2016 WGC Bridgestone Invitational: Tee times, pairings for Sunday’s round at Firestone

The world No. 1 has once again risen to the top of the leaderboard at one of the premier events on the PGA Tour’s rota. Jason Day will start Sunday’s final round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational holding another 54-hole lead and playing in the final pairing of the day.

This is a familiar spot for Day, who has separated himself from his “Big Three” colleagues by world rankings standards. His six wins since last August have solidified his grip on that No. 1 spot, thanks in large part to where he’s winning. These are not some weak-field lower-tier events that the Aussie keeps adding to his resume. Everyone knows about the major championship at Whistling Straits, but there have also been multiple FedExCup playoff events, a WGC title, Arnold’s event, and the game’s “fifth major,” The Players. That’s a good way to pile up world rankings points and Day has settled in at No. 1 after some early musical chairs with Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy.

A win at yet another WGC event would tighten his grip on the top spot and keep him comfortably up there for the summer. Day has been steady through three rounds, opening with a 67 and then posting back-to-back 69s (nice). The 5-under mark has him tied with Scott Piercy heading into the final 18. Piercy is a solid pro -- he made the final 30 in the FedExCup Playoffs last year and was one of the top contenders a couple weeks ago at Oakmont. But this will largely be a Day feature on CBS as the two go off at 2:05 p.m. ET in that anchor slot on the tee sheet.

The Bridgestone is, by PGA Tour standards, probably one of the easiest logistical events of the season. The field is so small and it’s especially lean this year with several qualified players opting to play on the Euro Tour’s French Open. We started with just 61 players in the field and three, Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, and Davis Love III, withdrew. There’s no chance of rain at Firestone so everything should stay on track for a 6 p.m. finish. This has historically been one of the courses and events where play moves fast -- even when they’re in threesomes in the first two rounds, the pace of play sometimes comes in under four hours. So this should be a clean Sunday in Akron.

Here’s the full tee sheet for the final round at Firestone (times Eastern):