What Tiger Woods' Play at Bridgestone Invitational 2013 Means for Rest of PGA

One word can summarize what Tiger Woods' dominant display at the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational means for the rest of his peers on the PGA Tour: trouble. 

As if the world No. 1 wasn't mopping up on a consistent enough basis this season, his unprecedented eighth victory at Firestone Country Club seems to be all but a formality. Woods holds a seven-shot lead over Henrik Stenson entering the final round in Akron, Ohio.

The straightforward nature of the course suits Woods' eye extremely well, and he expressed appreciation earlier in the week when discussing the venue in that very context:

All any detractors have left to mark against Woods is his major "slump." Given his form this week, he'll undoubtedly be the prohibitive favorite entering the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.

Every facet of Woods' game came together during Round 2 on Friday, when he matched his personal low score in a tournament and the course record at Firestone with a nine-under round of 61.

Putting has been the key to both Woods' success and his shortcomings this season, and he needed only 22 putts on that spectacular day.

Any trouble he was having at the British Open with the flatstick were quickly remedied, and the fact that Woods' short game is in such pristine condition suggests that he isn't done winning.

Barring a monumental collapse over the final 18 holes, it will be Woods' fifth win in 11 starts. If not for a strained elbow that hampered him at the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open, he could very well have even more W's to his name.

The argument could be made that Woods simply dominates this particular stop on tour and that it's not indicative of what he will do at the PGA Championship.

Given how close he came to donning a green jacket at The Masters and his relatively close call at the Open Championship, though, his game is in too good of shape to convincingly doubt him. Additionally, since Oak Hill marks the final major of the year, there will be an extra sense of urgency for Woods to capture major No. 15 to end his five-plus year drought.

Woods has had trouble closing tournaments like he's used to, as he ranks a shocking 143rd in final-round scoring average this season.

Having said that, the best front-runner in the history of golf is in a familiar spot at Firestone, where he's exacted his will on his fellow competitors many times before to pick up a bevy of trophies and accolades.

When Woods is on, the only golfer who has even resembled that type of control and ability to keep pushing distance between himself and the field is the precocious Rory McIlroy, who has yet to win in 2013 following his monster campaign of a year ago.

Absent a challenge from the Northern Irishman, the PGA Championship is Woods' to lose. Regardless of how he plays to his standards on Sunday in Akron, he will walk away with his eighth title and 18th WGC win overall.

ESPN's Justin Ray provides a series of tweets to signify the history Woods is imminently intent on making:

Having shown the ability to handle unprecedented expectations numerous times in his illustrious career, the PGA will merely be the latest occurrence of that phenomenon for the 37-year-old living legend.

In every major statistical category this week at the Bridgestone Invitational, save for a T-12 in driving accuracy, Woods is in the top-four, per WorldGolfChampionships.com.

Even if Woods falls short again at the final major, he is still in prime position atop the point standings to win the FedEx Cup.

By any measure, Woods is definitely back regardless of how the PGA Championship plays out. That's bad news for his prospective challengers, who could be yet again relegated to playing for second place on a more consistent basis.

Note: Statistics, information and video, unless otherwise indicated, are courtesy of PGATour.com.