Mickelson, Westwood have shot at No. 1 at Bridgestone Invitational

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AKRON, Ohio -- Either Phil Mickelson or Lee Westwood could supplant Tiger Woods as the world No. 1 this week at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

Of course, Firestone Country Club has been Woods' personal playground. He has won the Bridgestone Invitational seven times and never finished lower than fourth in his other three appearances in the World Golf Championships event.

So an eighth Woods victory keeps him at No. 1. But should Phil Mickelson win, he would end the record reign at 270 straight events -- regardless of where Woods finishes. Woods has been the top player in the world for a total of 612 weeks.

Westwood, currently the No. 3 player in the world, could also take over No. 1 with a win. But if the Englishman captures his second PGA TOUR title of the year, Woods would need to finish lower than a two-way tie for second.

There are other scenarios, too.

At the minimum, Mickelson needs to finish fourth or better to have a chance to overtake Woods. If Mickelson finishes solo fourth then Woods must be outside the top 37 and Westwood third or lower for there to be a change at the top.

Westwood could also finish solo second and supplant Woods. But in that case, Mickelson can't be the winner and Woods must be outside the top nine.

While Woods' success at Firestone is nothing short of phenomenal, Mickelson and Westwood have played well there, too.

Mickelson has five top-10s in 11 starts at the Bridgestone Invitational. A runner-up finish to Woods in 1999 is Mickelson's best finish in this World Golf Championships event. He has won at Firestone before, though -- taking the 1996 NEC World Series of Golf title and finishing second the next two years.

Westwood has also played in 11 Bridgestone Invitationals with three top-10s. His best finish came in 2008 when he tied for second with Stuart Appleby, one stroke behind Vijay Singh.