NOTES FROM THE OPENING ROUND – 2012 BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL.
Weather: Sunny. Winds WSW 5-10 mph. High of 90.
First-Round Leaderboard
Jim Furyk 63 (-7)
Lee Slattery 65 (-5)
Bubba Watson 66 (-4)
Ben Crane 66 (-4)
Luke Donald 66 (-4)
Rafael Cabrera Bello 66 (-4)
Simon Dyson 66 (-4)
John Senden 66 (-4)
Jim Furyk
Jim Furyk eagled the par-5 second hole (his 11th hole of the day) en route to a 7-under 63 and a two-stroke lead over Lee Slattery following the first round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
The prize this week - The Gary Player Cup on display at the first tee of the Firestone Club. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
Furyk’s 63 falls just shy of his career-low round on the PGA TOUR, set on five occasions and most recently during the final round of the 2009 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (8-under 62).
Furyk’s 63 equals his best opening-round score on the PGA TOUR (1997 HP Byron Nelson Championship, 2006 RBC Canadian Open, 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship).
Furyk’s round at a glance: 9/14 fairways, 13/18 greens, 25 putts.
Furyk is making his 13th start at the Bridgestone Invitational, with a runner-up showing in 2001 the best of his seven top-10 finishes. He finished inside the top 10 in his first five starts at the event (1999-2003) and later added a third-place finish in 2006 and T6 in 2010.
In 36 previous World Golf Championships, Furyk’s best finishes were runner-up efforts at the 2001 Bridgestone Invitational and 2008 Cadillac Championship.
Furyk, winner of the 2010 FedExCup, is making his 18th start of the season, with a playoff loss at the Transitions Championship the best of his four top-10 finishes. He is No. 25 in the FedExCup standings.
Furyk entered the final round of the U.S. Open tied with Graeme McDowell before a 4-over 74 led to a T4 finish.
This marks the 21st time Furyk has held the first-round lead/co-lead, going on to victory four times.
* First-Round Leader Stats at the Bridgestone Invitational
Adam Scott carded the lowest first-round score in tournament history last year with a bogey-free 8-under 62. Prior to that, Scott shared with Stewart Cink the low opening round with a 7-under 63 in 2006.
In the first 13 Bridgestone Invitationals, the first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win five times.
The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win just three of 32 stroke-play events in 2012 (George McNeill/Puerto Rico Open, Zach Johnson/Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Scott Piercy/RBC Canadian Open).
Furyk will be seeking to become just the third player to win the Bridgestone Invitational in wire-to-wire fashion: Tiger Woods (2000), and Stewart Cink (2004).
Lee Slattery
Lee Slattery, who will turn 34 on Friday, birdied six of seven holes (Nos. 16-17, 1-4) en route to a 5-under 65 in his first-ever start at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Slattery, winner of the 2011 Bankria Madrid Masters, finished T33 at the 2011 HSBC Champions in his only previous start in a World Golf Championships event.
Slattery’s path to the European Tour included a former job as a clothes sales shop assistant.
Luke Donald
Luke Donald, the top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, posted a 4-under 66 to open the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Donald finished runner-up at the Bridgestone Invitational a year ago, the best of his seven previous starts at the event. He has three top-10 finishes here: 2005 (T6), 2006 (T8) and 2011 (T2). Donald’s best finish in 25 previous World Golf Championships starts is a win at the 2011 Accenture Match Play Championship.
Donald is currently No. 14 in the FedExCup standings, with a victory this season at the Transitions Championship among his five top-10 finishes.
Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson, making his third start at the Bridgestone Invitational, opened on Thursday with a 4-under 66. His previous opening rounds at the event: 2010 (64), 2011 (69).
Watson’s finishes at the Bridgestone Invitational: 2010 (T22), 2011 (T21). In six previous World Golf Championships starts, his best effort is a runner-up finish at the 2012 Cadillac Championship.
Watson is currently No. 5 in the FedExCup standings, with his win at the Masters among his five top-10 finishes.
