2010 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Updated Aug. 2, Contacts:

Transcription

1 2010 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Updated Aug. 2, 2010 Contacts: Chris Reimer Laura Hill Communications Manager Senior Director, Communications Dates: August 2-8 Where: Akron, OH Course: South Course, Firestone Country Club (7,400 yards, par-70) FedExCup: 550 points to the winner Purse: $8,500,000 Winner s Share: $1,400,000 Format: Four-day, no-cut, 72-hole stroke-play competition Defending Champion: Tiger Woods Current field size based on qualifiers 82 players o Playing members of the 2009 U.S. and International teams from The Presidents Cup. o Playing members of the 2008 U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams. o The top-50 players, including any tied for 50th place, from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, July 26, o The top-50 players, including any tied for 50th place, from the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, August 2, o Tournament winners, whose victories are considered official, of tournaments on the Federation Tours since the prior year s Bridgestone Invitational with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 115 points or more. o The winners of the following tournaments: o Japan Golf Tour Championship (June 3-6, 2010) Katsumasa Miyamoto o Bridgestone Open (October 22-25, 2009) Yuta Ikeda o Australian PGA Championship (December 10-13, 2009) Robert Allenby o South African Tour s Vodacom Championship (Feb , 2010) Hennie Otto o Asian Tour s Iskandar Johor Open (October 22-25, 2009) K.J. Choi KEY STORYLINES: 1) Defending champion Tiger Woods looks to continue unprecedented success Bridgestone Invitational defending champion Tiger Woods returns to Firestone Country Club in search of his first PGA TOUR victory since winning the 2009 BMW Championship. The Bridgestone Invitational will mark Woods eighth start of the 2010 season. The seven starts to open the season without a victory equals the secondlongest stretch of Woods career. Woods won in his eighth start (three amateur, five professional) in 1996 and in his ninth start in With a victory at the Bridgestone Invitational, Woods would tie Sam Snead s PGA TOUR record for the most wins in a single tournament with eight. Snead won in Greensboro eight times between 1938 and Since it was first played as part of the World Golf Championships in 1999, Woods is the only multiple winner of the Bridgestone Invitational. Since professional golf came to Firestone Country Club in 1954, the South Course has produced a short list (7) of multiple winners, including Woods: Al Geiberger (American Golf Classic 1965, PGA Championship 1966), Jay Hebert (1960 PGA Championship, 1961 American Golf Classic), Jack Nicklaus (American Golf Classic 1968, PGA Championship 1975, World Series of Golf 1976), Greg Norman (World Series of Golf 1995, 1997), Jose Maria Olazabal (World Series of Golf 1990, 1994), Arnold Palmer (Rubber City Open Invitational 1957, American Golf Classic 1962, 1967). In 10 starts at the Bridgestone Invitational, Woods has never finished outside of the top 5. The three occasions in which he did not win came in three consecutive starts from ( th, 2003 T4 and 2004 T2).

