Round 1: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

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The first groups are ready to tee off at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, and here's who we are following:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   9:36 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10 Phil Mickelson, Camilo Villegas, Ernie Els The crowds will be large and supportive of this group, as Mickelson will likely receive a hero's welcome. 9:25 a.m. ET, Hole No. 10 Vijay Singh, Kenny Perry, Rory McIlroy Defending champion Singh is in a tough pairing and will certainly have his hands full with great golfers all weekend as he tries to repeat. 1:10 p.m. ET, Hole No. 1 Tiger Woods, Carl Pettersson, Sergio Garcia Tiger has four wins in 2009, while everyone else has no more than two. Having five victories before mid-August would be just another incredible year for Woods.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR on-site correspondent John Maginnes previews Thursday's round:

Thursday's forecast

Mostly Sunny Temp: 76 high/58 low Plentiful sunshine. Winds from the northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

I was trying to find a single argument for Tiger Woods not to win the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational this week. Here is what I came up with: Tiger has played nine times in Akron. He won the first three then failed to win the next three. Of course, his worst finish in this recession was a T4 back in 2003 when he shot his highest career round at Firestone, a 72.

He then went on to win his next three starts in Akron, bringing his winning percentage here to .666 but the number tells us that he won't win this year. Actually, the numbers say that he will, but numerology or scientology or feng shui says that this is not his year. Forget the fact that Phil is making his return or that Vijay is the defending champion. None of that matters because Tiger isn't scheduled to win the Bridgestone for three more starts. Maybe it is astrology, so I checked.

Tiger's horoscope suggested that those born under the sign of Capricorn could be suffering some financial hardships this week. Apparently the price of jet fuel is about to go up again and his pilot needs a raise, but that doesn't change the fact that Tiger is going to win again.

I know just enough to know that nothing is a foregone conclusion. The Bridgestone could be the week that Sergio Garcia or Adam Scott turn their years around or that Thongchai Jaidee plays well enough to get a nickname on the PGA TOUR. But all of these seem like a remote possibility considering the circumstances. This is likely to be the second win in a stretch of six in a row for Tiger to end the season. You heard it here first.

Stat of the day

Jim Furyk has six top-10 finishes at the Bridgestone Invitational in nine attempts and has only once finished outside the top 25. He tied for 27th in 2008.

The Film Room

Opening Shot: August 5, 2009 Tiger Woods edges closer to Snead and Nicklaus with career PGA TOUR victory No. 69, and Akron is set to host the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Watch it Cink's expectations after major victory At the 2009 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Stewart Cink talked about his expectations after winning the Open Championship. Watch it Phil Mickelson stayed mentally sharp during his layoff At the 2009 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Phil Mickelson spoke to the media about how he stayed mentally sharp during his layoff. Watch it

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