WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 2013: Tiger Woods wins 8th title at Firestone

The No. 1 player in the world won his fifth event of the 2013 season, the 79th of his career, and he did it in such a fashion that the outcome was decided before the weekend with 36 holes still to play. If any other player in the world won a WGC event, where 48 of the top 50 were in attendance, by seven shots to add his fifth win of the season, golf fans and the golf press would fawn over the incredible year. We’d tab that golfer as the next big thing in American golf and the indisputable top player in the world.

But this is Tiger Woods, who owned Firestone for an eighth career victory to simply raise the line on so many stats and career marks that were already unmatchable. For Tiger, there can be no simple appreciation of a dominating win from golf fans and golf press -- you’re either breathlessly losing your mind at the best thing ever, or bypassing the present achievement to ask the next question: Can he (or why hasn’t he) do it on the weekend at a major? And that’s just the spot you’re in as the greatest, most popular and most overanalyzed golfer of a generation (and likely of any generation).

Tiger Woods did something on Sunday evening at Firestone he had never done before. Nah, not win -- he’s done that 78 previous times on the PGA Tour.

Tiger, after nailing down his seven-shot victory over Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson, lifted his son Charlie into his arms and carried him into the scorer’s tent, in full view of the gallery and CBS cameras (video via PGATour.com)

The WGC events, of which there are three during the PGA Tour regular season, carry larger purses than even the four major championships. Sunday’s total purse was worth $8.75 million, with the majors paying out $8 million. This was Tiger’s 18th career WGC win and the second of this season, another $1.5 million WGC check coming earlier in March at the Cadillac Championship at Doral. In addition to the two WGC wins, Tiger also captured the biggest prize all season -- the Players Championship, which doles out $1.71 million to the winner. With three of those five victories coming at the most lucrative events, Tiger has a firm grip atop the money list and that likely won’t change unless someone gets incredibly hot during the FedExCup Playoffs.

There is some angst about the WGC events precluding the regular touring pros from getting a shot at some of these bigger purses. The argument is that it’s a cycle hard to break into as the invitees continue to boost their world rankings, earnings and FedExCup points at a no-cut limited field event -- enhancing their appeal and ability to keep qualifying for those same events. You’re earning a nice check just for showing up as opposed to grinding to get to the weekend. There is some merit to the argument, but it’s likely nothing is going to change given the draw and cash dedicated to these tourneys. Here are the full payout totals for the 73-man field:

After Tiger Woods’ course-record matching round of 61 on Friday, the rest of the field was playing for second place on the weekend at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Tiger went to sleep with a 36-hole lead of seven shots, and he cruised through the final two rounds to keep that margin.

The runaway win is made all the more impressive by the fact that 48 of the top 50 players in the world were in attendance at Firestone. The no-cut limited field WGC events always have some of the most loaded tee sheets, with world-class talent in almost every pairing. But Woods removed all doubt by Friday night, while big names like Keegan Bradley, Luke Donald, Jason Dufner and Henrik Stenson battled for second place and worked on their game for Oak Hill next week.

After Tiger Woods’s incredible round of 61 on Friday, the final round on Sunday, and really the entire weekend, was just a formality. As he so often does, Woods ran out to the 36- and 54-hole lead and gave no one the slightest hope of having the chance to knock him off the top of the leaderboard at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Tiger finished things off Sunday with an even-par round of 70 to blow the field away by seven shots. The stretch on Friday was some of the best golf ever played by Woods, who dominated the game like no other player in golf history. An outward 30 was backed up by four straight birdies to start the back nine, and the “59 watch” became a full-on “59 warning” as it looked like the No. 1 player in the world would become the sixth player ever to break 60. He stalled out a bit on the final five holes, but the round of 61 matched his career low, his own course record at Firestone, and ended the tournament by giving him an insurmountable seven-shot margin.

On the 13th hole during the final round of the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday, Henrik Stenson and Tiger Woods had their short game interrupted by an attention-starved squirrel.

And because we know you love GIFs, why not have a GIF of the marvelous moment.

He’s the richest man in the history of golf, and Tiger Woods will add another huge winner’s check to his coffers on Sunday afternoon. Woods is cruising to his eighth career WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title, and 18th career WGC title. The purses for the three WGC regular season events on the PGA Tour are actually larger than the four payouts at the majors. A total of $8,750,000 will be paid out on Sunday, whereas only $8 million is awarded at the game’s most important four events.

The winner, who will be Tiger, will take home $1.5 million of the $8.75 million purse. The man already has $120,109,956 in career earnings, and he always seems to win where the most money is available. This season alone, he’s won four million-plus purses, including the two biggest on Tour. He won the largest prize of the season at The Players Championship, cashing a $1.71 million check. And Sunday’s victory at Firestone South will be his second WGC title in 2013, with Woods banking $1.5 million earlier this season at Doral for the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

Tiger Woods is now out on the course at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, playing the final 18 holes as a celebratory march on way to his fifth win of the 2013 PGA Tour season. The no-cut limited field tournament with 73 of the best players in the world was over by Friday night, when Woods went crazy and shot 61 to blow away the hopes of any other contenders in Akron. He avoided the implosions, as he always does, on Saturday and carded another under-par round in the 60s to go to sleep with a seven-shot lead.