2 Woods has captured a record 16 World Golf Championships events in 31 starts for a winning percentage of percent. In 21 World Golf Championships stroke-play starts (not including World Golf Championships- Accenture Match Play Championship), Woods has never finished outside of the top 10 with his worst result a T9 at the 2009 CA Championship. Tiger Woods and the World Golf Championships Tournament Starts Victories Top-10s Earnings Scoring Accenture Match Play $4,712, Bridgestone Invitational $9,352, CA Championship $7,740, HSBC Champions 1 0 T6 $190, Totals $21,995,000 Official World Golf Championship Victories (16) Bridgestone Invitational 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship 2003, 2004, 2008 CA Championship 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 Woods, the 2007 and 2009 FedExCup Champion, enters the Bridgestone Invitational No. 111 (through The Greenbrier Classic) in the season-long standings with 389 points. The top 125 in the standings following the Wyndham Championship (August 16-22) will qualify for The Barclays, the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Last year 354 points were needed to qualify for The Barclays. 2) Harrington looks to recreate 2009 s late-season charge One of only four players (Mickelson, Westwood, Appleby) to play in all 11 previous editions of the Bridgestone Invitational, Padraig Harrington has experienced his share of success and disappointment at Firestone Country Club. Harrington posted the best finish of his career in a World Golf Championships event last year in Akron, a T2 four-strokes behind Woods, but entered the final round with a three-shot advantage. Harrington s T2 at the 2009 Bridgestone Invitational is his career-best result in a World Golf Championships event. His previous best finish was a T5, accomplished twice at the Accenture Match Play Championship (2004, 2006) and once at the CA Championship (2000). Harrington also finished T3 earlier this year at the CA Championship Padraig Harrington s Top 10s in the World Golf Championships Finish Tournament Year T2 Bridgestone Invitational 2009 T3 CA Championship 2010 T5 CA Championship 2000 T5 Accenture Match Play Championship 2004 T5 Accenture Match Play Championship 2006 T6 CA Championship 2003 T6 CA Championship 2004 The T2 at the Bridgestone Invitational was the start of a torrid finish to the 2009 campaign for Harrington. Including his T2 at Bridgestone, Harrington posted six consecutive top 10s to finish the season. Tournament Bridgestone Invitational PGA Championship The Barclays Deutsche Bank Championship BMW Championship THE TOUR Championship Finish T2 T10 T2 T4 T6 T4 Harrington s six consecutive top 10s to finish the 2009 season were the most consecutive top-10 results of his career, bettering a streak of four consecutive top 10s in 2002 from the BellSouth Classic through the British Open.

3 3) International players find success on 2010 PGA TOUR A total of 14 international players representing six different countries have combined to win 16 of the first 33 events on the PGA TOUR in 2010, including the season s first two World Golf Championships events (Ian Poulter Accenture Match Play Championship, Ernie Els CA Championship). Player Tournament Country Geoff Ogilvy SBS Championship Australia Ian Poulter WGC-Accenture Match Play England Camilo Villegas The Honda Classic Colombia Ernie Els WGC-CA Championship South Africa Ernie Els Arnold Palmer Invitational South Africa Rory McIlory Quail Hollow Championship Northern Ireland Tim Clark THE PLAYERS Championship South Africa Adam Scott Valero Texas Open Australia Jason Day HP Byron Nelson Championship Australia Justin Rose the Memorial Tournament England Lee Westwood St. Jude Classic England Graeme McDowell U.S. Open Championship Northern Ireland Justin Rose AT&T National England Louis Oosthuizen British Open South Africa Carl Pettersson RBC Canadian Open Sweden Stuart Appleby The Greenbrier Classic Australia Since Jason Bohn claimed the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, 11 of the last 15 events on TOUR have been won by international players, the exceptions being Zach Johnson (Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial), Bubba Watson (Travelers Championship) and Matt Bettencourt (Reno-Tahoe Open). Of the 14 international winners, seven won for the first time on the PGA TOUR: Ian Poulter (Accenture Match Play Championship), Rory McIlory (Quail Hollow Championship), Tim Clark (THE PLAYERS Championship), Jason Day (HP Byron Nelson Championship), Justin Rose (the Memorial Tournament), Graeme McDowell (U.S. Open) and Louis Oosthuizen (British Open). All14 International winners on the PGA TOUR in 2010 qualified for the Bridgestone Invitational and only Carl Pettersson (RBC Canadian Open) will not compete. 