Firestone Picks

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2016 WGC Bridgestone

Firestone Country Club, Akron OH

Par 70 – 7400 yards

2015 Champion – Shane Lowry

I wonder how Keegan Bradley would play on this course with a short putter?  Dude used to own this course but since his switch to the non-belly putter he has successfully made many amateurs feel better about their putting.  Due to his putting woes he isn’t even playing here this year. Did you know that heading into last week Bradley was #1 in total driving?  Why the heck am I talking about KEEGAN BRADLEY, he is irrelevant right?  Yes and no. I refer to Keegan because it points to the fact that total driving is probably pretty important around here.  A quick look at the past winners and their total driving stats seem to make this pretty clear.  Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Keegan Bradley (currently a BUM), Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan (currently a BUM), Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods and, well you get the point.  All of these guys are/were at the time of their win Total Driving studs with Tiger Possibly being the outlier of the group, but when Tiger was Tiger he was always the outlier.

This week I am going to lean more towards GPP than usual simply because this is a no-cut event. I have to admit the Cash side of me is a bit disappointed.

KEY STATS

Total Driving

Birdie or Better percentage

SGT2G

175-200 yds

200 yds+

Par 4

Par 3

 

In honor of Andrew “BEEF” Johnston making it back to the states this week I’m ranking players like cuts of BEEF.  Give him a follow on twitter @BeefGolf , he is worth the follow for sure.

 

Strip Steak– 1”+ thick cut of course. As long as this cut of BEEF is not overcooked this is top notch, unfortunately you have to pay up for it.

Dustin Johnson $11,600 – Top GPP play of the week because of a less than stellar course history. Yeah that sounds backwards but that’s exactly why he makes sense. I know there are a bunch of course horse history buffs out there so hopefully they will kindly stay away from DJ.  Throw in the fact that he is coming off his first Major victory I think people could sense a letdown and not go as heavy on DJ as normal. Something to consider, DJ’s though process is simple. See ball. Hit ball. Makes birdies or better. This works for GPP’s.  He is #1 in BoB% and Par 4 scoring he is also #3 in SGT2G.  You don’t want to miss out on this prime cut of BEEF.

 

Skirt Steak– Thinly cut and grilled for a short time, for those looking for a cheaper yet decent taste, just make sure it is trimmed properly.

Brooks Koepka $9,900 He might as well be a strip steak this week but price says differently, barely.  Top 30 in Total Driving (27th) , BoB% (14th) ,  SGT2G (23rd),  Par 4 scoring (5th)  and prox. from 175-200 (5th).   Last year he was the only golfer at this tournament to go sub 70 all 4 days.  Can you say bonus points?  Pick up your fork and knife and cut yourself off a piece of Brooks this week.

Jason Dufner $8,500 The slightly marbleized Dufner comes into the tournament in his best form since 2013.  That year he finished 4th here.  He ranks in the top thirty in SGT2G(21st), BoB% (16th), Total Driving(29th), and Par 4 scoring(25th).  If he can do anything with the flat stick this week, or he can stick it close to the pin on his approaches he is going to score.  The more he scores the more you score, the more you score the more you win.

 

The Shank – If you’re a pro chef it can be edible, generally pretty tough and often difficult get good tasting pieces however.

 

David Lingmerth $7,600 Nothing that Lingmerth does sticks out as top notch, but nothing that he does sticks out as bad either.  He is a guy that just hangs around and occasionally pops up on the leaderboard.  Last year he finished 6th here so he knows how to get around the track.  If he has an A1 type week he will be a solid contrarian GPP investment and probably help you win some cash.

Emiliano Grillo $7,000 —  Word is Argentina has some pretty good beef and people in Argentina probably agree because they eat a lot of it, over 120 lbs per person per year. What the heck does this have to do with Grillo, well other than the fact that he is from Argentina nothing really.  I just am in awe that they eat so much meat and I had to share with all 5 of you that actually read this write-up.  Grillo ranks #5 in total driving and 38th in BoB%.  He has a victory this season so he knows how to win on Tour.  Although this is a no-cut event it’s worth noting that he has made 9 of his last 10 cuts.  A top 15 finish is very possible and that would make him more than worth his $7k price tag.

Andrew Johnston $6,300 —  BEEF played the US Open, made the cut and finished in 54th place.  That’s nothing too stellar but he did make the cut which means he outplayed Rory, Rickie, and Phil.  Also being back in the USA to tee it up for the 2nd time in 3 weeks can’t hurt either.  He’s got a sweet beard and loves BEEF.  He won on the Euro Tour this year so we can say he knows how to win.  This whole article is dedicated to BEEF so I say play him this week and cheer him on.  Why? Because there is nothing like a fun, slightly fat guy with a beard and a great accent.

 

Beef Wiener’s – If you pay no attention to what goes into it you might actually enjoy one. 

Jim Herman $5,800 —   Herman is 7th in Total driving and 10th in prox. from 200+.  Since he can’t get cut this week for $5,800 he is worth a flyer.  He needs to add a little mustard to his driver this week or else he’ll be playing Ketchup all weekend.  Please if you do eat Beef Wieners don’t use ketchup that’s for kids only.  Mustard only!

 

Hope this was a fun read for you. If you made it this far, congratulations you are the only one other than myself who did. Please drop me a note on Twitter @wedge2424 and tell me how obnoxiously terrible this write up was.  Thanks and enjoy the 4 days of golf that we are getting this week because the PGA will be off next week because of the flooding that has affected the area.  Sending out nothing but positive thoughts to those affected by the flooding in West Virginia.  See you guys for the “British” Open in 2 weeks, yeah that’s right I said British Open…