Firestone has always suited the longer hitters so that's where Niall has looked for his picks this week
There is little we don't know about Firestone Country Club and this usually makes for a lively betting heat. Many punters and tipsters alike love it when we have years and years of course form to pour over and the bets become somewhat obvious. I differ from that thinking in that events like these narrow the goalposts for the punter as there is little edge he can gain over the trader. Just like grade one racing, you'll find more opportunities to gain edge on lower grade events. Some people say the Masters is the easiest / best event for a punter as only 20 odd golfers can compete in the 90 odd field. I find it a lot harder to find an edge though as those 20 golfers can not be stroked off anyone's list. Come to an Open or US open setup and I can narrow my search down to a handful, even though some may say the list of potential winners is three times as big as potential Masters winners So an event like this is much much harder in my opinion. The St Jude Classic is played on the same course every year but being a lower grade event not the same attention is paid by compilers and an edge is for the most part easy to come by. A top event like this however is much harder and unless I'm very bullish about one my stakes will be kept lower than usual.
Firestone has always suited the longer hitters and we'll pay most of our attention there. It has been dominated by these gung-ho golfers down the years with attack being the best form of defence around this layout. Shorter more accurate types have fared well also with Craig Parry notching a win, Furyk with numerous good finishes and the likes of Stricker, Leonard and Donald making the frame. Tiger, Rory, Lowry, Singh, DJ and co have all gotten over the line though and big hitters is certainly the way forward. It is worth noting though that there's barely a weakness in any departments of those players mentioned above. A solid approach game is also needed as targets are narrow.
After Spieth's monumental effort to lift the Claret Jug he is a worthy favourite for this WGC. I can only hope we get the same sort of prices again and again for this lad as I don't think everyone has cottoned on to just how special he is. Personally I think he will threaten Tiger's 14 Major Championships. He is a ruthless competitor and has done things on the golf course his peers can only dream of. He is the closest mentally we've seen to Tiger and his short game eclipses the great man himself. He has posted 3rd and 10th the last two years here so certainly can not be ruled out. The bombers however seem to be able to get over the line a lot easier in this event. Spieth is far from short off the tee, and is capable of doing anything as his short game is lightyears beyond the rest, but this course may be one to steer clear from punting him. He can do it though, no doubt, but with the mental strength it took to win the Open he may just a bit short of supplies this week.
This course usually crowns a top class player and in this sort of bracket on this course and these top events they don't come an awful lot bigger than Justin Rose. Most of his wins stateside have come on classical style golf courses and a win at Firestone would slot right into place on his CV. Muirfield, Aronimik, Congressional, Merion, and Doral are courses he has tasted success on and Firestone would fit right in. He has come close before with four top 5 finishes so clearly likes the challenge. It tests all aspects of the game, mostly from tee to green which he excels upon. The putter as ever holds the key between a top 5 finish and a trip to the winners enclosure. It is very easy to desert a guy you were on the verge of winning a fair sum of money on when he let Garcia open his door to the green jacket. That being said, that Masters runner up spot was his 4th of five top5 finishes this season. There is no doubt he is playing extremely well. The Open a few weeks ago has never been a hunting ground of his so finishing half way down the field is of little importance to me. Rose has all the attributes to play well here, our gamble relies on whether he can hole the necessary putts.
Spieth is the only one at the top with very little question marks surrounding his game, in fact none. The worry is that will he have enough in the tank over four days to scramble as he'll inevitably miss a heap of fairways. Nevertheless I am have been mighty tempted to re-invest some cash in him but something stops me. Instead I move onto the next man who has least question marks surrounding his game right now and that's Rickie Fowler. Only out of the top ten twice in his last six events, and has posted top tens here at Firestone for three years running. He will be brimming with confidence over the next two weeks with this years final major heading to the spot where he won his first PGA tour event. First things first and Firestone holds a top opportunity for Fowler to become one of the favourites for next weeks event. He has surely been a bit questionable in finishing off events his entire career, and this season has been no different. He has spurned the odd opportunity but as I've mentioned before having Butch chirping on your shoulder is a big advantage for plenty of golfers. Rickie's long game is in solid nick and short game is always pretty neat so apart from the red hot jolly Spieth, I think Fowler holds the remaining aces.
