Adam Scott was a fine golfer before he brought Steve Williams on board as his caddie.

With Williams, Scott has a chance to be exceptional.

Championship-caliber material.

Scott leads after one day of the Bridgestone Invitational, holding a one-stroke lead over Jason Day.

To be honest, it's nothing new. Scott is a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour. And even though he is looking for his first win of the 2011 season, he knows how to win.

Adding a caddie who knows how to win better than any other caddie in the game can only help.

Williams was surprisingly let loose a few weeks back in a much-publicized separation from former boss Tiger Woods. Woods' self-inflicted loss will be Scott's gain.

There's a certain intangible Williams can add to Scott's game. As Woods' caddie for 12 years, Williams KNOWS how to win and he knows how to help a golfer win.

And the best part about it is this: Scott is willing to take the tutelage. Some golfers might feel it is beneath them to have their caddie critique their game brutally. Sometimes the truth hurts, and they're not willing to hear it.

Scott is.

"He thinks I can be as good a player as I want to be," Scott said of Williams, "but he's adamant that you've got to put the work in and I think he sees that I am putting the work in. Been a big refocus over the last year or so in my game, doing a lot of things I need to do to become better. It's all a bit of a process, but slowly and surely I think I'm seeing glimpses of it.
"He's fairly blunt in his assessment of my chipping, but I'm going to work on it."

Scott added, "It's been a fortunate situation for me, I think, and I'd like to take advantage of that. But you know, I've been very impressed with the way he caddies. He's very professional, and that's what I'm looking for in a guy out there."

No one knows for sure if Scott will hold on and win the tournament. Over the long haul, no one knows how good Scott will be or how many championships he will win.

But one thing is for certain. His chances are better with championship-tested Williams on the bag and on his team.

- John Kampf

So you're interested to see how Tiger Woods does at the Bridgestone Invitational?

Don't think you're alone. There are 75 other golfers in the field at Firestone Country Club who are wondering the same thing.

After an 11-week layoff, what is Woods going to bring to the table when he tees off at 1:40 p.m. on Thursday afternoon? Surely he's not going to be the same guy who tied for 78th (out of 80 golfers) last year at Firestone.

But to expect him to be the player he was when he was the top player in the world is probably a little out of the question, too.

Will he control his Ruthian drives? Will his short game be there? Will the red shirt again dominate Sunday? How is this whole changing caddie thing going to work out?

No one knows.

But it is THE topic dominating Bridgestone this week. At least that's what the first two days of practice rounds suggest.

Such as these snippets from participants:

- Luke Donald, on his thoughts of Tiger's chances: His expectation is to win. ...
You know, Tiger has done it a few times. He's obviously been away through injury a few times, so he's getting used to it a little bit. But I don't know what his expectation is. Obviously he always sets his standards very high, and that's the way he should be.

- Hunter Mahan on his expectations for Woods: "It's difficult because we don't -- he's so secretive. We don't know how much of him is back. Is his leg good? Is it not good? You just don't know. Hopefully he's healthy. It seemed like this was the cutoff point for his year, either he was going to be healthy and play or he wouldn't because after this, it's kind of -- he'll probably play in China or somewhere, I don't know, but it was going to be a long time before we saw him.
I think he took -- he maybe forced it earlier in the year trying to win, trying to get back, because he's so competitive. There's no one more competitive than him, and for him to sit for a length of time again after the first ACL injury, that had to be hard for him. And him working with Foley now, I'm sure he's very eager to go out there and see what he can do on the golf course. I think it's working on the range and he's doing everything he wants to do, so I think he wants to go see it on the course. I'm sure he's somewhat curious, as everyone else, to see what he's going to do out there. I think he's pretty confident in his abilities right now, and it's good that he's -- it's great for us to go play against him because he was the standard. I think I saw kind of the -- (radio interruption) I totally lost my train of thought. I need a caddie right now to get me back focused.
He was the standard of the game that we've never seen before, getting his game back there and back to where he knows he's capable of doing because it was pretty special for a while. And I think he's -- I'm biased with Foley, but I think he's got the perfect teacher, and they're going to work on the right things, and there's no one that's going to work harder than that guy. I think he's doing all the right things right now.

- Mahan, on Woods changing caddies: "Boy, like I said, you never know what's going on with Tiger in his head. You don't know what's going on in the camp. I was surprised that Stevie started working for Adam Scott. I thought that was kind of a sign that just seemed kind of strange. So maybe that was the first indicator.
I don't know, I never really -- you never really believed it until you actually heard it. I never really did. So I was surprised that they did kind of split and go their own ways. But you know, Tiger hasn't made too many bad decisions in his career. He's made a few, but when it comes to golf, the guy trusts himself and he trusts his instincts. I feel like he's making the right decision for himself. I don't know, he's Tiger Woods. I don't know if he needs -- he may just -- it might be good for him just to have a friend out there and have it kind of relaxed out there a little bit and go back to playing golf and playing Tiger Woods and his own thoughts in his own head. I'm sure he's going to be comfortable out there. He's with a buddy. I think he'll enjoy this week for sure and have fun."

- Rory McIloy on what he expects from Woods: "I don't know. I mean, I really don't know. The last tournament he played, he had to pull out after nine holes, so I think just to see how his knee holds up over 72 holes. And if he can do that, then I think the week has been -- no one expects him to come out and play well. I'm sure he expects himself to come out and play and compete, but given the length of layoff and considering that he's only been able to hit full shots for the last two weeks or whatever, it would be an unbelievable effort if he was to come back and compete.
But I think just get through 72 holes and maybe finish in the top 20 I think would be a really good effort."

Woods is simply the biggest story of the tournament, and that isn't going to change no matter if he shoots well or not.

The only question is this: What's the bigger story - if Woods plays well or if he falls apart.

Everyone wants to know what it's going to be.

Including those he is playing with.

- John Kampf

Imagine if Tiger Woods lives up to the words he spoke on Tuesday at Firestone Country Club.

Imagine if the former No. 1 golfer in the world actually finds his magic - and stroke - again.

What a brilliant, and memorable Bridgestone Invitational this could be.

Woods talks as if the world was finally right for him on Tuesday after a nine-hole practice round on the South Course. He comes into Firestone - a venue in which he has dominated seven times - with the healthiest body he he has had "in years" and a new caddie.

He finished tied for 78th last year.

He WILL be better this year - rest assured.

Good enough to win it? It's hard to tell.

But if he IS good enough to win it, this could be the most impressive Bridgestone perhaps in history. Especially if:

- Darren Clarke continues his impressive play displayed a few weeks ago when he won the British Open;'

- If the meteoric rise of golf's wonder boy Rory McIlroy hits another peak;

- If Phil Mickelson actually finds a good round on Sunday, which never happens here at Firestone, but one can dream;

- If Martin Kaymer puts together a championship round he did just short of a year ago when he won the PGA Championship; and

- If some others, such as the likable Padraig Harrington, stogie-puffing Miguel Jimenez or fast-riser Jason Day wins.

And consider the hoopla if, just by chance, Woods finds himself paired with Adam Scott on Saturday or Sunday. Imagine THAT cold war between Tiger and former caddie Steve Williams, who is now on the bag for Scott.

The possibilities for a remarkable and memorable Bridgestone are endless.

If Tiger is at or near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon, it would make it that much more special.

- John Kampf