THERE are four betting strategies for this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at the par-70 Firestone Golf Club in Ohio.

1. Lump the lot on Tiger Woods.

2. Ignore the world No. 1 and hunt the value elsewhere.

3. Pick out some bigger prices but include Woods as a saver.

4. Bet 'without' Woods.

So why should Woods dominate our thoughts more than usual this week? Check out the numbers. Woods has played in 24 official WGC events and won 13. And, at Bridgestone, he's won five times in eight runnings and is a combined 72-under-par for his 32 rounds.

Purely on those stats, he should be an odds-on shot this week. But, in reality, a couple of firms are dangling 3/1 ($4).

Before seeing the odds, I had 3/1 ($4) as the price which would trigger a bet so, I'm going to go with the trends rather than fight them this week - at least to some extent.

While I want Woods on the side, there are a few question marks over his game (he hasn't won any of his last five starts) so I'm going to go with Option 3 and have a saver on him.

If he wins, we make a profit, and if he doesn't, we can still cash in with our other three picks.

The one I like best is the 80/1 ($81) about Zach Johnson.

It's been a stunning year for the man from Iowa. He made the big breakthrough by holding off Woods to win the US Masters at Augusta and he returned to Georgia just four starts later to land the AT&T Classic.

After a mini dip, he made the top 20 in the British Open at Carnoustie.

There is plenty of potential in Johnson's three previous trips to Firestone.

He shot a 65 in his first round there in 2005 to finish ninth. He had it going again last year after a second round 68 before fading on the weekend. As for the par-70 layout, Johnson says: 'I enjoy this Midwest-style of golf course. I grew up in Iowa, so this is a treat. I mean, it's just a good classic.'

GRADIENTS CHANGE

Bridgestone, as he discovered on his debut, is a surprisingly hilly course. And having conquered Augusta, he clearly thrives when the gradients change.

Adam Scott is another I'm looking at. He has gone through a rather strange couple of months. After a top six at Sawgrass, he then messed up great victory chances at the Memorial and St Jude, finishing fifth and seventh. A steady 27th at Carnoustie looks to have got him back on track, though, and I'll take a gamble that he can really kick on again here.

Scott was the first-round leader here last year after opening with a 63, and although he eventually slipped to 10th, it was the fourth successive year he'd improved his finish in this event.

He's in the market at 40/1 ($41) and that definitely looks on the generous side.

It's surprising how many of the top players just don't seem to perform here. Phil Mickelson used to but he's not even made the top 20 since it became a WGC event.

Ernie Els' record isn't much better, while Open champ Padraig Harrington is another without a top 20 on his CV. Carnoustie runner-up Sergio Garcia hasn't cracked the top 10 in four visits.

I'm drawn, therefore, to 40/1 ($41) on David Toms, who definitely does get on well with the course.

Toms has finished eighth, ninth and sixth in the last three years, and in his last 16 rounds at the course, he's shot in the 60s no less than 10 times.