WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 2018: Justin Thomas Lands 9th Career PGA Win

Heading into the final 18 holes with a three-stroke lead, all Justin Thomas had to do was not screw things up.

He barely broke a sweat.

Thomas carded a one-under 69 Sunday, capturing the 2018 Bridgestone Invitational by four strokes as those closest to him faltered. Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter, who entered the day three strokes behind, went a combined seven over to fall well out of contention. 

Kyle Stanley finished alone in second place at 11 under for the tournament. Thorbjorn Olesen and Dustin Johnson tied for third at 10 under, and Brooks Koepka rounded out the top five. 

Thomas, coming off a career 2017, had not won since February's Honda Classic and was just weeks removed from being cut at The Open Championship. The win is his ninth of his career and should give him some momentum heading into the PGA Championship.

Sunday's round was by far Thomas' weakest of the tournament, thanks to a combination of his own play and an understandably conservative strategy. He carded just two birdies against one bogey; he'd averaged six birdies per round over the first three days. 

Issues with driving accuracy, which has plagued him for most of the tournament, reared their heads throughout. Thomas finished the round hitting just 57.1 percent of his fairways and then struggled on the putting surface. 

Luckily for Thomas, Poulter and McIlroy fared far worse.

Poulter began his round with four bogeys in his first seven holes on his way to shooting a 74. He added another bogey on No. 10 and a double on No. 13, interspersing three birdies to finish in a tie for 10th place at seven under overall.

McIlroy owes his tie for sixth place to a three-over 73, and it was a miracle that the round was only that bad. A day after shooting his second straight 67, McIlroy was a mess from tee to green, hitting 21.4 percent of his fairways and 38.9 percent of his greens in regulation. An occasional decent par putt helped saved his round from going completely off the rails, as did birdies on Nos. 2 and 16, both par fives.

Tiger Woods found himself disappointed for the second straight day Sunday, shooting another 73 to whimper out of the tournament in a tie for 31st. Woods had a roller-coaster back nine that included just one par. He carded two double bogeys (Nos. 14 and 16) and three bogeys against three birdies to finish out the round with a 39 after making the turn at one under.

"I was trying to be aggressive as possible and fire at everything," Woods told reporters. "It was either going to be a 62 or a 72."

Olesen and Johnson each shot six-under 64s to rocket up into contention. Their outings were topped only by Charl Schwartzel, who shot a seven-under 63 after shooting seven over through the first three days of the event.