Tiger Woods: WGC-Bridgestone will show if his return is truly complete

Tiger Woods has surpassed all logical expectations in his return to the PGA TOUR in 2018. This week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, though, will be one of the biggest benchmarks of what he’s done, and what he can still do.

When Tiger Woods tees it up at Firestone CC in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, he knows that he is up against one of his three best measuring sticks as far as the latest comeback from surgery. To say he should have an advantage at the course is an understatement. The challenge for him is that he is testing himself against his own record. He has already won eight times at the historic course.

Woods first bested history Firestone in 1999, when it was still the NEC Invitational, before it morphed into a World Golf Championship event.

The field included the players from the 1998 Presidents Cup team and the 1997 Ryder Cup team. He took on a young Sergio Garcia, a pre-major-winning Phil Mickelson, a pre-British Open champ David Duval, a pre-major-winning Jim Furyk in a battle that saw him win by one over Mickelson. Woods won with a two-putt on the 18^th.

During the tournament, Woods shot a second round 62, to challenge, but not match, the course record of Jose Maria Olazabal of 61. It was Woods 12^th victory.

He repeated as champ in 2000, one of his best seasons ever, according many Woods watchers. The top 12 in the European Order of Merit were added to the field. Golf.com lists that win as one of Woods’ top victories. But it is often remembered as the final shot that nobody saw because play was completed in near darkness. Fans held up lighters to add some illumination to the scene. Woods defeated Hal Sutton that year.

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In one of what are few three-peats in golf, Woods won the 2001 NEC Invitational, defeating Jim Furyk in a seven-hole playoff. During one of the playoff holes, Furyk was bunkered at the 18^th and holed out, but still didn’t stop Woods.

Amazingly enough Woods did not win again at Firestone until 2005, when he defeated Chris DiMarco. By that time the tournament was a World Golf Championship with a 74-player field. That WGC-NEC Invitational was Woods’ ninth WGC victory and 45^th in all on the PGA Tour.

Woods went on to win the next two WGC NEC Bridgestone events for a double three-peat. Talk about a stranglehold on a course. The 2006 victory was against Stewart Cink in a playoff. In 2007, he won by eight shots over Justin Rose and Rory Sabbitini.

Then knee surgery sidelined Woods in 2008 after his U.S. Open victory. However, he bounced back in 2009 at the WGC-NEC Firestone with his seventh title at the course, defeating Robert Allenby and Padraig Harrington.

His last title at Firestone was in 2013, before the most recent back surgery, and he bested Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson by seven shots. Talk about domination.

There are two other courses where Woods has won this often: Torrey Pines and Bay Hill. They are barometers for how Woods plays when he is playing well. They were good measuring sticks to tell us all how he has progressed in his recent comeback.

Next. WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Power Rankings. dark

At Torrey Pines, he made the cut, but missed many fairways. But the time he got to Bay Hill and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he was in contention. Now, this week, at Firestone, where he won his last PGA Tour victory in 2013, a year when he won five times, he has yet another chance to test himself against himself. Is the third time a charm? Will this week be the one when he wins?

All of the top 50 in the world golf rankings have committed to the event, which means Tiger Woods will have to beat the absolute best of the best out there today. If he can accomplish that feat, it may be the biggest of all his triumphs at Firestone throughout the years.

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