The WGC-Bridgestone NEC Invitational is one of the annual World Golf Championships for male professional golfers. It is sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours and the prize money is official money on both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour. The event, sponsored by NEC through 2005 and known as the WGC-NEC Invitational , was established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, which was also sponsored by NEC. The tournament changed sponsorship in 2006, with Bridgestone taking over from NEC as title sponsor. As a part of the five-year sponsorship agreement, the event will continue to be held at its traditional site of the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

The new name is The WGC-Bridgestone NEC Invitational

The WGC-Bridgestone NEC Invitational has a field of about seventy-five players, which is roughly half that for a standard professional golf event. Basically, invitations are issued to the top few dozen golfers in the world. The specific eligibility criteria are as follows. Playing members of the last named United States and International Presidents Cup teams. Playing members of the last named United States and European Ryder Cup teams. If not otherwise eligible, players ranked among the top 50, including any players tied for 50th place, on the Official World Golf Rankings as of Monday of tournament week. If not otherwise eligible, tournament winners of worldwide events since the prior years WGC-Bridgestone NEC Invitational with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 100 points or more. If not otherwise eligible, the winner of one selected tournament from each of the following tours: PGA Tour of Australia, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour. All of the events up to 2005 were held in the United States, all of them except the 2002 edition at Firestone Country Club. The most frequently shown finish in the events history was in 2000, when the final round was delayed and Tiger Woods capped a sizeably-margined win by birdying the final hole in near-total darkness; as his arms rose in victory, he was immediately illuminated by dozens of camera flashes from the gallery and press around the green.