I'm a native of Northeast Ohio and I went to school at the University of Akron. That being said, it should now be obvious why I always pay a little extra attention to the PGA Tour when it rolls into Akron, OH for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Besides, it's really the only time you can talk about Akron without mentioning LeBron James. Whoops, I just screwed that one up. Anyways, onward...

I've always wanted to play at Firestone Country Club, but have never had the chance… which shouldn't be much of a surprise. Perhaps one day if I ever move back to the area and have the funds for a membership, I might play there. Or maybe I'll get my golf game to the point where I can play a tournament there. Better yet, you should find someone who is a member there and have them take me….

…or I'll just have to pop my copy of EA Sports Tiger Woods 2009 to get a round in. I'd say that's gonna be my best shot. Well, my only shot most likely.

Time to move out of the dream world and into reality, because the WGC-Bridgestone kicks off Thursday morning and the headlines are aplenty, especially with a certain golfer coming back to the PGA Tour.

You've heard all week about Tiger Woods returning to the PGA Tour at Bridgestone on Thursday and it's without question the biggest storyline for the tournament this week. But the field is unbelievable and the pairings for the first two rounds couldn't be much better. Don't believe me, have a look for yourself:

Donald/Schwartzel, McDowell/Westwood, McIlroy/Mahan, Mickelson/Day, Fowler/Manassero, Watney/Stricker, Clarke/Woods.

There are groups of young-guns, accomplished veterans, and major champions in that list, but it could be better. All we really needed was Adam Scott and Tiger Woods to be paired together to make the greatest awkward moment in the history of golf. As I'm sure you've heard, Woods dumped caddie Steve Williams and Williams decided to go full time on Scott's bag.

You can't always get what you want I guess, but that doesn't mean you can't complain about not having it. Sure, we're spoiled with those pairings, but it still felt like something was missing. All we could really hope for is Scott and Woods to be in the same pairing at some point Saturday or Sunday. Which means Woods has to play as good as Scott to get there.

Never thought I'd say that. Maybe I'm still stuck in my dream world.

Picks

I have a good feeling the Top 5 will come from the groups listed above. It's a very star-studded Top 5 but they are my picks, and you can take them to Vegas (if you want to lose money)…

1. Luke Donald
2. Lee Westwood
3. Jason Day
4. Phil Mickelson
5. Tiger Woods