Tiger Woods is the Firestone favourite, but Mark Roe says the omens are good for Ross Fisher.
Woods looking to reassert his dominance, says Roe
Tiger Woods is the man to beat every time he steps onto a golf course - but that is especially true at the Bridgestone Invitational.
In his nine appearances in this tournament, he has won on six occasions; an astonishing record when you consider the standard of the fields that the WGC events attract. The field at Firestone this week will be just as strong as the field at Hazeltine for next week's USPGA Championship.
The WGC events are second only to the majors in the eyes of most golfers and that is certainly true of Tiger who will be looking to follow up his fine win at the Buick Open win with another dominating performance here.
With only four majors per year in which to test himself against the best, Tiger sees the WGCs as another as a way of forcing his domination on the rest of the players. In his mind I am sure that he is thinking that if he doesn't win a major in 2009, he is damn well going to make sure he wins a WGC event.
His absence was sorely felt when he missed the Bridgestone through injury last year, but when I cast my mind back to 2007, I remember seeing Tiger in simply spectacular form.
After a disappointing performance at that year's Open Championship, possibly distracted following the birth of his baby daughter Sam, he went out and carded a score of eight-under. No other player field finished under par. That's how dominant he was.
Of course, he had his critics when he failed to make the cut at Turnberry last month but perhaps history will repeat itself and he will prove his doubters wrong at Firestone.
He may not have won a major since his return from that long-term knee injury, but he has won four events on the American Tour and you suspect it's a matter of when, not if, a big one comes along.
He won at the Buick Open last week and Firestone is a course that Tiger clearly loves. His momentum is building nicely and who would bet against him completing a hat-trick of tournament wins - and picking up his 15th major - at Hazeltine next week?
Advantage
But if Tiger does open the door for somebody else, I believe Ross Fisher could be the man to step in and take advantage.
Ross has stepped up to world-class status in the last 18 months - he has proved that with his displays all year - and his performances at The Open Championship and the US Open proved he can compete on the biggest stages.
He's started to become a player for the big occasion. He enjoys playing at the big events and so I expect him to revel in the next fortnight with two massive ones back to back.
The thing I like about Ross is that every time he has a setback, he doesn't get downbeat. He doesn't view his disappointments as negatives, he views them as part of the learning process.
He was in the lead on the final day of The Open, but after letting it slip he was very rational and level-headed. He told me he'd only had one bad swing - resulting in a quadruple bogey - and apart from that he had played well.
That's how the likes of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson talk when they've had disappointments. They will turn any negative into a positive. They will not talk about the things they've done badly, only the things they have done well.
Ross has improved leaps and bounds in the last 12 months and there is no doubt he can contend in any world-class field on his day. He has such an impressive ease of power and is the sort of player that can dominate a golf course, so while Tiger is a clear favourite I will be keeping a close eye on Ross.
As I mentioned, when Tiger Woods won at Firestone in 2007, it was his first win since the birth of his baby daughter.
Ross Fisher's wife, Jo, has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl. Maybe that's an omen for this weekend?
