This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational – Akron, Ohio
Firestone CC South Course (7,400 yards, par 70)
$9.75M Purse
$1,575,000 and 550 FedEx Cup points to the winner
Tournament Preview
The South Course at Firestone Country Club will again host the World Golf Championships – Bridgestone Invitational, uninterrupted since 2003. The event has been one of Tiger Woods' personal playgrounds, winning here eight times since 1999. Positioned just before next week's PGA Championship, Dustin Johnson seeks to become the first man to capture three WGC events in one year, while Open champ Jordan Spieth looks to make it three straight wins dating back to the Travelers Championship. Since becoming a WGC, just two former winners (Hunter Mahan & Shane Lowry) have not won a major championship, which speaks to the quality of champions produced in this prestigious no-cut invitational.
Prior Decade Champions
2016 – Dustin Johnson
2015 – Shane Lowry
2014 – Rory McIlroy
2013 – Tiger Woods
2012 – Keegan Bradley
2011 – Adam Scott
2010 – Hunter Mahan
2009 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Vijay Singh
2007 – Tiger Woods
Key Stats to Winning at Firestone CC
• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
• GIR Percentage
• Par-4 Scoring Average
Champion's Profile
With just one reachable par-5 on the course, par-4 scoring takes precedence with twelve of them on the card. Long hitters do need accuracy but can get away with missing a few fairways provided their approaches can find the green or get close. For shorter hitters to compete, they'll need to be very accurate most of the week or make plenty of putts as they'll face more mid- and long-iron approaches on the plethora of long par-4s. All said it's a course best suited to long-and-straight drivers of the ball who hit plenty of greens. With no cut in a field of just 76, top-ranked players generally rise to the top over four guaranteed rounds, but lesser known players can contend since there are very few mediocre talents in the field.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Jordan Spieth, $9900 – Two victories in his last two starts are enough for Spieth to be the week's top pick. As if you needed any more nudging, his last two trips to Firestone have resulted in finishes of 10th and 3rd.
Dustin Johnson, $9700 – A solid performance including a bogey-free 67 and tie for eighth last week all but righted the ship for Johnson, who had struggled since the start of June. As defending champion, this week's clear world No. 1 has all the skills needed to win at Firestone.
Rory McIlroy, $9600 – Though McIlroy is firing long-time caddy J.P. Fitzgerald, Rory's form is solid coming off a top-5 at the Open Championship two weeks ago. Not only that, McIlroy won the last time he teed it up at Firestone back in 2014. He's arguably the world's best off the tee on a course that rewards long and accurate driving.
Rickie Fowler, $9000 – Fowler has showed a knack for Firestone with four top-10 finishes in just seven career starts. Since June, Fowler has racked up three top-5 finishes and a 22nd at the Open two weeks back.
Brooks Koepka, $8600 – The recent U.S. Open breakthrough followed by a month-long hiatus and subsequent tie for 6th at the Open Championship is a worthy trend heading into another high-profile event. Koepka withdrew from last year's WGC-Bridgestone with an ankle injury, but prior to that in 2015 was sixth at Firestone.
Longer Shots Worth a Risk
Marc Leishman, $6500 – Leishman is top-20 in both par-4 scoring average and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, so this week aligns well with his strengths. Leishman won at Bay Hill this year and back in 2014 finished third at Firestone, signaling he's no stranger to the high-profile events.
Zach Johnson, $6300 – A pair of top-15s including one at the Open two weeks ago, Johnson has found his tee-to-green game and is oh so close to finding his world class putting stroke. Should he discover it this week, his chances are good despite his lack of distance.
Kevin Chappell, $5700 – Chappell broke through to win the Valero Texas Open and last week contended through three rounds in a ball striker's event in Toronto. At just $5700, Chappell is a bargain given his recent form. To top it off, his only start in Akron netted him a tie for third last year.
Strategy Tips for this week (based on 60k standard salary cap)
There are two schools of thought on no-cut events, one side subscribes to a balanced squad of very solid options, all legitimately capable of winning, the other school chooses studs and duds, hoping the studs finish top-5 while knowing the duds are guaranteed four rounds regardless. Though there's no "terrible" move in a setup like this, I would strongly caution against more than one player from the bottom 10 salaries.