Unlike the past two days at Firestone South, Tiger was unable to pick up a birdie right out of the gate on the first three holes. His approach shot at the first, which was a pretty pure iron, clipped an overhanging tree and fell short of the green. He was on an incline, however, and got up-and-down for a relatively easy par.

The final round of the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational begins bright and early Sunday, but a full day of golf will not change who’s sitting at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the tournament. Tiger Woods will win his eighth WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, starting his final round with a seven-shot lead over Henrik Stenson.

It’s been another impressive week for Woods at a place where he’s dominated throughout his career. Having already picked up wins at Torrey Pines, Doral and Bay Hill this year, it’s only natural that Woods adds his 79th PGA Tour win at Firestone. It was a much needed showing for Woods, who had been underwhelming in his last two tournaments -- the U.S. Open and British Open, where he flamed out on Sunday. The incredible run in the second round, where it looked like he would easily break 60, gave him an insurmountable lead and ensured he would roll into Oak Hill and the season’s final major off a victory.

With Tiger Woods leading the field by seven strokes heading into the final round, the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational has a bit of an early 2000s feel to it. Woods has dominated the event before and is once again lapping the field. He’ll begin the day at 15-under, and viewers will have a few options to follow the final round action, including online live streams.

Final round television coverage will begin on Golf Channel at noon (ET). Viewers will be able to watch the early action online as well, via Golf Channel’s Live Extra simulcast. Golf Channel’s coverage will continue until 1:30 p.m. before CBS takes over for the final few hours.

With Tiger Woods leading the field by seven strokes, the drama heading into Sunday’s final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational isn’t who will win, but who will finish second.

At 15-under, Woods has a comfortable lead over the rest of the field and barring something unforeseen, he will cruise to his fifth victory of the season and his 18th career win in a WGC event. Woods will take his quasi victory lap around Firestone accompanied by Henrik Stenson who enters the day in second at 8-under. Those two will play in the final group and are scheduled to tee off at 2:05 p.m. ET.

A day after shooting a 61 and teasing a sub-60 round, Tiger Woods’ third-round 68 seemed downright pedestrian in comparison. Still, it was good enough to keep him well in front of the pack and Woods leads by seven strokes after 54-holes.

He got off to another strong start with birdies on his first two holes. From there, Woods was in cruise control most of the round. He racked up pars over the final 16 holes with a few bogeys and birdies mixed in. After the way he scorched Firestone on Friday, Woods’ bogey-par-bogey stretch on the 14th, 15th and 16th almost felt like a slump. Not to worry though, Woods birdied No. 17 and parred No. 18 to finish his round at 15-under.

Just when it looked like Tiger Woods might drop a shot and shave the margin to six, the world’s top-ranked player went ahead and flipped the expectation of a bogey into a birdie by sinking an incredible chip shot from the greenside rough at No. 13.

The shot was set up by the CBS crew of Gary McCord and David Feherty stating that it looked like a hole where Woods might pick up his second bogey of the day with a four being extremely difficult, and it ended with the ball in the jar and Woods lapping the field to get to 16-under. Video of the shot via PGATour:

Tiger Woods will win his 79th career PGA Tour event this weekend, cruising to his eighth career title at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Tiger has blown the field away before at Firestone South, but this could be a record-setting weekend in Akron. The Friday round of 61, which initially looked like a march to 59, wiped away the hopes of any other contenders and he picked right back up on Saturday with birdies on his first two holes.

Tiger is now at 15-under for the championship, a good eight shots clear of the second place set which includes Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, and Jason Dufner. The No. 1 player in the world has yet to make a bogey on Saturday and the only hopes anyone else in the field would have is if he started throwing shots away and coming back. No one is going to jump up and catch him at this point, so hoping for some sort of implosion over his final 27 holes is the only option.

Tiger Woods birdied his first two holes in the third round of the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Saturday. The solid start moved him to 15-under, seven strokes ahead of second-place Chris Wood.

Woods sunk a 15-foot put to start his day on the first hole and nearly eagled the second, sending a 40-foot put just to the right of the cup before putting for birdie. The open at Firestone provides chances for red numbers right off the bat, and Tiger has pounced the past two days. The second hole is just one of two par-5s on the South Course, and anything less than a birdie there would disappoint the No. 1 player in the world.

The third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is expected to get underway at approximately 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, and live television coverage begins shortly after that. The Golf Channel begins coverage of the round at noon and airs the tournament until 1:30 p.m. CBS covers the tournament from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m, expanding on their typical three-hour block because of the loaded field at a WGC event.

