The World Golf Championships are intended to be nearly on par with major championships given that the fields include the top-ranked players in the world. So you’ll have to excuse the TOUR Insider when he points out that this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, has major flavor.

A field that includes tournament winners and the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings, plus Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team members all vying for a monster purse of $7.5 million are good credentials. Then you put the eighth WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on a muscular and mighty stage, the South Course at Firestone Country Club, and the picture is complete.

Trust us, Firestone South, hosting its seventh WGC event, is that good. Or, don’t trust us. Listen to Stewart Cink, the 2004 champ, who said, “It’s a great event on a terrific golf course. It has all the elements of a major tournament.” Or, listen to Retief Goosen, who said at last week’s PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club that, “Medinah and Firestone are a lot alike.”

Except that, depending on the weather conditions, Firestone South, par 70 and 7,360 rolling, tree-lined yards, might be a more difficult test. Let’s face it, there’s a reason the South Course is referred to as, “the Monster.”

Let’s not forget that this is a monster week in golf with the Reno-Tahoe Open being held concurrently at Montreux Golf & Country Club. While about 80 men hack up Akron, another 132 players invade northern Nevada to vie for $3 million, which is nice work, if you can get it.

Last year: With a 1-over-par 71 and 6-under 274 aggregate, Tiger Woods won his fourth title in Akron by turning back Chris DiMarco by one stroke. The difference was a 17-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole that Woods converted for his fifth win of the season. The victory represented his 10th individual win in the WGC series and 11th overall as well as his seventh win in Ohio.

How he did it: Woods, who has never finished worse than fourth at Firestone, seized a share of the third-round lead with Kenny Perry, a position from which he was almost sure to win. He ended up capturing his 33rd title in 36 events in which he held at least a share of the 54-hole lead. Woods hit only 29 of 56 fairways on the South Course, but his course management and short game came to the fore again.

Strange but true: Only Notah Begay III, the first winner of the Reno-Tahoe Open, has gone on to win more than one other PGA TOUR title.

True but not so strange: Woods is 62 under par on Firestone’s South Course.

If Firestone could talk: “Long? Yes. Boring? Well, if you get bored, I’ll just hammer you.”

Worth Knowing:

• Charles Howell III changed to a new prototype set of Callaway irons two days prior to the PGA Championship, and he opened the tournament with a 2-under-par 70, his first sub-par score since the Barclays Classic. He still missed weekend play, however, in his sixth straight start (with one withdrawal).

• Now officially a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Vaughn Taylor has a decision to make. He is entered in the Reno-Tahoe Open as the two-time defending champion. But his Ryder Cup berth earns him a spot in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which, of course, offers more than twice the purse and no cut.

• Fred Funk has turned the corner on his summer putting problems thanks to his wife, Sharon, who suggested that the new member of the Champions Tour turn the right hand on his claw-type grip underneath the club. “I don’t know why, but it works. I’ve stopped pulling everything,” Funk said.

• Think guys don’t care about their golf after the major championship season? Jim Furyk and Ernie Els both hit the practice putting green after their finals rounds in the PGA at Medinah. Furyk had 35 putts Sunday and Els 30.

• Speaking of Furyk, the former U.S. Open champion earned the last qualifying spot for the PGA Grand Slam of Golf with Woods winning his second major title of the year at Medinah. Furyk earned the final spot by leading the major champions points list, while Els and Mike Weir were second and third.

• Vijay Singh missed consecutive cuts in majors for the first time since falling short at the 1994 PGA and the ’95 Masters. Only once before in his career had he missed cuts in two majors in a season.

• Colin Montgomerie has decided to skip this week’s event in Akron to appear in a made-for-TV event in Wales. Monty is joining Catherine Zeta-Jones and other celebrities in the All-Star Cup at Celtic Manor, site of the 2010 Ryder Cup – where he could well be the European team captain.

• Two-time PGA champion Nick Price, who competed in his first PGA since 2002 last week at Medinah, is entered in the Reno-Tahoe Open for the first time. He is one of seven former major winners in the field, joining David Duval, Rich Beem, Larry Mize, Mark Brooks, Shaun Micheel, and Steve Elkington.

TI’s power ranking for the WGC-Bridgestone Championship: 1. Tiger Woods, 2. Lee Westwood, 3. Fred Couples, 4. Stewart Cink, 5. Geoff Ogilvy.

TI’s power ranking for the Reno-Tahoe Open: 1. Woody Austin, 2. David Duval, 3. Pat Perez, 4. Joe Durant, 5. Ian Leggatt.

Parting shot: “We all want success in this game, and we all want it yesterday.” – former PGA TOUR winner Charles Howell III.