The World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational is happening this week at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio on the South Course.  With an $8 million purse, the winner takes $1.35 million.  The tournament happens this week (July 28 - August 3) and is a 72-hole stroke-play competition with no cut.  There are 26,250 FedExCup points to be had and 85 players that qualified for this event with 81 of them participating.  Those not playing in the tournament are Luke Donald, Jose Maria Olazabal, Mike Weir, and last year’s champion Tiger Woods.

Woods finished here 8-under par in 2007 and was the only player to break par for the tournament.  The South Course of the Firestone Country Club was considered one of the most difficult courses on the PGA Tour last year.

This event brings plenty of storylines to keep the fans interested.  For example, Geoff Ogilvy will attempt to win all three World Golf Championships events.  He’s got a legitimate shot at joining Tiger as the only other player to complete this feat.  Only one other player, Darren Clarke, has won more than one individual World Golf Championships title.  Geoff won at Doral earlier this year, recording his fourth PGA Tour victory with a one-stroke win over Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, and Vijay Singh.  His best finish at Bridgestone was T36 in 2006.

Kenny Perry will also be one to watch as he became the oldest player in the history of the PGA Tour to win three times in a season.  He’s currently #2 in FedExCup points and is 60-under par in his last four starts.  Nine of his 12 career wins have come along after his 40th birthday.

There are 18 players that are in Akron for the first time including Anthony Kim.  This is also Kim’s first ever World Golf Championships individual event and he is the youngest competitor at 23.  Chez Reavie and Brandt Snedeker are also playing here for the first time.  Fresh off his Canadian Open win, this is also Reavie’s first WGC individual event.

A few of the other competitors to watch are:

Jim Furyk:  He’s got more top-10 finished at Firestone Country Club that any other player in the field and ranks 4th in all-time earnings at the Bridgestone Invitational. 

Justin Leonard:  This 35-year-old has only missed one cut in his last 24 events.  He’s had nine top-10 finishes and is ranked #27 in the Official World Golf Ranking. 

Stewart Cink:  The current #4 in the FedExCup standings ranks 2nd on the tournament’s career money list at more than $2.3 million.  In addition, he’s got seven top-10 finishes in 2008. 

Martin Kaymer: This German finished in 2nd at the Dubai Desert Classic and won the BMW International Open.  He is currently ranked 10th on the European Tour Order of Merit.

Chris DiMarco:  With a T4 finish last year, DiMarco has recorded four top-10 finishes in six attempts at WGC-Bridgestone.  However, he has yet to set down a top-10 this season. 

Other notables include Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, and Ian Poulter.

The 2008 season is the 10th anniversary of the WGC. The Bridgestone Invitational is the last of three events in the series this year.  In the ten years some memorable moments have taken place: 

2000:  Tiger Woods hits his 8-iron in the dark to close out the victory. 

2003:   Local favorite Ben Curtis gets a police escort to his wedding after playing in the 3rd round.  He returned on Sunday morning to play and shot a 70.

2006:  Tiger Woods shoots his second shot over the top of the clubhouse. 

Players in the field that have a WGC victory on their resumes are Geoff Ogilvy, Henrik Stenson, Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Darren Clarke, Craig Parry, and Steve Stricker.