Power rankings: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

The PGA Tour is getting into the meat of its Olympics-influenced schedule, with the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational moving up from the week before the PGA Championship into the July 4 weekend.

Shane Lowry is the defending champion of a 61-player field, somewhat depleted because the European Tour chose not to co-sanction the event this year in favor of supporting the 100th French Open. However, Dusitn Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day are the headliners this week.

Here are our top five players for this week:

1. Dustin Johnson — The U.S. Open champion comes back after winning at Oakmont. He’s been playing incredible golf all year. This course, given how he drove the ball at Oakmont, makes a lot of sense. However, his Firestone record isn’t all that great.

2. Jason Day — It’s a good week for Day to come through, just like Oakmont. Long and firm. Day has been in the top 12 here in the last two years, and this tournament came amid a great run for him last year.

3. Adam Scott — Scott was the 2011 winner here, and he’s become a practical top 15 lock here. Coming off a respectable T-18 at the Open.

4. Brooks Koepka — This course should set up well for Koepka. He was sixth here last year. The question mark is driving, which undid his Sunday bid for 63 or better at Oakmont…but that was with long irons and Open pressure.

5. Jordan Spieth — Spieth has been largely forgettable of late and was a total non-factor at Oakmont. However, he was in the top 10 here last year, and his relative lack of length shouldn’t hurt him at Firestone.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

Follow @RyanBallengee

LISTEN TO OUR WEEKLY GOLF PODCAST! This week: How the USGA screwed up at Oakmont and how to fix it

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports