Tiger can give Firestone the send-off it deserves

Harvey Firestone designed the country club in akron, ohio that carries his name as a playground perk for workers at his tyre company — but it’s the world’s leading golfers who have come to look upon the Firestone Country Club as the ultimate bonus.

over the last 65 years, it has hosted any number of elite field events, including the WGC-Bridgestone invitational since 1999. it’s the venue where Jack nicklaus won seven times and tiger Woods eight, a site where tom Watson, Lee trevino, Greg norman and plenty more Hall of Fame members enjoyed a career highlight; where JoseMaria olazabal played the finest round of his life on his way to victory in 1990 and rory Mcilroy delivered in his golden summer of 2014.

‘it might be the tournament my dad looks forward to the most all year,’ says rory, in which case this week’s edition will be a poignant walk down the fairways for Gerry, as this will be the last.

next year the tournament is moving to the Deep south, and the sweat bath of Memphis, which might make sense to the new sponsor Fedex, whose headquarters are located in elvis-land. in pure golfing terms, however, it is nothing less than an act of wanton vandalism.

at least we’re saying so long to Firestone with a tournament to savour. thank goodness tiger made it — the world’s top 50 are eligible, and Woods is 50th — for it would have added to the sadness given he owned the place for a decade.

apart from tiger — who has also achieved the ridiculous feat at Bay Hill and torrey Pines — only sam snead ever won eight times at the same venue. to think, Woods won seven times in 11 years at one point, including with literally a shot in the dark in 2000. Desperate to finish after a long rain delay, he was guided only by the lights in the clubhouse and his own intuitive genius as he struck a wedge to 9ft and holed the putt.

it’s not all been gravy, alas. the last time Woods was at Firestone was in his last WGC outing in 2014, when he had to withdraw after three rounds owing to what became a familiar back problem. He looked like an old man as he tried to climb into his car, and that was no way for him to say goodbye to one of his favourite tour spots. at least he can now bow out properly, and maybe even spectacularly.

Given the presence of every gilded golfer in the modern game, there’s every possibility of a rousing send-off. But win no 80 on the PGa tour for tiger and the first of this latest comeback would surely be the most fitting Firestone farewell.