This week is the final tuneup for golfers before the year’s final major at the PGA Championship next week. Some guys will be playing in the Barracuda Championship, but the world’s best players will be at Firestone Country Club for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
It’s always enjoyable when the top golfers are in the same place fighting it for a World Golf Championship and they’ll do it again in a week at Whistling Straits. As we know, golf is an unpredictable sport and anything can happen, so let’s take a look at some BOLD predictions for this week at Firestone.
Justin Rose Will Win the WGC-Bridgstone Invitational
Aug 2, 2015; Gainesville, VA, USA; Justin Rose waives to the crowd after a shot on the 14th hole in the final round of the Quicken Loans National golf tournament at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Rosey has been playing some of the most underrated golf of anyone on TOUR. He consistently continues to crack top 10s and go low in majors, but doesn’t seem to be getting any attention for it. So I’m here bring this to your attention.
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Coming in at 12th in the FedEx Cup standings and 8th in the world, Justin Rose has been great in every major this season. Starting at the Masters, he tied for 2nd and followed that up with a win in his following tournament at the Zurich Classic.
His worst showing at a major was the U.S. Open and it really wasn’t that bad, coming in tied for 27th. Then his most recent outing at The Open Championship resulted in a tie for 6th and a tie for 4th this past week at the Quicken Loans National.
Rose is peaking at the right time for the fourth major of the season and has one more go this week. Expect him to be right up their in contention this week and looking even better at Whistling Straits in a week. Rose’s confident golf is bound to lead to a win sooner or later.
Two Johnson’s will Crack the Top 10
Jun 7, 2015; Dublin, OH, USA; Dustin Johnson looks on prior to teeing off the third hole during the final round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
That’s right. Johnson & Johnson will both place inside of the top 10 this week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Both Zach Johnson and Dustin Johnson are playing some great golf as of late and how can you go against the Champion Golfer of the Year?
Dustin Johnson already has a World Golf Championship victory under his belt this season, coming at the WGC- Cadillac Championship back in March. He know what kind of competition he is going up against and has proven he can compete with the best.
He’s also done fairly well at the major championship this season, against the best golfers in the world, such as he will see this week at Firestone. With the exception of The Open Championship, where he stumbled in the final round to finish tied for 49th, DJ has a T-6 at the Masters and his infamous runner up at the U.S. Open.
As for Zach Johnson, he’s probably still drunk from his Open Championship victory, but he’s still coming off a win at a major championship. Hungover or not, ZJ is riding into Firestone well rested and with a head of confidence in what will be his 12th straight appearance at the event.
Including his win at St. Andrews, Zach has 10 top 20 finishes in his last 12 events. It’s hard to argue with that kind of consistency. If that doesn’t convince you, then consider this. Rory McIlroy followed up his Open Championship win with another win in his next tournament, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
A Sergio Garcia Collapse is Inevitable
Apr 9, 2015; Augusta, GA, USA; Sergio Garcia reacts after hitting his tee shot on the 4th tee during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
No matter what year it is, a Sergio Garcia collapse is bound to happen at some point throughout the PGA TOUR season. In 2013, it was at THE PLAYERS Championship when he had Tiger Woods hot on his heels. It happened last year at this exact tournament when Sergio choked in the final three holes to open the door for Rory McIlroy.
We’ve also already seen a Sergio collapse this year, most recently at The Open Championship. Garcia made a run on the front nine in the final round, but after a couple bogeys on the back nine, Garcia dropped himself out of contention.
Garcia is very capable of putting himself in contention at Firestone Country Club and he proved so in 2014 when he held the 36- and 54-hole lead. He’s also had two sixth-place finishes in his last two starts.
Expect to see him at the top of the leaderboard entering the final round on Sunday, but when it is all said and done, Sergio won’t be able to seal the deal.