The start of the third round had to be pushed back several hours because of the poor weather that is expected to move through the Firestone Country Club area in the early morning. On the plus side, this means that every player in the field will be on the course during the broadcast window. Had they started as originally planned, some players likely would have completed their rounds before the start of live coverage. With a limited 73-man field, and 48 of the top 50 in the world here, almost every pairing has a name player in it.

The “59 watch” at Firestone Country Club has turned into a “59 warning” as Tiger Woods needs two birdies on his last two holes to break 60. In a career full of record-breaking performances, Woods has never shot a round of 60. It appears that number is well within range, though, with the bigger prize joining the elite company of five golfers who have shot the golden number of 59.

The list of past players to break 60:

Tigers Woods has taken the lead at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, bursting out of the gates to play 5-under through his first seven holes. He’s now at 9-under for the tournament, three shots clear of first-round leader Webb Simpson.

The world’s top player started with a birdie on No. 1, eagle on No. 2 and birdie on No. 3 to jump to 8-under. Woods’ start at Firestone presents some good scoring opportunities considering the seven-time champion’s played it perfectly tee-to-green. The second hole is just one of two par-5s on the South Course and Woods disappointingly three-putted there on Friday for par. It’s almost a must-make birdie for Tiger, but he rolled in an eagle on Friday to make up for his first-round par.

After a slow start to both Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy’s second day at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, both have turned things around on Friday.

After three consecutive pars to start the morning, Mickelson got himself in trouble with a bogey on No. 13. He then bounced back with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, pulling himself back up to 1-under for the day. Coming off perhaps the best performance of his career at the British Open, Lefty struggled through Thursday’s opening round at Firestone, admitting that he lacked focus during his 2-over 72 performance.

Tiger Woods, who starred in commercials for the Covert VR_S driver before he actually used one, is a convert to Nike’s signature red club.

Woods added the club to his repertoire at Muirfield, according to Golf.com, and it appears that it’s there to stay.

A day after shooting a 6-under par 64 in the first round, Webb Simpson will open the second round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with the lead. Simpson will play Friday’s round with Lee Westwood, who shot 1-over in the first round and is tied for 31st. The two will tee off at 1:40 p.m. ET.

Simpson, who hasn’t won since claiming victory at the 2012 U.S. Open, holds a one-shot lead over Henrik Stenson going into the second round. Stenson will also begin his Friday round in the afternoon, teeing off from No. 10 at 1 p.m. with Ken Duke, who carded an even 70 to end Day 1 tied for 19th.

Webb Simpson, who has not won since his breakthrough victory at last year’s U.S. Open, holds a one-shot lead after the opening round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Simpson had it all working on Thursday morning on a soft Firestone South Course. It’s the first time Simpson has ever played in this event, but he was sticking his approach shots and rolling that anchored putter. It looked like he would finish the morning session with a multi-shot lead, but a bogey at his last hole dropped him to 6-under for the day.

Henrik Stenson, the runner-up at last month’s British Open, is just one back of Simpson. It was clear that the morning tee times had the advantage, as Firestone’s greens were damp and receptive and several players were promptly in red figures. Stenson was 3-under after just two holes. It’s been a long road back for Stenson, who completely fell off the grid after rising inside the top five in the world rankings following his 2009 Players Championship. This has been his best season since then, and he’s now a good bet to be there on Sunday at all the Tour’s biggest events, including next week at Oak Hill.

The best golfers in the world are in Akron, Ohio this week for the PGA Tour’s annual stop at Firestone Country Club. The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational has become one of the premier late-season events, and very few big names are absent this year. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson headline the group, but the no-cut limited field event features at least one name player in almost every pairing. In total, there are just 73 players in the field at Firestone’s South Course.

The tournament will be the perfect tune-up for next week’s PGA Championship. The South Course is one of the longest venues on Tour, and Oak Hill will present many of the same challenges next week in Rochester. Both tracks are classic American parklands courses, with trees and thick rough lining the fairways. Oak Hill has much more history and will be, of course, set up much tougher than Firestone but it’s still a comparable style and test for these players.

The final WGC event of the PGA Tour’s regular season tees off Thursday morning in Akron, Ohio. The South Course at Firestone Country Club has long been a staple on the Tour, evolving from the NEC World Series of Golf into the modern day WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Like the other WGC events, it’s a no-cut limited field tournament with players from all over the world always opting to play in Northeast Ohio the week before the season’s final major.

Most of the top 50 players in the world, last year’s Ryder Cuppers, and tournament winners this season will all be in attendance, including world No. 1 and 2 -- Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. As you’d expect, the Tour split the game’s two most popular players up, with Tiger heading out in the morning on Thursday and Phil in the afternoon. Woods is paired with Japanese phenom Hideki Matsuyama, who matched Tiger with a T6 at last month’s British Open. It would have been higher, except Matsuyama was penalized a stroke for slow play, knocking him out of a T5 finish and costing him both thousands of dollars and an automatic invite to next year’s Masters (he’ll likely qualify via another exemption, but still...costly, random pace-of-play enforcement!).