TOP Tipster Lewis Pacelli is back to preview the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and bring you his latest golf tips.
Get ready for the tournament at Firestone Country Club, Ohio and see his selections below.
ANOTHER week of being so close yet so far with our tips Charley Hoffman losing out in a playoff and Tony Finau charging too late at the Canadian Open.
Two solid returns for anyone that got involved though and theoretically it’s one step better than Matt Kuchar’s solo second at The Open?
Therefore, only one more step to take…
Hopefully that’ll come at the best precursor to any major of the year: The WGC Bridgestone Invitational.
Every single player inside the top 50 in the world rankings will be teeing it up, making it a formidable event and one that has historically produced some fantastic golf and beautiful blend of superstar and unexpected winners.
A recipe that gets us tipsters salivating.
⛳ WGC Bridgestone Invitational ⛳
By Lewis Pacelli
- Henrik Stenson (25/1 – add to your betslip): ‘Have faith in the Iceman to bring it home’.
- Paul Casey (33/1 – add to your betslip): ‘The Englishman will have a big say in proceedings’.
- Marc Leishman (40/1 – add to your betslip): ‘Leishman is a perennual lover of getting us a place.’
- Zach Johnson (50/1 – add to your betslip): ‘He’s great value considering his recent form and history at Firestone’.
- Russell Henley (80/1 – add to your betslip): ‘Henley has the sort of game to perfectly match this track’.
Firestone Country Club has held PGA Tour and Major Championships since 1960, making it one of the more prestigious tracks on the circuit.
We’ve seen the likes of Jack Nicklaus pick up the PGA Championship title; whilst a certain Tiger Woods pretty much took up residence here, winning no less than 8 titles since the WGC made Firestone it’s home in 1999 (barring a trip away in 2002).
The 7,400 yard par 70 is regularly in the top third for course difficulty and features those iconic tight, tree-lined fairways, heavy and frankly quite harrowing second/third cut rough and a few brutal par 4’s.
Oh and that classic 670-yard par 5. Even the big hitters struggle getting there for two.
READ MORE
Keeping the ball in play will be vital, but having the ability to hit it at least semi-long will create a significant advantage.
Mainly because being in tune with your irons is so crucial and to do that you generally need be in a good spot to attack.
If you look at the last 8 winners there are some serious pointers to what is needed.
All 8 averaged over 300 yards off the tee, whilst barring Shane Lowry in 2015, everyone averaged over 60% fairways in regulation.
More interestingly all 8 winners finished in the top 12 for GIR. Basically tee to green you need to be on point.
A stat to look at in depth would definitely be ‘Total Driving’ as Hunter Mahan in 2010, Adam Scott in 2011, Keegan Bradley in 2012, Rory McIlroy in 2014 and Dustin Johnson last year all dominated that category before their wins.
It’s worth noting also that every winner since 2000 has had either a win or at least one top 6 finish on Tour during the season before coming to Firestone.
This one is gonna be fun.
WGC Bridgestone Invitational Tips
Henrik Stenson (25/1 - add to your betslip)
Because of the condensed field and ridiculous amount of top players, the higher end of the market is without doubt offering little value - 6 players in the teens and below is rarely seen.
Obviously DJ is one who worries after playing himself back into form over the weekend at The Open and last week in Canada, whilst Rickie Fowler and Rory love this track.
But for us, Henrik Stenson has value at 25s and is getting the nod (just) over Justin Rose. He has all the hallmarks to fit this course and has proven that with some top performances over the years.
His last 3 outings read T6, T19 and T2, which coincides with his return to the heady heights of the game.
If you look closer at those performances, he should’ve probably done more. In 2014 when he finished T19 he shot two poor 71s either side of a 66 and 68, whilst in 2015 a final day 70 gave him no chance of challenging. However you must look at it like he can shoot low here, he just has to put it all together.
His T11 at The Open last time out showed he is in good knick, tee to green and his stats across the season prove that. (Bare in mind he plays both Europe and PGA, so doesn’t have quite enough rounds to go onto the PGA stat pages).
He would comfortably sit atop the driving accuracy list with 74%, whilst he can obviously hit the ball a long way and he’d easily be inside the top 10 for strokes gained putting. We all know what he can do with his irons as well and barring the Masters he has been his usual consistent self.
Have some faith in the Iceman bringing it home.
Paul Casey (33/1 - add to your betslip)
Paul Casey has undeniably been on fire tee to green in recent weeks and just one of those opportunities that we felt couldn’t go unmissed.
He is T8 for Total Driving across the season and was hitting the ball beautifully at Birkdale, where he finished T11 and the Travelers (T5) before that – where he was 1st for driving accuracy across the week.
Plus the fact he is 4th for GIR in 2017, you have to think the Englishman is going to have a big say in the proceedings. He’s had a couple of top 10’s on this course before, back when he was really in his pomp as a top, top player and let’s be honest, he has found that again in recent years, coinciding with better finishes in 2016 and 2015 – T16 and T17 respectively.
One to watch.
Marc Leishman (40/1 - add to your betslip)
The burly Australian has been one of our favourites over the years, often a fancied outsider in majors and a perennial lover of getting us a place.
With his very consistent form in recent months, coupled with a stunning T3 at Firestone in 2013, we can’t help but get on board again.
He looked in superb shape at Birkdale where he finished in a tie for 6th.
If he hadn’t been one of the few to get really stuck in the poor conditions on Friday, he would have been far closer to Spieth than you may think.
He shot the combined lowest score across the weekend (yes even lower than Branden Grace) to shoot up the leaderboard and prove that he is dialled in tee to green and with the short stick.
UnLeish the beast.
Zach Johnson (50/1 - add to your betslip) and Russell Henley (80/1 - add to your betslip)
We were pulling our hair out over which of these two fine Americans would take the final pick, but ended up deciding it was pointless as they both have strong cases this week.
Firstly Zach, who obviously has the pedigree as a double major winner and represents great value at 50s considering his recent form and history at Firestone. We know that he goes against the longer hitting outlook of this track but that’s what he’s contended with his whole career. Augusta, anyone?
So, the fact he has 7 top 20’s in his last 12 outings (including 4 top 10’s) here is impressive. Plus he shot two fine 66’s at The Open where his classic driving and putting looked in fine shape. His T5 at the John Deere before is even more note-worthy because he hit a stupid 86% of GIR across the week. We know he loves that track but still a bonkers stat.
Russell Henley meanwhile has the sort of game to perfectly match this track. T17 may be his best finish here, but we are talking about a different animal these days. He has struggled for consistency but when he starts getting things going, you’ll notice a patch of top finishes strung together. At Birkdale he finished with a fine 67 whilst the tournament before he recorded an exciting T5 at the Greenbrier. Stats wise he fits the bill as well – 10th for Total Driving, 20th for GIR and 9th for strokes gained putting.
Simply put, both these guys are too intriguing to miss out.
You can follow Down the 18th on Twitter here
Leave a comment