. Retief Goosen's closing 65 left him in a tie for 3rd with Bo Van Pelt. Sean O'Hair took fourth alone at -8. Palmer's first hole birdie had given him a brief lead. He followed with a bogey on the 2nd hole. Mahan rattled off five birdies on the front nine and cruised to a clubhouse lead that was never in serious jeopardy. Mahan cemented his Ryder Cup spot and won his second event of the year having previously won in Phoenix. At first glance this morning there appeared to a bevy of players with a chance. Mahan separated himself from the pack and shot down any notion of a playoff. The win should put a little extra wind in his sails heading into this week's PGA Championship. Final Full Field Scores.

Woods Hits Rock Bottom, Mickelson Tries To Follow

Tiger Woods teed off this morning to a less than Woodsian gallery. Makes sense, since you could have gone to your local muni and watched any number of players shoot 77. Woods finished at +18 with Henrik Stenson, +20, to thank for keeping him off the bottom. When asked if he planned on practicing at Whistling Straits for the upcoming PGA, Woods quipped that he was flying there this afternoon and would have time to play 18 and still catch the leaders finish at Firestone. True. With the world #1 ranking in his sights Phil Mickelson took the gas pipe enroute to a final round 78. Had Woods and Mickelson played best ball for the Bridgestone final round they'd have shot 70, middle of the pack. Ernie Els' round four 76 beat them both. Ladbrokes has Woods and Mickelson as 8:1 co-favorites for the PGA. That says tons more about the betting public than the state of either player's games.

Til' next,

Goosen Leads, Woods Disappears, Westwood WDs at Bridgestone Invitational

Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood both had a chance to supplant Tiger Woods as the world #1 at this week's Bridgestone Invitational. Woods has more than done his part to give up the title. Westwood spit the bit with a WD due to a nagging torn calf muscle. The injury will keep him out of the PGA Championship and threaten his Ryder Cup placement. Woods' calf muscles seemed fine, but his 2nd round 72 was the nagger that will keep him out of a run for the championship and place his #1 status in serious peril. 6 over par and 13 behind the leader forces Woods to treat the final two rounds as a practice opportunity or a shot at some locker room skins money.

Retief Goosen is your 2nd round leader at -7. 51 putts through the first two rounds will do that for you. Contrast that to 58 putts for Woods and it just proves Average Golfer's continual admonition that putting wins tournaments. Mickelson and Justin Leonard share 2nd, one stroke back. Peter Hanson, Bo Van Pelt, and 1st round leader Bubba Watson share 3rd at -5. Fully 22 players are within 5 shots of the lead making this a wide open event heading into the weekend. Full Field 2nd Round Scores.

Keep an eye on Rory McIlroy, at 4 back, who more than held his own playing with Mickelson for the 1st two rounds. A lesser playing partner might ignite the young Irishman who has shown the ability to go low in big events. Miguel Angel Jimenez at 3 behind is a man to be watched as well. Should make for good weekend drama. Hit the narrow fairways and make putts and the keys to the kingdom are yours.







Til' next,

Tiger Woods vs. The Field at Bridgestone Invitational

Firestone Country Club hosts a fitting warm up to next week's PGA Championship, the WGC -Bridgestone Invitational, an 80 player limited field event. I'm no fan of shortened field tournaments, but at least this one's filled with top players as opposed to a certain major that's stuffed with WWII vets. Don't be swayed by the fact that Tiger Woods, who is coming off a win last week, has also won here six times. That's no good reason to pick him this week and confirms you as a lemming. After all, he has a 1 in 80 chance, right? Well, not quite. Ladbrokes has him established at odds of 2.25:1, ridiculous for a golf tournament. The second favorite is Phil Mickelson at 17:1 after a hiatus and he's followed by Jim Furyk at 26:1. Full field.

So let's throw Woods out of the mix and see who else might have a shot. Firestone is narrow and tree lined with ancient turtle back greens, so this Average Golfer is thinkin' straight off the tee and a great short game would be nice to have in the arsenal. Immediately coming to mind are Furyk, Goosen, Leonard, Mahan, Stricker, and Westwood. There's six good picks to throw up against Senor Woods. The boys to avoid are Els, Garcia, Ogilvy, and Singh. Els and Garcia's heads are Elswhere. Ogilvy's in an uncharacteristic funk and Vijay hasn't quite rounded into form after the knee surgery, although he's making good progress with two recent top tens.

Of course many of the chosen 80 are capable of winning this thing, just unlikely. My sentimental pick is Davis Love III. He plays well here and I'd like to see him enjoy a little more twilight glory. It should be a top notch event. Set your Tivo if you'll be out on the course yourself, or pull up the easy chair and watch them do what they do best.



Til' next,