Tiger Woods is the only player to win the Masters and the Bridgestone Invitational in the same year (2001, 2005).
Ben Crane
Ben Crane opened with a 4-under 66 in his fifth start at the Bridgestone Invitational (T42-2003, T58-2008, 16-2006, T58-2010).
Crane’s best finish in 15 previous World Golf Championships starts is T9 at both the 2010 and 2011 Accenture Match Play Championship.
Crane is currently No. 35 in the FedExCup standings with a runner-up finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open the best of his four top-10 finishes.
Ernie Els
Ernie Els recorded a 3-over 73 as he seeks to join Tiger Woods (2000, 2005, 2006) as the only players to win the Bridgestone Invitational in the same season as winning the British Open.
A stretch of five consecutive tournaments from the Scottish Open through the PGA Championship continues for the Open Championship winner. Els comes to the Bridgestone Invitational as a four-time major championship winner and two-time winner of World Golf Championships events. Els is looking for his first top-10 finish at the Bridgestone Invitational since a T8 in 2001.
Adam Scott
Adam Scott opened with a 1-over 71 in his bid to join Tiger Woods (1999-2001, 2005-07) as the only players to successfully defend at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Last year, Scott became the third Australian to win a World Golf Championships event, joining Geoff Ogilvy (2006 and 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship) and Craig Parry (2002 Bridgestone Invitational).
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods carded an even-par 70 on Thursday in his 13th start at the Bridgestone Invitational. The seven-time Bridgestone champion has opened with a round in the 70s just twice at the event (74-2010, 20-2012).
Woods, the current FedExCup leader, owns the most top-10 finishes at the Bridgestone Invitational (10).
Woods has dominated the World Golf Championships events since their inception, yet has not won one since the 2009 Bridgestone Invitational. In fact, the 2010 season was the first in which Woods failed to capture a World Golf Championships title since the series began in 1999. Regardless, Woods’ record 16 World Golf Championships event titles in his previous 38 starts gives him a winning percentage of 42.11 in the series.
Tiger Woods and the World Golf Championships
Tournament Starts Victories Top 10s
Accenture Match Play 12 3 7
Bridgestone 12 7 10
Cadillac Championship 12 6 11
HSBC Champions 2 0 2
Totals 38 16 30
Tiger Woods at the Bridgestone Invitational
Year Finish
1999 1
2000 1
2001 1
2002 4
2003 T4
2004 T2
2005 1
2006 1
2007 1
2009 1
2010 T78
2011 T37
Official World Golf Championship Victories (16)
Bridgestone Invitational 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Accenture Match Play Championship 2003, 2004, 2008
Cadillac Championship 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
Scott Piercy
2012 RBC Canadian Open and 2011 Reno Tahoe Open champion Scott Piercy opened with a 1-under 69 in his first World Golf Championships start.
Piercy’s 69 is his 13th consecutive round in the 60s on the PGA TOUR, dating to a first-round 4-under 66 at The Greenbrier Classic. During that stretch, he has finished T12 at The Greenbrier Classic, third at the John Deere Classic and first at the RBC Canadian Open.
Additional Player Notes
Retief Goosen opened with a 3-under 67 in his 12th Bridgestone Invitational start. He has finished inside the top four in two of his last four starts here (T3-2010, T4-2008).
Carl Pettersson snapped a streak of opening-round even-par 70s in his first three starts at the Bridgestone Invitational with a 3-under 67 on Thursday. His only previous rounds in the 60s at the event came in the third round – all 2-under 68s.
2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas carded a 3-under 67 on Thursday, marking his first opening round in the 60s in 10 starts in WGC events.
K.T. Kim began his second Bridgestone Invitational with a 3-under 67. Last year, he carded three 4-under 66s in the first, third and fourth rounds en route to T6 finish.
Lee Westwood recorded an opening-round 2-under 68 in his 40th career World Golf Championships event, the most of any player in World Golf Championships history. He has four top-10 finishes at the Bridgestone Invitational, including a T2 in 2008.
