AKRON World's best test Firestone

Among the 86-man World Golf Championship field are the top 50 players in the world ranking.
AKRON (AP) -- Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel had no plans to play in the NEC Invitational until they became surprise winners in major championships.
Both face different anxieties this week -- Micheel at the start of the week, Curtis toward the end of the tournament.
Micheel, fresh off his PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill, spent enough time at home in Memphis, Tenn., to do laundry, pay bills, visit with neighbors he never knew and even attend a Kiss concert on his way to Firestone.
When the World Golf Championship started today, it was the first time Micheel would be introduced as the PGA champion.
Emotions
"I was really more nervous yesterday, not knowing what to expect coming up here and how I was going to be received," he said Wednesday. "I really haven't talked to any of my peers. It's been kind of a whirlwind."
Curtis set his wedding date long before he went to the British Open, his first major championship, and walked off with the claret jug.
He's getting married Saturday night -- right after the third round.
Hey, Ben, ever play golf in a tuxedo?
"No, and I'm not going to, either," Curtis said.
The wedding, about 30 minutes away in Stow, originally was scheduled for 5 p.m., but that depends on what time he tees off in the third round. There is no cut at Firestone.
"I know it's going to be nerve-racking," Curtis said. "I'm just going to try to calm myself down and be patient and not worry about it. Because I know in the back of my mind, I'll be looking at my watch the whole day."
Amid these distractions, the best player to have never won a major this year -- Tiger Woods -- will try to continue his dominance at Firestone.
He has won the last three times at Firestone in a variety of fashions -- holding off Phil Mickelson to win by one shot, lapping the field by 11 shots in the dark and beating Jim Furyk in a seven-hole playoff.
Not defending champ
Woods returns to Firestone, but not as the defending champion.
The PGA Tour took the NEC Invitational to Sahalee last year, where Craig Parry of Australia won for the first time in the United States.
Still, one look at the tree-lined fairways of Firestone should make him feel at home.
"The courses you've played well in the past, you always feel that way," Woods said. "This is one of those golf courses where there's no tricks, there's no hidden agendas. It's right in front of you. And it's very challenging."
The 86-man field includes players from the most current Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams, the top 50 in the world ranking and players who won certain events on six tours around the world.
The only player missing was David Duval, who withdrew to take care of an ailing back.