Who to watch: Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone CC

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Jul. 30, 2008

Twenty-five of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings are in the field, and you can make a case for almost everyone of them as a key player to watch this week.

	PLAYERS: Perry, Kim, Harrington, Cink, Leonard \| POSITION: 2nd, 5th, 9th, 4th, 6th These guys are not only all top 10 currently, they are the five hottest golfers over the last eight weeks, each averaging over 1,200 points per start in that time. MORE: Perry profile \| Kim profile \| Harrington profile \| Cink profile \| Leonard profile
	PLAYERS: Singh, Allenby, Furyk \| POSITION: 10th, 11th, 13th These three are all right in the mix, despite not having won yet this year. Singh has won at least once in each of the last six years and 10 of the last 11, and Furyk has won in each of the last three years and nine of the last 10. Allenby hasnt won since 2001 but is having one of his best years ever, with a second, a third and five other top 10s to his credit this year. MORE: Singh profile \| Allenby profile \| Furyk profile
	PLAYERS: Under 30s \| POSITION: Ready to pounce There are 10 players under 30 who have won this year including Chez Reavie (29th), the PGA TOUR rookie who got his first victory last week at the RBC Canadian Open and all 10 are in the field. Six of the 10 have multiple career PGA TOUR victories, led by PLAYERS Champion Sergio Garcia (18th) with seven and Adam Scott (21st) with six. MORE: Reavie profile \| Garcia profile \| Scott profile
	PLAYERS: 2008 champions \| POSITION: 1st (Woods)-127th (Wagner) Speaking of winners, all of the winners of full-points events on TOUR this year are in the field, with the exception of Tiger Woods (first) and Ryuji Imada (seventh), both of whom are injured. That means there is a pretty good chance the winner of the Bridgestone Invitational will already have an invitation to the winners-only 2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship, because over 25% of the field (21 of 81) has won at least once already. As noted, nearly half of those 21 winners are under 30. MORE: 2008 winners' roll call \| Complete FedExCup standings \| aiming for top 30
	PLAYER: Geoff Ogilvy \| POSITION: 8th Ogilvy might be feeling old, having turned 31 last month, but he has a chance to become the only player other than Tiger Woods to have won all three of the World Golf Championships events. MORE: 2008 stats \| 2008 results \| Profile
	PLAYER: Phil Mickelson \| POSITION: 2nd The only player in the top 10 not already mentioned? Phil Mickelson, who shouldnt ever be counted out in a big event, despite his so-so record in the World Golf Championships. Bridgestone in particular has been a nemesis of his, with his best finish in the past four years a tie for 43rd in 2004. MORE: 2008 stats \| 2008 results \| Profile
	PLAYER: Sabbatini, Lonard, DiMarco \| POSITION: 52nd, 71st, 163rd Outside the top 30 in FedExCup standings, there are also some interesting names to consider. Rory Sabbatini (52nd), Peter Lonard (71st), Chris DiMarco (163rd) are not having the seasons theyd like, but each finished in the top 5 here last year, and a win would propel Sabbatini or Lonard to the top 15, and put DiMarco in the hunt to make a run at THE TOUR Championship. MORE: Sabbatini profile \| Lonard profile \| DiMarco profile