Where: Firestone Country Club (South Course), Akron, Ohio; 7,400 yards, Par 70

Defending champion: Rory (out-ankle)

Weather: mid to higher 80’s all four days, 30% isolated Saturday, otherwise looks good, wind 6-8 MPH throughout

TV: Thursday-Friday: Golf Channel 1:30-6:30 PM ET/12:30-5:30 PM CT

Saturday-Sunday: Golf: Noon-1:30 PM ET/11-12:30 PM CT; CBS: 2-6 PM ET/1-5 PM CT.

Excellent tuneup for the 97th PGA Championship next week at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. Rory won here last year and went on to win the PGA the following week at Valhalla, so it’s a good gauge of who will win the fourth major this year.

Awesome field: Spieth, Fowler, D.J., Bubba, Zach, Phil, last week’s winner at the Quicken Loans in Virginia, Troy Merritt.  Rose, Keegan Bradley, who won here in 2012. No Tiger. He’s won here eight times, the last coming two years ago in 2013. Saw a lot of improvement last week at the Quicken Loans as he finished tied 18th and shot 68,66, 74, 68 for a score of -8. Merritt won it at -18. But Tiger is ranked 262nd in the world golf rankings, not good enough to play at Firestone.

Who I like at Firestone:

There are some excellent candidates here to pick from. Spieth is Spieth; always a factor in every tournament he plays in. Bubba is playing very well and has already won twice on tour this season. Dustin Johnson is Dustin Johnson; he’s always a factor. Justin Rose is a good candidate. Zach Johnson is playing extremely well after that clutch performance at the 144th Open Championship at St. Andrews.

But I’m going with the 26 year old from Murrieta, California, by way of Oklahoma State. He’s having a stellar year; he won at the Players Championship, which is big time, he finished second at the Quicken Loans last week and finished eighth here last year. He finished in the top five in every major last year. He’s ready to win here and he’s ready to win a major. Like this stud to get the job done this week.

Rickie Fowler