Tournament preview: Bridgestone Invitational

An overview of this week's PGA TOUR event in Akron, Ohio:

THINGS TO WATCH ...

1. Geoff Ogilvy's attempt to win all three World Golf Championships events

Geoff Ogilvy, winner of World Golf Championships-CA Championship earlier this year and also the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2006, has a chance to join Tiger Woods as the only other player to win all three World Golf Championships events. The 30-year-old Australian, along with Woods and Darren Clarke, is one of three players who have won more than one individual World Golf Championships title.

Ogilvy recorded his fourth PGA TOUR victory this year at Doral Golf Resort & Spa with a one-stroke win over Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk. The victory snapped Woods' then four-tournament win streak. Woods finished three strokes back.

In addition to 28-year-old Sergio Garcia, Ogilvy became the only player currently 30 years of age or younger to have three victories in events in which Tiger Woods was in the field. Ogilvy's wins with Woods in the field have come at the 2008 CA Championship, 2006 U.S. Open and the 2006 Accenture Match Play Championship. Garcia's wins with Woods in the field came at the 2001 Buick Classic, 2002 Mercedes Benz Championship and the 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

Ogilvy will be making his fourth appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational. In three previous attempts, the Australian's best finish was T36 in 2006.

2. Kenny Perry's hot streak

Kenny Perry recently became the oldest player in the history of the PGA TOUR to win three times in one season. Perry's victories came at the Memorial tournament, the Buick Open and the John Deere Classic. With his victory at the John Deere Classic at the age of 47 years, 11 months and 3 days, he passed Julius Boros, who won three times in 1967, twice after turning 47. His final win that year came at age 47-3-8. Perry has moved from No. 92 in the Official World Golf Ranking to start the 2008 PGA TOUR season all the way to No. 16. He currently ranks No. 2 in FedExCup points.

Kenny Perry's last six starts: 1st -- Memorial, T24-Stanford St. Jude, T6-Travelers, 1-Buick Open, 1-John Deere Classic, T6-U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee

Other Perry notes -- He has 16 consecutive rounds of par-or-better, including 15 rounds in the 60s ... In his last four starts, he's 60-under par ... Nine of his 12 career wins have come since he turned 40

3. Firestone Country Club -- South Course

In 2007, Tiger Woods finished at 8-under-par and was the only player to break par for the tournament. Firestone Country Club finished the 2007 season as the fourth most difficult course on the PGA TOUR.

Of the 990 golf holes played in official PGA TOUR competition in 2007, two of the top-15 toughest holes for the world's best players were at Firestone Country Club. The par-4 494-yard 9th hole ranked as the 12th hardest hole on TOUR, playing at a 4.447 average during the 2007 event, and the par-4 4th hole ranked as the 15th most difficult with a 4.432 scoring average.

4. Players to win the week before a major championship

With the PGA Championship the week after the Bridgestone Invitational, the winner at Firestone Country Club could join an elite group of players to win the week before winning a major.

5. First-Timers

Only one Bridgestone Invitational rookie finished in the top-10 at the 2007 Bridgestone Invitational: Andres Romero (T6). Those playing in Akron for the first time in their career include:

7. Time for Jim Furyk to break through?

No one has had more success at the Bridgestone Invitational than Tiger Woods, but with the World No. 1 out for the season, the tag of "favorite" might fall to Jim Furyk, who has more top-10 finishes at Firestone Country Club than any other player in the field. Furyk has posted five top 10s in Akron: 1999 (T10); 2000 (T4); 2001 (2), 2004 (T6), 2006 (3). He finished T6 in 2002 when the event was played at Sahalee Country Club. Furyk ranks fourth in all-time earnings at the Bridgestone Invitational -- the highest-ranked player who has yet to collect the Gary Player Cup -- and his scoring average is 68.81, second only to Woods at 67.58.

NOTES ON OTHER PLAYERS

Justin Leonard, USA
Along with Kenny Perry, Anthony Kim and Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard has been one of the hottest golfers since the latter half of the 2007 season. The 35-year-old has only missed one cut in his last 24 events, dating back to last year's Deutsche Bank Championship. During that span, Leonard has 9 top-10 finishes, a runner-up finish at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and victories at the 2007 Valero Texas Open and the 2008 St. Jude Championship and has moved from No. 158 in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 27.

Stewart Cink, USA
Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke and Craig Parry are the only players other than Tiger Woods to win the Bridgestone Invitational and all three are in the field. Cink ranks second on the tournament's career money list with more than $2.3 million. All three of his top-10 finishes at the Bridgestone Invitational have come at Firestone Country Club (2000, 2004, 2006). Cink currently ranks No. 4 in the FedExCup standings and leads the PGA TOUR with seven top-10 finishes in 2008, including two runner-up finishes and a victory at the Travelers Championship.

Martin Kaymer, Germany
Became the first German to be named Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the European Tour after a superb debut season in 2007 during which he recorded five top-10 finishes. And on his first start of the 2008 campaign further underlined his talent with an impressive wire-to-wire maiden victory in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. Kaymer has since backed that victory up with a second-place finish to Tiger Woods at the Dubai Desert Classic and a victory at the BMW International Open. He currently ranks 10th on the European Tour Order of Merit

Stuart Appleby, Australia
Stuart Appleby is participating in his 29th career World Golf Championships event at the 2008 World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational, having competed in every World Golf Championships event since the inception of the series in 1999. This event was cancelled in 2001 due to the events of Sept. 11.

Steve Stricker, USA
Steve Stricker will be the only player with a chance to finish in the top 10 in all three World Golf Championships events (Tiger Woods was the only one to do so in 2007). Stricker finished T9 at the Accenture Match Play Championship and T6 at the CA Championship. Stricker, along with Cink, are two of six players in the field who have won a World Golf Championships event (see chart in Misc. notes below). Stricker won the 2001 Accenture Match Play Championship.

Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland
Darren Clarke, Geoff Ogilvy and Tiger Woods are the only players with multiple World Golf Championship victories. Clarke, who is no longer a member of the PGA TOUR following the 2007 season, will be playing in his first PGA TOUR event since the 2007 PGA Championship. He won the Bridgestone Invitational in 2003 and the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2000.

Chris DiMarco, USA
DiMarco will certainly be happy to return to the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. In six attempts at this event, DiMarco has recorded four top-10 finishes, including a runner-up finish in 2005 and a T4 finish last year. His T4 in 2007 at Firestone Country Club was his only top-10 finish of the 2007 season, his first since finishing runner-up at the 2006 British Open Championship and also his last top-10 finish. He has yet to finish in the top-10 this season.