4) Youth movement continues as 2010 PGA TOUR season marches on Youth has been served on the PGA TOUR in 2010 with 11 different players under the age of 30 winning 12 tournaments through the first 33 events. Of those 11 players, nine have qualified to compete in the Bridgestone Invitational. They are: Dusin Johnson (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am), Hunter Mahan (Waste Management Phoenix Open), Camilo Villegas (The Honda Classic), Anthony Kim (Shell Houston Open), Rory McIlory (Quail Hollow Championship), Adam Scott* (Valero Texas Open), Jason Day (HP Byron Nelson Championship), Justin Rose* (the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National) and Louis Oosthuizen (British Open). Since 1960, the PGA TOUR record for most tournaments won by players in their 20s in a single season is 24, accomplished in 1979 with 16 different winners. *Scott and Rose have since turned 30. Tiger Woods is the only player to win the Bridgestone Invitational while in his 20s. Woods and Geoff Ogilvy (2006 Accenture Match Play Championship) are the only players to win a World Golf Championships event in their 20s. Youngest winners of World Golf Championships Events: Player Tournament Year Age Tiger Woods Bridgestone Invitational years, 7 months, 30 days Tiger Woods CA Championship years, 10 months, 8 days Tiger Woods Bridgestone Invitational years, 7 months, 28 days

4 Tiger Woods Bridgestone Invitational years, 7 months, 27 days Tiger Woods CA Championship years, 10 months, 23 days Tiger Woods Accenture Match Play years, 2 months, 2 days Tiger Woods CA Championship years, 9 months, 5 days Tiger Woods Accenture Match Play years, 1 month, 30 days Geoff Ogilvy Accenture Match Play years, 8 months, 15 days Tiger Woods Bridgestone Invitational years, 7 months, 22 days Tiger Woods CA Championship years, 9 months, 9 days Players in their 20s (or younger) qualified for 2010 Bridgestone Invitational (29): Gregory Bourdy (28 years, 2 months) Ross McGowan (28 years, 2 months) Rhys Davies (25 years, 2 months) Rory McIlory (21 years, 2 months) Jason Day (22 years, 8 months) Edoardo Molinari (29 years, 5 months) Ross Fisher (29 years, 7 months) Francesco Molinari (27 years, 8 months) Rickie Fowler (21 years, 7 months) Ryan Moore (27 years, 7 months) Bill Haas (28 years, 1 month) Alexander Noren (28 years) J.B. Holmes (28 years, 2 months) Sean O Hair (28 years) David Horsey (25 years, 3 months) Louis Oosthuizen (27 years, 9 months) Yuta Ikeda (24 years, 7 months) Jeff Overton (27 years, 2 months) Ryo Ishikawa (18 years, 8 months) Alvaro Quiros (27 years, 6 months) Dustin Johnson (26 years, 2 months) Charl Schwartzel (25 years, 11 months) Martin Kaymer (25 years, 6 months) Camilo Villegas (28 years, 6 months) Anthony Kim (25 years, 1 month) Nick Watney (29 years, 3 months) Martin Laird (27 years, 7 months) Oliver Wilson (29 years, 10 months) Hunter Mahan (28 years, 2 months) 5) Els remains atop points standings as PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup approach The fourth edition of the FedExCup is in high gear with only four tournaments, including the Bridgestone Invitational, remaining over the next three weeks for players to secure their position among the top 125 in the points standings and qualify for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. The top 125 in the points standings following the Wyndham Championship (August 16-22) will qualify for The Barclays, the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Ernie Els remains a fixture on top of the current FedExCup standings on the strength of victories at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Els, who is tied for second on the PGA TOUR with six top-10s on the year, has led the FedExCup standings for 19- consecutive weeks, the longest stretch any one player has held the top spot in the three-plus year history of the FedExCup. Tiger Woods previously held that distinction, leading the FedExCup for 16-consecutive weeks in Twenty-eight out of the top 30 in the current FedExCup (through The Greenbrier Classic) standings have qualified for the Bridgestone Invitational (all 30 except No. 20 Brendon de Jonge and No. 25 Ricky Barnes), where 550 points will be awarded to the winner. FedExCup current top 10 through The Greenbrier Classic: Rank Player Points 1 Ernie Els 1,751 2 Steve Stricker 1,575 3 Jim Furyk 1,545 4 Justin Rose 1,542 5 Phil Mickelson 1,541 6 Jeff Overton 1,436 7 Tim Clark 1,370 8 Matt Kuchar 1,286 9 Ben Crane 1, Anthony Kim 1,215

