Week 31 Power Rankings: World Golf Championships-Bridgestone

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Mike Vitti is a stats guru who analyzes all kinds of data from our ShotLink numbers.

LISTEN: Brian Wacker discusses this week's rankings on the PGA TOUR Network. Click to listen

Vitti will size up the field each week and provide his top 10 players going into the tournament, based on factors such as the player's strengths, the course setup, recent performances, etc.

Although the winning score the last two seasons has been about the same -- Tiger Woods won at 8 under in 2007 and Vijay Singh won at 10 under in 2008 -- the course has played very differently for the competitors in the past two years.

At the 2007 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Woods was the only player to post a final score below par and Firestone Country Club was the fourth toughest course on the PGA TOUR. It was a very different story in 2008, when Singh won on a course where conditions were a bit more conducive to scoring and 26 players posted final scores below 280 for the week.

It will be interesting to see how Firestone CC plays when the following 10 players and the rest of the field take on the course.

Power Rankings: World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational

Rank Player   Comment Tiger WOODS Woods rebounded from his missed cut at the British Open by earning his 69th win, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if No. 70 happened this week. He has six wins in nine starts at Firestone CC and has never placed higher than a T4. Lee WESTWOOD He has finished in the top 10 in his last three starts. He also tied for second last year at the Bridgestone Invitational and has finished in the top 25 six times in 10 career starts at Firestone Country Club. Retief GOOSEN Goosen, who has top-5 finishes in his last two starts, is ranked 10th in total putting, sixth in sand save percentage and 11th in scoring average this year. He also tied for fourth at Firestone CC last year. Phil MICKELSON Lefty returns to action at a venue where he tied for fourth in '08 and has four other top-10 finishes (though all of them occurred before 2003). He's earned top-10s in half of his '09 starts and is tied for 10th in putts per GIR. Robert ALLENBY He has finished in the top 25 in seven of his eight starts at Bridgestone, including three top-10s. He has not played well in his last three starts, but he still ranks in the top 25 in greens in regulation and is fifth in total driving. Stewart CINK Cink has not made a start since winning the British Open, but returns this week to a course where he's had success in the past -- he won at Firestone CC in 2004 and has finished in the top 10 on two other occasions. Jerry KELLY He has finished in the top 5 in his last two starts and has five top-10s on the season. Kelly, who has three career top-10s at World Golf Championships events, is currently ranked 19th in putts per GIR and 16th in scoring average. Rory MCILROY McIlroy made his first two career starts in World Golf Championships this season and finished in the top 20 in both. He has finished in the top 15 in four of his last six starts and ranks first on the European Tour in stroke average. Vijay SINGH The defending champion this week, Singh has finished in the top 15 a total of six times at Firestone CC. He has only finished in the top 10 three times this season, but all of them have come in his last eight starts. Anthony KIM Kim, who ranks first in putts per GIR and second in birdie average, has top-20 finishes in four of his last five starts. However, he's struggled in the final round and has only managed to break par three times in his 11 fourth rounds in '09.