WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 2016: Leaderboard Scores, Prize-Money Payouts

Sunday's final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational saw the world's top-ranked golfer succumb to a charge by the game's most recent major champion at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

Jason Day entered the last 18 holes tied for the lead, but U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson emerged with the victory by two strokes thanks to his second straight four-under 66, which got him to six under par overall.

Below is a look at the other top finishers at the WGC event, including the prize-money payouts from the lucrative $9.5 million purse:

Pos.	Player	Scores	To Par	Prize Money
1	Dustin Johnson	69-73-66-66	-6	$1,620,000
2	Scott Piercy	67-69-69-70	-5	$1,026,000
T3	Jason Day	69-69-67-72	-3	$456,000
T3	Jordan Spieth	68-71-71-67	-3	$456,000
T3	Matt Kuchar	69-72-70-66	-3	$456,000
T3	Kevin Chappell	71-70-69-67	-3	$456,000
T7	William McGirt	64-74-70-70	-2	$296,083
T7	Charl Schwartzel	72-69-67-70	-2	$296,083
T7	David Lingmerth	70-67-69-72	-2	$296,083

ESPN.com's Jason Sobel reflected on Johnson's tremendous finish to the tournament:

Day created some early separation with a chip-in eagle on the par-five second hole, as the PGA Tour's official Twitter account showed:

But it was otherwise a string of pars for Day until a bogey on No. 9. Although he gained that stroke back with a birdie on the par-four 10th, he couldn't go any lower as Johnson made his big move.

After carding three birdies and only one bogey on the front nine, Johnson had three birdies on the par-four 13th, 14th and 17th holes, the last of which came on a steely putt that helped him eclipse Day atop the leaderboard, via the PGA Tour:

Justin Ray of Golf Channel noted that Johnson's clutch flat iron was a theme en route to another landmark triumph:

The leaders did stumble down the stretch to make things interesting. After a lip-out bogey on the par-three 15th, Day had an odyssey around the lengthy par-five 16th, featuring misadventures in the trees on flanking sides of the wide fairway.

Day's chances at the trophy evaporated when he found the water with his third shot as he tried to advance his ball too far forward, leading to a double bogey, as the PGA Tour showed:

Even with Johnson facing his own tree troubles on the last hole, he did enough to make a bogey and go up by two shots on Day and Scott Piercy as the final pairing headed to the 17th tee.

By that point, there was too much ground for Day or Piercy to make up. The latter had made two birdies on the last nine but also carded three bogeys. His birdie on No. 18 gave him a round of level par, but there wasn't as much suspense to the outcome as Johnson's margin of victory would indicate.

Brian Wacker of Golf Digest suggested Johnson is finally fulfilling the potential many—including Johnson himself—had not seen materialize over the years:

"

Dustin told me one of goals was to win more than once in season. "I'm way too good a player for that." Problem solved.

— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) July 3, 2016"

According to Ray, Johnson tied Rory McIlroy for the most victories on the PGA Tour since 2008 with 11, second only to Tiger Woods' 18 wins.

The assertion that Johnson's maiden major breakthrough would open the floodgates for further glory seems well supported following what happened in Akron.

Johnson could be using the U.S. Open as only a temporary springboard amid a short-term run of good form, but given his talent and newfound major swagger, there's no telling where the 32-year-old could go from here.

Less than two weeks away from The Open Championship, it's exciting for golf to see the likes of Day and Johnson playing well. Jordan Spieth also did well at Firestone, carding a 67 on Sunday to finish in a tie for third place, but that wasn't enough to prevent Johnson from eclipsing him for the No. 2 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, according to Ray.

With McIlroy logging a third-place finish at the Open de France on Sunday, golf's elite are showing signs to suggest the chase for the Claret Jug at Royal Troon Golf Club could be among the most memorable in recent years.

Post-Round Reaction

Straying away from his frequent right-to-left shot of choice, Johnson has been hitting more cuts—see: 72nd hole, U.S. Open—which has been a catalyst for his success. He spoke about that part of his game to humorous effect afterward.

"I was struggling with a draw, so I decided to hit a fade and then I hit a fade," said Johnson, per ESPN.com's Jason Sobel. Johnson added, regarding his recent run: "I've had a good couple weeks. I've felt like the game is in pretty good shape."

Johnson also credited his putter as the big difference of late, saying, per the Associated Press' Doug Ferguson, via GolfChannel.com: "I feel like my game is where it has been all year. I just haven't been putting quite as well as I'd like. The last couple of weeks, I just putted a little better."

Regarding his late-round collapse, Day said, per Ferguson, "Disappointed, but I've got to try and focus on what I did great this week, move on, and try and get better for the next one."