5 With his victory earlier this year at the CA Championship, Els became one of just five players who have captured more than one individual World Golf Championships title. Players with multiple World Golf Championships victories: Darren Clarke 2000 Accenture Match Play Championship, 2003 Bridgestone Invitational Ernie Els 2004 CA Championship, 2010 CA Championship Phil Mickelson 2009 CA Championship, 2009 HSBC Champions Geoff Ogilvy 2006 Accenture Match Play Championship, 2008 CA Championship, 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship Tiger Woods Bridgestone Invitational 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship 2003, 2004, 2008 CA Championship 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, ) Additional FedExCup Notes Time running out for U.S. Open champion: Graeme McDowell, who accepted PGA TOUR membership following his triumph in June at Pebble Beach, earned 47 FedExCup points with a T23 at the British Open and currently ranks No. 218 in the standings. McDowell has the Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship and Wyndham Championship to secure a position within the top 125 and qualify for The Barclays. In 2009, 354 points were needed to qualify for The Barclays. McDowell became the first player to from Northern Ireland to win the U.S. Open and the first European to win since Tony Jacklin in 1970 with a one-stroke victory over Gregory Havret. McDowell will make his fifth career appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational. In four previous appearances his best result was a T45 last year. With a T6 earlier this year at the CA Championship, McDowell equaled his best result in a World Golf Championships event, also at the CA Championship in Former PLAYERS Champion Henrik Stenson is on the verge of qualifying for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup for the first time. Stenson joined the PGA TOUR prior to the start of the 2010 season and, on the strength of a T3 at the British Open, stands on the bubble at No. 131 in the current FedExCup standings with 321 points. Like McDowell, Stenson has the next three weeks to improve his position. Stenson was not a PGA TOUR member in 2009 and was not eligible to compete in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup despite capturing THE PLAYERS and posting three additional top 10s. Had he been a member, Stenson would have earned 1,081 points during the 2009 season and easily qualified for The Barclays, the Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship. American Matt Kuchar enters the Bridgestone Invitational as the second-highest-ranked player in the FedExCup standings without a victory at No. 7 (Jeff Overton, No. 6, surpassed Kuchar with his T2 last week at The Greenbrier Classic). The 32-year-old two-time PGA TOUR winner is tied for the most top 10s on the PGA TOUR in 2010 (Retief Goosen) with seven, most recently a T4 at the RBC Canadian Open. 7) World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and Charity Northeast Ohio Golf Charities: The Bridgestone Invitational annually donates more than $800,000 to charities throughout Northeast Ohio. Over the years, professional golf has donated more than $19 million to more than 200 worthy causes in Northeast Ohio, including Akron Children s Hospital, the United Way of Greater Cleveland and The First Tee Chapters of Akron, Cleveland and Canton. Military Appreciation: For the first time in the tournament s history, complimentary admission courtesy of Lockheed Martin will be extended to all active duty, retired and reserve military personnel and their dependents with valid IDs. The Birdies for the Brave Patriots Outpost opens on Saturday, August 7, offering complimentary food and beverages to military personnel and their dependents. A special Military Appreciation Ceremony will also take place Saturday, August 7, at 10 a.m. in the Championship Club on No. 16. TICKETS Fore CHARITY: The 2010 event will again give Northeast Ohio charities the opportunity to participate in TICKETS Fore CHARITY a unique fundraising initiative designed to improve the quality of life in the communities where PGA TOUR tournaments are held. A total of 63 non-profit organizations are participating in TICKETS Fore CHARITY, an increase from 38 organizations in In 2009, the first year of

