Bridgestone Invitational 2013: Power Ranking Top Contenders at Firestone

The 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is filled with the world's best golfers as they prepare for next week's PGA Championship, which marks the final major of the season.

Keegan Bradley is the defending champion, but he has had a bit of an inconsistent year, so placing him among the top contenders simply due to last year's success would be fairly bold.

On the other hand, Tiger Woods has won at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio a record seven times. Not to imply Bradley is some flash in the pan, but the world No. 1 has displayed consistent greatness here and was in contention at the British Open in his last start.

Several of the planet's other top golfers are in strong form heading into this World Golf Championship event. Below is a power ranking of the top five contenders in the field.

Note: Statistics are courtesy of PGATour.com. Tournament history can be located at the Official World Golf Ranking.

5. Phil Mickelson

Putting Lefty in the top five is no sign of disrespect. Considering how elite this field is, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he didn't win his third tournament in a row.

Although that's somewhat of a law-of-averages cop-out, winning three consecutive times is extremely rare in golf. The fact that Mickelson won the Scottish Open and then followed it up with his first Claret Jug at Muirfield was especially impressive.

Any worries about Mickelson's season falling apart after another heartbreaking second-place finish at the U.S. Open have been put to rest.

Now, he's in a comfortable place: in competition the week before a major. The last time he did this, he won the Scottish Open. In preparation for Merion, he finished in second at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.

Even though he was already considered one of the best players in the history of the game, the British Open triumph proved Mickelson isn't about to rest on his laurels.

Mickelson doesn't have many red flags right now, and he should have another stellar performance in Akron.

4. Ian Poulter

Firestone typically yields a few more birdies than the other tough PGA Tour venues, but par is never a bad score. When that's the objective—and when the competition is sharpest—few are better than Poulter.

At Muirfield, the brash Englishman made a furious final-day charge to shoot a four-under 67—only to be outdone by Mickelson's brilliance.

The year had not been kind to Poulter prior to the hot streak that vaulted him up to a tie for third in the Open Championship and into the top 15 of the world rankings. As confident as Poulter typically is, he was surveying his Twitter followers for putter suggestions before teeing it up in Gullane.

Once he finally settled on a flatstick, the game came around for Poulter too.

It's possible Poulter could use the momentum from that adrenaline rush at the Open to go on a late-season run and perhaps even win at Akron.

Distance is not a critical part of winning here, so Poulter isn't at too much of a disadvantage in that regard. As long as his irons remain crisp, there's no reason he shouldn't contend yet again.

3. Brandt Snedeker

Fresh off a victory at the RBC Canadian Open, there should be no shortage of confidence for the swagger-filled Snedeker.

As well as he putts and with the way he's striping it at the moment, the rib injury seems to be behind him, and he can begin gearing up to defend his FedEx Cup title coming down the home stretch.

Thanks to his brilliant work on the greens and improved approach shots, Snedeker is second on tour (only to Mickelson) in both birdie or better conversion percentage and par breakers.

Snedeker is still seeking his first major. If not for several big numbers at Muirfield, he could have definitely had a shot at the Claret Jug. The uncharacteristic blowup holes overshadowed an otherwise stellar effort and peak form, which revealed itself in his win at Glen Abbey last week.

Other than a major, a World Golf Championship is all that's really missing from Snedeker's resume at this point. The past two breakthrough major winners in Justin Rose and Adam Scott—the 2011 champion at Firestone—won WGC tournaments before going on to major success.

Perhaps that's the stepping stone Snedeker needs to snag the elusive maiden major.

2. Henrik Stenson

Outside of Mickelson, few can claim they're hitting the golf ball as well as Stenson is at the moment.

Stenson held the 54-hole lead in the Scottish Open before relinquishing it to Mickelson and Branden Grace, who lost to Mickelson in the playoff. The Swede followed it up with an even-par total at Muirfield—the only other player besides Mickelson who wasn't over par.

Had his putting been marginally better, or if Mickelson wasn't so spectacular on British Open Sunday, it could have been Stenson holding his first Claret Jug.

Thus, it would be unwise to count out the veteran as he continues his resurgence into golf's elite.

How about some more numbers to support Stenson's cause? He ranks third in total driving, second in greens in regulation percentage and a solid 21st in final-round scoring average. As long as he's within striking distance entering Sunday, Stenson should be near the top again.

1. Tiger Woods

A discussion of Woods' legacy at Firestone tends to begin with his famous approach on the 19th while he was wrapping up a double-digit victory at the height of his dominance in 2000.

It is one of the most memorable shots in PGA Tour history at a non-major event—or even otherwise, considering the man who did it.

Woods could not get anything going with the putter on the final day of the British Open, but he still showed that the elbow injury he was dealing with would not inhibit his ability to be competitive for the remainder of 2013.

All the past success Woods has had here speaks for itself. Placing someone else atop the power rankings would be borderline ridiculous.

Despite his continued stead atop the FedEx Cup point standings, Woods hasn't won a tournament since May at The Players Championship.

But that could easily change by this weekend.