PGA Betting – WGC-Bridgestone Preview & Pick
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LOOKING TO BET ON THIS WEEK’S 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational? CHECK OUT BODOG SPORTSBOOKS PGA Betting Odds Today!!!!!
LAST WEEK: OK, so I straight-up bombed on the DJ Trahan pick at the Greenbrier. It happens. Most of my recent picks had been close, so Capperspicks deserves a mulligan here, doesn’t it? Redemption time.
Date: Aug. 04 – 07
Event: World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational
Course: Firestone CC (South Course), Akron, Ohio
Purse: $8,500,000
Defending Champ: Hunter Mahan
Winning Share: $1,400,000
FedEX Cup Points Up For Grabs: 550
The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational isn’t a major but, like most WGC events, it almost feels like one because of its phenomenal field. The group includes Mr. Eldrick “Tiger” Woods, who will compete for the first time since May. 
He picked the right place to return; he’s won seven times at this week’s venue, the South Course at Firestone Country Club.
Given Tiger’s success at this tourney, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that the South Course is the longest par-70 on Tour and has the longest hole on Tour at 667 yards.
Big hitters do well here.
THE CONTENDERS
Rory McIlroy
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +1200
Rory isn’t hot entering this week’s tourney but that shouldn’t deter you from considering him. He’s been hitting greens all year, we know he has the length necessary to succeed at Firestone and he placed ninth here last year.
Lee Westwood
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +1500
Westwood is another guy beautifully suited to the course this week. He hits the ball a long way and he keeps it in the fairway. What more could you want? Westwood’s last two starts at this tourney yielded top-10s.
Luke Donald
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +1500
The world’s No. 1 has cooled off considerably of late, going T-45, MC, T-17 after a run of eight straight top-10s on the PGA Tour. I’m not sure if this is the week for him to bounce back. His only week areas this season are driving distance (160th) and GIR (78th), arguably the two most important stats at Firestone.
Tiger Woods
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +1500
What do we do with Tiger? The scouting report makes his +1500 odds justified, as we know he can bomb it and he has owned this tournament like no other golfer. However, I can’t shake the feeling that this week’s comeback is forced and that Tiger isn’t physically or mentally ready to return yet. I don’t have high hopes.
Steve Stricker
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +1500
Though he has two wins in his last four outings and two straight top-10s at Firestone, Stricker’s makeup is very Donald-like. Amazing putter and touch around the greens but the lack of length will limit him.
SOLID PICKS
Dustin Johnson
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +2000
Dustin Johnson is just the kind of player who should flourish at Firestone. He’s fresh off a second-place finish at the British Open and he has two top-25s at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He’s too good to go an entire season without a victory.
Phil Mickelson
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +2000
You never know when Lefty will step up his game against elite competition; he hits the ball a long way. But Mickelson can’t hit the broad side of a barn off the tee, ranking 180th in Tour in driving accuracy. He also missed the cut at the easy Greenbrier last week.
Nick Watney
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +2500
Watney has one of the better all-around games in the field this week, as he can match the accuracy and putting ability of a guy like Stricker but is also long off the tee. He won a month ago but also missed the cut at the Canadian Open. It’s tough to tell which version of Watney will show up this week.
Bubba Watson
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +4000
Bubba is second on Tour in both driving distance and greens in regulation. If the talented southpaw is to bust out, Firestone seems like the right place for it to happen. Since winning the Zurich Classic in early May, though, he has six straight finishes of 30th or worse. Bubba is ice-cold.
THE SLEEPER
Bo Van Pelt
WGC-Bridgestone odds: +5000
Though he’s a “sleeper,” Bo Van Pelt looks like a better play than many of the big names this week. He finished third at this tournament last year; he’s seventh on Tour in total driving and ninth in greens; and he’s playing well right now, with six top-15 finishes in his last seven tries.
THE PICK
I like a few different guys for the WGC-Bridgestone, like Watney, Johnson and Van Pelt. But my gut tells me it’s Westwood’s week. Save for his pressure-packed missed cut at the British Open, he has eight straight worldwide top-15s. His game fits the course. He’s overdue.
2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational pick: Lee Westwood +1500
2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – Odds to Win – Updated Betting Odds
Rory McIlroy 12/1
Luke Donald 16/1
Lee Westwood 16/1
Steve Stricker 16/1
Phil Mickelson 20/1
Tiger Woods 15/1
Dustin Johnson 20/1
Nick Watney 22/1
Martin Kaymer 25/1
Matt Kuchar 25/1
Charl Schwartzel 30/1
Rickie Fowler 28/1
Hunter Mahan 30/1
Jason Day 35/1
Sergio Garcia 40/1
Bill Haas 40/1
Zach Johnson 50/1
K.J. Choi 50/1
Bubba Watson 40/1
Retief Goosen 50/1
Adam Scott 40/1
Bo Van Pelt 50/1
Gary Woodland 50/1
Ryan Moore 50/1
Justin Rose 66/1
Peter Hanson 66/1
Fredrik Jacobson 66/1
Sean O’Hair 66/1
Paul Casey 80/1
Stewart Cink 66/1
Jim Furyk 80/1
Graeme McDowell 66/1
Jeff Overton 66/1
Y-E Yang 66/1
Robert Allenby 80/1
Ernie Els 80/1
Lucas Glover 80/1
Padraig Harrington 80/1
Robert Karlsson 80/1
Martin Laird 80/1
Alexander Noren 80/1
Geoff Ogilvy 80/1
Ian Poulter 66/1
Brandt Snedeker 80/1
David Toms 80/1
Darren Clarke 80/1
Ross Fisher
Louis Oosthuizen 80/1
Rory Sabbatini 100/1
Aaron Baddeley 100/1
Thomas Bjorn 150/1
Charley Hoffman 150/1
Matteo Manassero 80/1
Simon Dyson 80/1
Francesco Molinari 100/1
Alvaro Quiros 100/1
Mark Wilson 100/1
Richard Green 100/1
Anders Hansen 125/1
Kyung-Tae Kim 150/1
Keegan Bradley 125/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez 125/1
Jonathan Byrd 125/1
Ryo Ishikawa 150/1
Edoardo Molinari 150/1
D-A Points 150/1
Heath Slocum 150/1
Jhonattan Vegas 150/1
Stuart Appleby 150/1
Scott Stallings 175/1
Brendan Steele 175/1
Arjun Atwal 200/1
Harrison Frazar 200/1
Yuta Ikeda 200/1
Pablo Larrazabal 200/1
Thomas Levet
Hennie Otto 250/1
Jae-Bum Park 300/1