6 the program, $16,000 was generated for local charities. The tournament has set a goal of $100,000 in Tickets available through TICKETS Fore CHARITY cost $35 (good for one day of grounds access, any day) and are available for purchase through Wednesday, August 4. Ambassador of Golf Award going to Tom Watson: The Ambassador of Golf Award is presented annually to a person or persons who have fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course. Tom Watson, who owns eight major championship titles and nearly notched another win at last year s British Open, is active in Kansas City-area charitable endeavors, ALS fundraising efforts and development of golf courses for junior players, and has made several trips to the Middle East to visit military bases. Watson will be honored on Aug. 4 at Firestone Country Club. 8) Players Of Note: Rickie Fowler The highest ranked rookie in the FedExCup standings at No. 15 (through The Greenbrier Classic), Fowler will make the first start of his career in a World Golf Championships event at the Bridgestone Invitational. Fowler has enjoyed a solid rookie campaign on TOUR with five top 10s, including runner-up results at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Memorial Tournament. Fowler earned a spot in the field at the Bridgestone Invitational by virtue of his position in the Official World Golf Ranking (No. 34) as of Monday, July 26. He is currently No. 35. Should he go on to victory this week, Fowler would join Craig Parry (2002) as the only other player to make the Bridgestone Invitational his first PGA TOUR victory. A total of five players, most recently Ian Poulter earlier this year at the Accenture Match Play Championship, have claimed a World Golf Championships event for their first TOUR victory (Darren Clarke 2000 Accenture Match Play Championship, Kevin Sutherland 2002 Accenture Match Play Championship, Craig Parry 2002 Bridgestone Invitational, Henrik Stenson 2007 Accenture Match Play Championship, Ian Poulter 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship). Rory McIlory McIlory, who captured his first PGA TOUR victory earlier this year at the Quail Hollow Championship in dramatic fashion with a course-record, 10-under-par 62 in the final round, will make his seventh-career start in the World Golf Championships and second at the Bridgestone Invitational. He finished T68 last year in his first appearance at Firestone Country Club. His best result in the World Golf Championships was a solo fourth last year at the HSBC Champions. McIlroy finished T17 and T65 earlier this year at the Accenture Match Play Championship and CA Championship, respectively. Phil Mickelson Mickelson will look to claim his third-career victory in a World Golf Championships event and first win at the Bridgestone Invitational. Mickelson claimed two of the four World Golf Championship events in 2009, winning the CA Championship by one stroke in March before claiming the HSBC Champions by the same margin in November. Mickelson is one of just five players (Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Tiger Woods) with multiple (non-team) victories in the World Golf Championships. The world s No. 2-ranked player and No. 5 in the FedExCup standings, Mickelson has five top 10s in 11 starts at the Bridgestone Invitational. Louis Oosthuizen Oosthuizen broke through for his first PGA TOUR victory and second world-wide victory of 2010 with a runaway, seven-stroke triumph at the British Open. He also won for the first time earlier this season on the European Tour at the Open de Andalucia de Golf in March. Oosthuizen will make his first appearance at the Bridgestone Invitational and sixth-career start in a World Golf Championships event. Earlier this season he finished T20 at the CA Championship, his best result in four career appearances. In his only Accenture Match Play Championship start he fell to Rory McIlory 2 and 1 in the opening round in Justin Rose One of only four multiple winners on the PGA TOUR in 2010, Rose earned his first PGA TOUR victory in come-from-behind fashion, rallying from four strokes back entering the final round to claim the Memorial Tournament. The Englishman notched his second-career victory just four weeks later at the AT&T National with a one-shot victory. Rose finished T2 at the 2007 Bridgestone Invitational. Steve Stricker Stricker enters the Bridgestone Invitational ranked No. 2 in the FedExCup standings and No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking. With his successful title defense at the John Deere Classic in July, along with his victory earlier this year at the Northern Trust Open, Stricker has now claimed five PGA TOUR titles since the start of the 2009 season, second only to Tiger Woods six. Stricker has also claimed six PGA TOUR titles since turning 40 in February 2007, third most among active players trailing only Vijay Singh (22) and Kenny Perry (11). His T6 in 2009 at the Bridgestone Invitational was his best finish in three career appearances.

7 Lee Westwood The No. 3-ranked player in the OWGR, Westwood has posted top 10s in each of his last two visits to Firestone Country club (T2 2008, 9 th 2009). In 10 events on the PGA TOUR in 2010, Westwood has made every cut and collected six top 10s, including a victory at the St. Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew in May and runner-up finishes at the Masters Tournament and British Open. Westwood ended a 12- year winless drought on the PGA TOUR that spanned 123 starts with the victory in Memphis and is one of three Englishmen to win on the PGA TOUR in Stuart Appleby Appleby was in danger of missing his first Bridgestone Invitational this year, but a thrilling win at The Greenbrier Classic last week got him a last-minute trip to Akron. On Sunday, Appleby came from seven strokes down, shooting a bogey-free 11-under 59 to defeat Jeff Overton by one stroke. He joined Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval and Paul Goydos as the only players to post that record-low, 18-hole score in a PGA TOUR event. Appleby s win was his first since the 2006 Shell Houston Open. This week is Appleby s 12 th consecutive tournament this season he hasn t had a week off since the week of the Valero Texas Open. He is one of four players who have qualified for and competed in every Bridgestone Invitational (Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood). His best finish was T2 in Jeff Overton At No. 6, Overton is the highest-ranked player in the FedExCup standings without a win, although he came tantalizingly close last week at The Greenbrier Classic. Only Stuart Appleby s 59 on Sunday kept him from winning his first tournament, but the T2 finish was enough to move him to No. 47 in the Official World Golf Ranking and earn a last-minute spot in the Bridgestone Invitational field. Overton has finished inside the top 12 in seven out of his last 10 starts. During that stretch he has three runner-up finishes (Zurich Classic of New Orleans, HP Byron Nelson Championship, The Greenbrier Classic) and two third-place finishes (Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, AT&T National). This is his first start in a World Golf Championships event. 9) Additional Field Notes: With Darren Clarke failing to make the field this year, only four players, Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson Stuart Appleby and Lee Westwood, are competing this year and have participated in all 11 previous installments of the Bridgestone Invitational. Though still in search of their first victory in Akron, this foursome has combined for 11 top 10s, including four runner-up finishes, at the Bridgestone Invitational. South Africa s Charl Schwartzel and England s Paul Casey are the only two players in the field this week to record top 10s in each of the first two World Golf Championships events of Casey followed his runner-up performance at the Accenture Match Play Championship with a T6 at the CA Championship, while Schwartzel finished alone in second at the CA Championship after a T9 at the Accenture Match Play Championship. Following Tiger Woods tournament-record nine top 10s at the Bridgestone Invitational, Jim Furyk is tied for second-most (6) with Davis Love III. Also on the list of most top 10s and in the field this week are Phil Mickelson (T4 with five) and Robert Allenby and Stewart Cink (T5 with four). The field includes nine former winners of World Golf Championships events including three former winners of the Bridgestone Invitational, Stewart Cink (2004), Vijay Singh (2008) and Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009). The 2010 Bridgestone Invitational field also includes 18 former major championship winners who own a combined 42 major championship titles. Here is a breakdown of major championships won by the field: Masters Tournament 12 U.S. Open Championship 12 British Open Championship 9 PGA Championship 9 Part of Golf s Global Summit, the Bridgestone Invitational annually features one of the deepest international fields of the season. The 2010 installment is no different with 51 players hailing from outside of the United States representing 19 different countries. England has the most representatives with 11 followed by South Africa with seven, Australia with six and Sweden with five. The other countries with players in the field are: Japan (3), Spain (3), Italy (2), South Korea (2), Northern Ireland (2), Argentina (1), Canada (1), Colombia (1), Denmark (1), Fiji (1), France (1), Germany (1), Ireland (1), Scotland (1) and Wales (1).

