Kenny Perry Enters Bridgestone Invitational Red Hot

The world’s best golfers will descend on Akron, Ohio this week for the final installment of the World Golf Championship series.

The Bridgestone Invitational, being played at Firestone Country Club, has been won by Tiger Woods the past three years—a streak that will obviously end this year.

Despite a field that contains just about every one of the game’s top players, Kenny Perry has to be named as a favorite heading into the final WGC. He is playing that well.

Just three months ago, if you had mentioned the name "Kenny Perry" in the same sentence as the word "favorite," your friends and family would probably have thought about having you committed. But thus has been the 2008 golf season, and Perry is indeed a favorite this week at Firestone.

Believe it or not, Perry enters the week as the tour’s leader in FedEx Cup points and earnings (aside from Tiger Woods, who is still No. 1 on both of these lists).

Perry also leads the tour in scoring average, averaging a score of 69.41 over the 77 tournament rounds he’s played this season.

Even with three PGA Tour wins this year, many still consider Perry as somewhat of a second rate player. This is largely due to his decision to skip both the US and British Opens. 

But knowledgeable golf fans and analysts know that winning a PGA Tour event, any PGA Tour event, is a massively difficult task, let alone winning three of them in one year.

In the past month Perry has been red hot, finishing no higher than sixth place during a period which saw him win both the Buick Open and the John Deere Classic.

To better the chances that golf’s biggest stars might very well be beaten this week by a 47-year-old journeyman who really just wants to play in one more Ryder Cup before moving on to the Champions Tour, Perry has experienced success at Firestone in the past.

In the last three WGCs played at Firestone, Perry has finished sixth, 27th, and 11th. And that was before Perry became, well…let’s say it, the best player on tour.

On the other hand, Perry is going to be facing his toughest challenge since finishing in a tie for 15th at the Players Championship three months ago.

Although winning any PGA Tour event is extremely difficult, let’s not kid ourselves by saying that it is just as difficult to win the John Deere Classic as it is to win a World Golf Championship event. 

But, the way Perry has been playing over the past couple of months, it really might not matter who he is playing against.

Either way, this week will give us our first glimpse into whether or not Perry’s scorching game can stand up to the world’s best over the next two months, a period which contains the final WGC, the PGA Championship, and the FedEx Cup Playoffs.