Fantasy Golf Insider: 9 players to target at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Due to the PGA Tour's participation in 2016 Olympic Summer Games (as dwindling as it may be) the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational has been moved up the schedule from its typical time in mid-August to this week in 2016. Unlike the Olympics, this week's event contains a strong field, with seven of the top 10 and 27 of the top-30 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking.

As with all WGC events, be sure to factor into lineup strategy this week the fact there will not be a cut. Every player in the field will be assured of playing four rounds - barring a withdrawal - allowing for some extra DFS scoring. Emphasize the selection of players with elite scoring abilities, as bogeys or worse are penalized much less than birdies are rewarded.

Here's a look at the past three leaderboards:

Per FantasyInsiders, the key stats for Firestone Country Club are Driving Distance (DD), Par 4 Efficiency 450-500 Yards (P4E), Strokes Gained: Approach (SGA), Birdie or Better Percentage (BoB). These stats have been strengths of previous winners and need to be used in combination with recent form and course history when building lineups.

Top Tier, Top Dollar, Top Results

Adam Scott

Scott has returned to human form in 2015-16 since winning back-to-back events at the WGC-Cadillac Championship and The Honda Classic in February and March. That said, he has made seven more consecutive cuts, extending his overall streak to a perfect 13-for-13 on the season.

Yet, he hasn't had any more top-10 finishes during his run, with 12th-place showings at The Players Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational representing his best results. He came 45th here last year, but he finished eighth in 2014 and 14th in 2013. He won this event in 2011.

He ranks well in each of the selected statistics, led by a tour-leading rank in SGA. He's second in the field in average fantasy points, boding well with a guaranteed four rounds.

Jason Dufner

Dufner has top-10 finishes in two of his past three events, including an eighth-place result at the U.S. Open. He has three other top 10s on the year and an 11th at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He didn't play in this event last year, but he came 66th in 2014, fourth in 2013, and seventh in 2012.

He enters the week 88th in DD, 111th in P4E, 15th in SGA, and 16th in BoB. He ranks 13th on tour in Scoring Average this season, and his strong course history makes him a savvy target with modest recent form.

Justin Thomas

While Thomas hasn't been a consistently low scorer this season, his second-round score of 61 at the CIMB Classic is the second-lowest score shot on tour this season. He ranks 19th in BoB, while shooting birdie or better on 17.94 percent of Par 4s.

He hasn't participated in this event before, but he came 35th at the WGC-Cadillac and 27th at the WGC-HSBC. He's coming off a 12th at the Quicken Loans National last week, his second-best finish since a third at The Honda Classic in March.

Best Value With a Chance

J.B. Holmes

Holmes has made 11 of 13 cuts this season, but his two missed cuts have come in two of his past three events - the U.S. Open and The Players Championship - with a fourth-place result at the Memorial Tournament sandwiched in between. He came 37th at this event in 2015, 26th in 2014, 44th in 2010, 36th in 2009 and 2008, and 50th in 2006.

He ranks third on tour in DD and ninth in BoB. His ownership will be low with checkered course history, and even with shaky form he has demonstrated an ability to finish near the top of the leaderboard.

David Lingmerth

Lingmerth's key stats are unimpressive, led by rank of 22nd in P4E, but he also ranks eighth on tour in Overall Putting Average. He came sixth at this event in 2015, his first ever appearance at any WGC event. He struggled in both the WGC-Cadillac and the WGC-HSBC, but he's coming off at a 12th at the U.S. Open, in a field very similar to this week.

Byeong-Hun An

An has made three consecutive PGA Tour cuts since missing the weekend at The Players Championship. It's four consecutive cuts overall, including a 33rd-place finish at the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship.

An participated in this event last year, his first ever appearance in a WGC. He finished just 57th, but an opening round of 77 and a finishing round of 74 did him in. He was 2-under par on Friday and Saturday. He ranks 32nd in DD and 13th in BoB this season, while also ranking 12th with 4.06 birdies per round.

If Everything Goes Right

Smylie Kaufman

Kaufman broke out of a slump of four missed cuts in five events, finishing 10th at the Quicken Loans National. He broke par in three of four rounds, shooting opening and closing rounds of 4-under par, 67.

The PGA Tour rookie has no course experience at Firestone CC, but he ranks 29th in DD, 13th in P4E and 20th in BoB. He's 74th in scoring average at 70.886, but has made the 12th-most birdies on tour this year. This is the lowest his price has been in some time, and he's coming off his best result since an eighth at the WGC-Cadillac.

Soren Kjeldsen

Kjeldsen has missed the cut in his most recent events on both tours, the U.S. Open and the BMW PGA Championship in Europe. He has made six of eight cuts on the PGA this year, including byes and finishes of 28th and 46th, respectively, at the WGC-Cadillac and WGC-HSBC.

He is again underpriced for the No. 47 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking. His uninspiring fantasy points per week average is skewed by having played only in the most marquee events. He has proven to be worthy in strong field, and he will again go underowned.

Steven Bowditch

Bowditch is one of just a handful of players to register more bogeys than birdies this season, while also logging 51 double-bogeys and 15 "Others." It's a trend that had started to correct prior to his missed cut at the U.S. Open, as he had seen the weekend in three of his previous four events. He's the second-cheapest golfer of the week, and is guaranteed to play all four rounds.

Of course, the week could go similarly to the WGC-Cadillac when he posted four rounds in the 80s, but he can be allowed one or two blow-ups this week and still return value with two quality rounds.

Top Fades

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson has uncharacteristically missed four of his past seven cuts, dating back to the Masters. It's the first time since at least 2004 he's missed the cut in each of the year's first two major championships. He also has poor course history at Firestone, placing 15th in 2014 but 63rd in 2015, 21st in 2013, and 43rd in 2012. He hasn't finished inside the top 10 since coming fourth in 2008.

Branden Grace

Grace has been rather inconsistent since moving into the upper-pricing tier following a victory at the RBC Heritage. He finished ninth at the Valero Texas Open, 57th at The Players and fifth at the U.S. Open. He doesn't fit the course profile at all, ranking 53rd in DD, 176th in P4E, 44th in SGA and 59th in BoB. He ranks just 64th in birdie average at 3.69 per round.

Zach Johnson

Johnson also fails to meet the course profile. He ranks 162nd in DD, 39th in P4E, 55th in SGA and 59th in BoB. He came 33rd in this event in 2015, with a fourth-place showing in 2012 representing his career best. He finished 47th at this year's WGC-Cadillac, with a final score of plus-7.