8 Despite the international field the Bridgestone Invitational boasts annually, only three players born outside of the United States have won the event (Craig Parry Australia, 2002; Darren Clarke Northern Ireland, 2003 and Vijay Singh Fiji, 2008). There are 24 players making their Bridgestone Invitational debut in Players competing in Akron for the first time are: Jason Bohn, Gregory Bourdy, Rhys Davies, Jason Day, Simon Dyson, Rickie Fowler, Marcus Fraser, Bill Haas, Peter Hanson, David Horsey, Yuta Ikeda, Ryo Ishikawa, Simon Khan, Martin Laird, Katsumasa Miyamoto, Edoardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari, Ryan Moore, Alexander Noren, Louis Oosthuizen, Jeff Overton, Heath Slocum, Bo Van Pelt and Bubba Watson. Of those players making their first appearance in Akron, eight are making their first start in a World Golf Championships event: Rhys Davies, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, David Horsey, Simon Khan, Katsumasa Miyamoto Jeff Overton and Bo Van Pelt. 8) Kodak Challenge continues in year two The Kodak challenge is a first-of-its-kind competition on the PGA TOUR. Created to celebrate the beautiful holes and memorable moments during the year, a different hole is featured at 30 of the 37 events during the PGA TOUR Regular season and is featured as that week s Kodak Challenge hole. In order to qualify, players must play at least 18 of 30 events with Kodak Challenge holes over the course of the season. The player with the lowest collective score in relation to par wins the trophy and the $1 million prize. Last year, Kevin Streelman claimed the first Kodak Challenge title in the season s last event, the Children s Miracle Network Classic. PGA TOUR rookie Rickie Fowler, who is making his Bridgestone Invitational debut this week, is atop the standings at 11-under-par. This week s Kodak Challenge hole at the Bridgestone Invitational is the 667-yard, par-5 16 th, the longest hole on the PGA TOUR. Please see below for more information on the par-5 16 th. 9) Firestone Country Club (South) Course Stats Firestone Country Club played as the 11 th -hardest course on the PGA TOUR in 2009 with a stroke average of , nearly a full stroke over par. In the 10 previous editions of the Bridgestone Invitational held at Firestone Country Club s South Course (2002 held at Sahalee Country Club), the 471-yard par-4 4 th has ranked among the top two hardest holes nine times, playing to a The 4 th was the hardest hole on the golf course again in 2009, playing to a stroke average of 4.332, and finished as the 22 nd most difficult par 4 on the PGA TOUR in By contrast, the 526-yard par-5 2 nd has played as the easiest hole each year the Bridgestone Invitational has been held at Firestone Country Club, yielding a stroke average of Perhaps the most recognizable hole on the South Course is the 667-yard, par-5 16 th, which has played as the longest hole on the PGA TOUR the last two years. The 16 th played a pivotal role in deciding the outcome during the 2009 Bridgestone Invitational s final round. Tiger Woods made an improbable birdie after hitting an 8-iron from 181 yards to 1 foot while his playing partner and closest pursuer, Padraig Harrington, struggled to a triplebogey 8. No. 16 Fun Facts o At 667 yards, it has been the longest hole on the PGA TOUR the last two years. o Ranked as the fifth-hardest par-5 on the PGA TOUR in 2009, playing to a stroke average of o Since 2003, only four players have managed to hit the green in two, including two in 2009 (Y.E. Yang R4 Approach from 215 yards, Camilo Villegas R4 Approach from 270 yards). o Brett Wetterich s 425-yard drive on the 16 th in the final round of the 2007 Bridgestone Invitational is the longest tee shot recorded on the hole since A total of 18 tee shots have measured over 400 yards on the 16 th since o Only 6.9 percent of the field attempted to reach the green at No. 16 in two during the 2009 Bridgestone Invitational. Since 2003, only 65 out of 2,198 players have attempted to reach the green in two, according to ShotLink, which equates to less than 3 percent. o Only one eagle has been made on the 16 th since In that same time frame, seven par 4s par 4s on the golf course.