A packed field takes on Firestone’s South Course one final time this week, which also happens to be Tiger Woods’s first World Golf Championships event in four years.
Woods barely secured his spot in Akron, at a course where he’s won eight times, with his T6 finish at the British Open, which vaulted him to 50th in the Official World Golf Ranking. It will be the first time all year he’s played the week before a major, as next week is the PGA Championship at Bellerive in St. Louis.
Woods is paired with Jason Day for the first two rounds at the no-cut Bridgestone. The duo tees off at 10:20 a.m. ET on the 10th tee on Thursday and 2:10 p.m. off the 1st tee on Friday.
Other notable tee times for Thursday are Rory McIlroy and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama (10:10 a.m.), Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose (1:50 p.m.), and Justin Thomas and Phil Mickelson (2 p.m.).
This is the final year for the WGC-Bridgestone. Bridgestone’s contract expired, and FedEx took over, thus creating the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Memphis, which debuts next year. While Akron and Firestone are losing the annual PGA tour stop, the Senior Players Championship is moving there in 2019.
THE BASICS
What: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Where: Firestone Country Club (South Course), Akron, Ohio
When: Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 2-5
Defending champion: Hideki Matsuyama (16 under, 264)
Purse: $10 million (Winner’s share: $1.7 million)
TV SCHEDULE (ET)
Thursday: 1:30-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Friday: 1:30-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday: 12-1:45 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday: 12-1:45 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (CBS)
ROUND 1 TEE TIMES (ET)
No. 1 tee
9:20 a.m. — Rafa Cabrera Bello
9:30 a.m. — Shubhankar Sharma, Aaron Wise
9:40 a.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jaco Ahlers
9:50 a.m. — Brendan Steele, Russell Knox
10 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick
10:10 a.m. — Marc Leishman, Brian Harman
10:20 a.m. — Luke List, Anirban Lahiri
10:30 a.m. — Alexander Bjork, Patrick Cantlay
10:40 a.m. — Adam Hadwin, Paul Casey
10:50 a.m. — Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel
1:10 p.m. — Haotong Li, Rickie Fowler
1:20 p.m. — Kodai Ichihara, Patton Kizzire
1:30 p.m. — Kevin Chappell, Adam Scott
1:40 p.m. — Matt Kuchar, Tommy Fleetwood
1:50 p.m. — Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose
2 p.m. — Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson
2:10 p.m. — Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari
2:20 p.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Pat Perez
2:30 p.m. — Ryuko Tokimatsu, Bubba Watson
No. 10 tee
9:20 a.m. — Byeong Hun An, Daniel Berger
9:30 a.m. — Brandon Stone, Brooks Koepka
9:40 a.m. — Cameron Smith, Kyle Stanley
9:50 a.m. — Austin Cook, Jhonattan Vegas
10 a.m. — Alex Noren, Ted Potter Jr.
10:10 a.m. — Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama
10:20 a.m. — Tiger Woods, Jason Day
10:30 a.m. — Charley Hoffman, Branden Grace
10:40 a.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Webb Simpson
1:10 p.m. — Tyrrell Hatton, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
1:20 p.m. — Satoshi Kodaira, Bryson DeChambeau
1:30 p.m. — Wade Ormsby, Ross Fisher
1:40 p.m. — Ian Poulter, Zach Johnson
1:50 p.m. — Patrick Reed, Paul Dunne
2 p.m. — Kevin Na, Emiliano Grillo
2:10 p.m. — Jon Rahm, Andrew Landry
2:20 p.m. — Si Woo Kim, Kevin Kisner
2:30 p.m. — Tony Finau, Gary Woodland
ROUND 2 TEE TIMES (ET)
No. 1 tee
9:20 a.m. — Tyrrell Hatton, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
9:30 a.m. — Satoshi Kodaira, Bryson DeChambeau
9:40 a.m. — Wade Ormsby, Ross Fisher
9:50 a.m.— Ian Poulter, Zach Johnson
10 a.m. — Patrick Reed, Paul Dunne
10:10 a.m. — Kevin Na, Emiliano Grillo
10:20 a.m. — Jon Rahm, Andrew Landry
10:30 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, Kevin Kisner
10:40 a.m.— Tony Finau, Gary Woodland
1:10 p.m. — Byeong Hun An, Daniel Berger
1:20 p.m. — Brandon Stone, Brooks Koepka
1:30 p.m. — Cameron Smith, Kyle Stanley
1:40 p.m. — Austin Cook, Jhonattan Vegas
1:50 p.m. — Alex Noren, Ted Potter Jr.
2 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama
2:10 p.m. — Tiger Woods, Jason Day
2:20 p.m. — Charley Hoffman, Branden Grace
2:30 p.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Webb Simpson
No. 10 tee
9:20 a.m. — Haotong Li, Rickie Fowler
9:30 a.m. — Kodai Ichihara, Patton Kizzire
9:40 a.m. — Kevin Chappell, Adam Scott
9:50 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Tommy Fleetwood
10 a.m. — Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose
10:10 a.m. — Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson
10:20 a.m. — Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari
10:30 a.m. — Louis Oosthuizen, Pat Perez
10:40 a.m. — Ryuko Tokimatsu, Bubba Watson
1:10 p.m.. — Rafa Cabrera Bello
1:20 p.m. — Shubhankar Sharma, Aaron Wise
1:30 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jaco Ahlers
1:40 p.m. — Brendan Steele, Russell Knox
1:50 p.m. — Jordan Spieth, Matthew Fitzpatrick
2 p.m. — Marc Leishman, Brian Harman
2:10 p.m. — Luke List, Anirban Lahiri
2:20 p.m. — Alexander Bjork, Patrick Cantlay
2:30 p.m. — Adam Hadwin, Paul Casey
2:40 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel
