Dominance: The best of Tiger Woods
By Bill Felber
7. 2013 WGC Bridgestone
Dominance: 2.96
Woods had seven WGC Bridgestone titles by the time of the 2013 event. Not bad considering that the rest of the golfing world had only accumulated seven, too.
The game’s best took dead aim at Woods’ dominance, beginning Thursday when Webb Simpson turned in a 64. That was one stroke better than Henrik Stenson, two ahead of Woods, defending champion Keegan Bradley and Chris Wood.
But Woods took all the suspense out of the contest Friday. Mastering Firestone, his perennial favorite playground, Woods shot a 61 to blow up the event. That 127 36-hole score shot him to a seven-stroke lead over Bradley and Wood.
The weekend play was entirely anti-climactic. Woods’ Saturday 68 was only the day’s seventh best round. But Wood turned in a 70, Bradley fell to 71 and only Henrik Stenson – with a 67 – stayed with seven of the lead.
With no pressure, Woods posted a Sunday 70 to hold off Stenson and Bradley by seven shots. His four-round total of 265 was 2.96 standard deviations better than the 283.26 field average. The outcome not only brought him the $1.5 million first prize but his eighth WGC Bridgestone championship in the event’s 15 seasons of existence.