Winners and Losers from the 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
After all that, Dustin Johnson is a winner again. A tournament that looked, for 69 holes at least, to belong to Jason Day ended as Dustin Johnson's second victory in a row, banishing any suggestion of a major championship letdown.
The long-hitting Carolinian is the week's big winner, for obvious reasons, and he moves to the head of the pack for British Open contenders. The hole where Jason Day's hopes of victory sunk in a green-front water hazard too, won this week—and you'll want to hear what Jordan Spieth had to say about No. 16.
Who (or what) were the other winners in Akron? The losers?
Read on to find out.
Winner: Dustin Johnson
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Following up a field-lapping performance at Oakmont to collect his first major trophy, Dustin Johnson put in a heckuva week's worth of work at the WGC-Bridgestone.
Johnson averaged a ridiculous 341.1 yards off the tee at long-drive friendly Firestone and pencilled in a pair of weekend 66s to pip Scott Piercy by a stroke. He topped the field average in strokes gained: off the tee by a ridiculous 6.05 strokes and performed more than admirably in the other facets of the game.
And DJ, who has been golf's most consistent high performer this season, is now the No. 2 golfer in the world behind the man he knocked off late Sunday in Akron—A nice feather in his TaylorMade Golf cap heading to Troon.
Loser: Jordan Spieth
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To be fair, headline writers haven't helped Jordan Spieth this week with stories like "Spieth makes triple bogey, criticizes hole" (on GolfChannel.com).
Coming on the heels of a substandard U.S. Open performance in which his most notable contributions to the tournament narrative were complaining about the USGA, Jordan Spieth is garnering attention more for what he says critically than quality golfing performances.
Spieth-related stories in recent weeks are of a markedly different tone than Spieth angles at this time last year, when the young Texan had won the Masters and U.S. Open and was about to win the John Deere Classic.
This isn't to say we ought to expect the 22-year-old to win at the same clip as he did during his impressive 2015 surge. However, the balance has tipped in recent weeks from a golfer with a self-critical and fiery on-course demeanor to one who is keen to voice his displeasure with external agents.
And lashing out at the Golf Channel via Twitter for the clickbait-ish headline isn't ultimately productive.
Putting aside the merits of his specific criticisms, and respecting his honesty, the shift isn't ultimately a good one for Spieth, and it could hardly be beneficial for the game as a whole. As a perfect illustration of this, Spieth finished tied for third this week, but you're likely to hear more about his comments on the 16th hole, lashing out on Twitter or lukewarm feelings toward the Olympics.
Winner: The 16th Hole
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The longest par-five on the PGA Tour wreaked havoc on the field this week. At 667 yards, with a small green fronted by water, Firestone's 16th undid Jason Day's hopes of capturing a second WGC event in a row. After a wayward drive and a punch-out, Day found the water en route to a double-bogey seven. Day fell behind Dustin Johnson and added a bogey at the 18th to finish tied for third at three under par.
The 16th was the third most difficult hole at Firestone, and Jordan Spieth gave the five-shotter a negative review after he made a triple bogey late Saturday to grievously harm his hopes of winning.
In his post-round press conference, Spieth offered his thoughts on the hole design/setup.
"I think it's a poor hole from where we play the tee box. It wasn't designed to be played from 670. In my opinion, with how firm the course is, it would be a better hole if it were moved up a good 50 yards and guys could potentially go for it, and if you hit a good drive, you have a decision to make.
"
It's likely Jason Day is of a similar mind.
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Loser: Olympic Golf
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Another week, another high-profile golfer opting out of Rio. While the week's tournament is always the primary focus when players address the media, other elements creep in. This week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was no exception. Jason Day issued a statement Tuesday indicating he won't compete for Australia in the Olympics, and he was asked for comment in his pre-tournament press conference.
"Like I said, it was a very difficult decision, but I'm looking forward to moving on this week. I just want to wish everyone that is going down there the best of luck and hoping that they obviously represent their countries the best they can. And yeah, like I said, it was a difficult decision. Looking back on it, it was probably late last week that I made the decision of really finally going ahead and withdrawing my name from the Olympics.
"
Also announcing he wouldn't play recently: Rory McIlroy. The world's No. 1 and No. 3 golfers are joined by Adam Scott, Shane Lowry, Louis Oosthuizen and Vijay Singh, to name a few of the PGA Tour's finest who won't be making the trip south.
As many have written, the IOC was counting on top-tier golf talent at the sport's reintroduction to the Olympic program. Instead, golf's best are dropping like flies thanks (officially) to the threat posed by Zika-infected mosquitos.
Winner: William McGirt
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First-round leader thanks to a superb opening 64, William McGirt ultimately didn't win in Akron. However, the South Carolina native has played some darn good golf in Ohio recently, where he won the Memorial Tournament last month and finished tied for seventh this week.
The win at Muirfield Village and his strong showing at Firestone are McGirt's only top-10 finishes since May, so it isn't like he's in the midst of a brilliant run of form generally. In 2016, it seems William McGirt is a horse for any Buckeye State course.
Losers: Top-Tier Talent Slouching Toward Troon
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With the season's third major just two weeks away, and with many golfers making their final start prior to heading to Royal Troon, those hoping to hoist the Claret Jug would like to have their games in good shape.
Unfortunately for a trio of top-shelfers, that won't be the case. Hideki Matsuyama, who entered the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational following missed cuts at the Memorial and the U.S. Open, was again unimpressive, finishing tied for 42nd. Justin Rose, who also missed the cut at the U.S. Open, finished at 10 over for the week, tied for 46th. Patrick Reed, another U.S. Open cut-misser, finished 52nd.
Needless to say, all three golfers have work to do ahead of the 145th British Open.
Winner: Scott Piercy
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How about Scott Piercy as of late? The Las Vegas native recorded just one top-10 finish this season prior to the U.S. Open.
Piercy, the No. 43 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking, fired three sub-70 rounds and a final round 70 en route to a five-under, second-place finish in his next start after a stellar tied-for-second showing at the U.S. Open.
Piercy led the field in strokes gained: tee to green for the week and certainly looks in command of his ball striking as he heads to his second British Open.
Loser: Steven Bowditch
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You hate to pile on a guy, but Steven Bowditch hasn't exactly been playing the best golf of his career lately.
And to make things worse for the Australian, the inconvenience of a drug test given after his second-round 72. "Even the tour can't believe I broke 80!" Bowditch tweeted with a picture of his summons. A necessary evil, yes, and random. But with missed cuts in seven of his last 10 starts and a penchant for shooting above 80, the apparent suggestion is Bowditch must have doped to better his first round score by 10 strokes.
Of course, Bowdo tweeted this in jest and the tour's drug tests are purported to be entirely random, but there's a measure of adding insult to injury for the guy who finished last in the field at 28 over par.
Stats courtesy of PGATour.com.
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