WGC-Bridgestone Invitational: Encyclopedia - WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is one of the annual World Golf Championships for male professional golfers. It is sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours and the prize money is official money on both the PGA TOUR and the PGA European Tour. The event, sponsored by NEC through 2005, was established in 1999 as a successor to the "World Series of Golf", which was also sponsored by NEC.

The tournament will change sponsorship in 2006, with Bridgestone taking over from NEC as title sponsor. As a part of the five-year sponsorship agreement, the event will continue to be held at its traditional site of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

The current event has a field of about seventy-five players, which is roughly half that for a standard professional golf event. Basically, invitations are issued to the top few dozen golfers in the world. The specific eligibility criteria are as follows.

• Playing members of the last named United States and International Presidents Cup teams.
• Playing members of the last named United States and European Ryder Cup teams.
• If not otherwise eligible, players ranked among the top 50, including any players tied for 50th place, on the Official World Golf Rankings as of Monday of tournament week.
• If not otherwise eligible, tournament winners of worldwide events since the prior year's NEC Invitational with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 100 points or more.
• If not otherwise eligible, the winner of one selected tournament from each of the following tours: PGA Tour of Australasia, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.

All of the events up to 2005 were held in the United States, all of them except the 2002 edition at Firestone Country Club.

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - The World Series of Golf

Up until 1998, there was a tournament called the World Series of Golf, which was also played at Firestone Country Club for many years, and sponsored by NEC. It was founded as a four man invitational event in 1962, but later became a PGA Tour event, and eventually one of the leading events on the Tour. For many years a victory in the World Series of Golf gave a golfer a 10-year exemption on the Tour, which was the same as was granted for a victory in a major championship at that time, and twice as long as is given even for winning a major now. The field consisted of the winners of all the high status men's professional golf tournaments around the world in the previous twelve months. This was quite different from the criteria for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational listed above, but produced much the same sort of global field.

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - WGC-Bridgestone Invitational winners

• 2006 First event

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - WGC-NEC Invitational winners

• 2005 Tiger Woods United States
• 2004 Stewart Cink United States
• 2003 Darren Clarke Northern Ireland
• 2002 Craig Parry Australia (note: played at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington)
• 2001 Tiger Woods United States
• 2000 Tiger Woods United States
• 1999 Tiger Woods United States

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - World Series of Golf winners

• 1998 David Duval - United States
• 1997 Greg Norman - Australia
• 1996 Phil Mickelson - United States
• 1995 Greg Norman - Australia
• 1994 José María Olazábal - Spain
• 1993 Fulton Allem - South Africa
• 1992 Craig Stadler - United States
• 1991 Tom Purtzer - United States
• 1990 José María Olazábal - Spain
• 1989 David Frost - South Africa
• 1988 Mike Reid - United States
• 1987 Curtis Strange - United States
• 1986 Dan Pohl - United States
• 1985 Roger Maltbie - United States
• 1984 Denis Watson - Zimbabwe
• 1983 Nick Price - Zimbabwe
• 1982 Craig Stadler - United States
• 1981 Bill Rogers - United States
• 1980 Tom Watson - United States
• 1979 Lon Hinkle - United States
• 1978 Gil Morgan - United States
• 1977 Lanny Wadkins - United States
• 1976 Jack Nicklaus - United States

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational - External link

• Official site

Categories: Akron-Canton sports | PGA TOUR events | European Tour events | World Golf Championships

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "WGC-Bridgestone Invitational", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki