PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – When the final twosome of Lee Westwood and Bryson DeChambeau faltered early in the final round of Sunday’s Players Championship, any number of contenders had the chance to step into the breach.
World No. 3 Justin Thomas, who was one shot over the cut line with nine holes to play in the second round, took the opportunity and met the challenge of a testy, firm Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
The 27-year-old, 14-time PGA Tour champion pulled away from a tie with Westwood with a two-putt birdie from 47 feet at the par-5 16th hole and then made gutty pars on the final two holes to win the PGA Tour’s marquee event at 14-under-par 274.
Thomas missed one green, the last, when it didn’t matter, and by mere inches. He hit 12 of 14 fairways. He missed only one putt less than 3 feet all week.
Players Championship: Leaderboard | Photos | Winner’s bag
Now THAT’S a reaction! pic.twitter.com/3ITCBxKJfH
— THE PLAYERS (@THEPLAYERSChamp) March 14, 2021
On a 64-68 weekend – tied for the lowest closing 36-holes by a champion in tournament history – Thomas made only three 5s and three bogeys.
“It was a ball-striking clinic,” said Jimmy Johnson, Thomas’ caddie.
Westwood (72) birdied the final hole to finish solo second for the second consecutive week. DeChambeau (71) and Brian Harman (69) tied for third at 12 under. Paul Casey (70) and Talor Gooch (67) were next at 11 under.
Thomas (68) earned $2.7 million out of a total purse of $15 million, both records on the PGA Tour, plus 600 FedEx Cup points.
“It’s a huge championship, very special,” Thomas said. “It’s a tournament I’ve wanted to win, a tournament that I truly did feel like I was going to win at some point, and hopefully multiple times. I love the golf course. It was in incredible shape this week. The greens were so good. The fairways were perfect. Rough was long. Just a great test of golf. I mean, that’s why it’s a Players Championship.
“I tried to stay patient. I felt like the last three holes on Friday changed the momentum for us for the tournament. Birdieing 16 and then that birdie on 18 was huge and getting a little bit of momentum and kind of rode that into Saturday and obviously had a great day. And then today it was about trying to get into position and then hang on from there.”
The most startling development of the day to open the door for Thomas was when DeChambeau butchered the short par-4 fourth hole, cold-topping his tee shot into the water, flaring his third shot into a patch of woods, failing to punch his next shot out and eventually talking a double-bogey.
When asked what happened, DeChambeau said simply: “Golf.”
Thomas credited the fans, who rallied around the former University of Alabama star. The Players was the fifth tournament that admitted fans since the Tour’s return to golf – and only the second Thomas has played in – and he said there was a difference, even with the crowds held at 20 percent capacity.
“You want to win tournaments when there’s no fans,” he said. “But what I felt out there, on the last couple of holes, was something I haven’t felt in a long time. It was bizarre. The hair on my arms, neck and legs was standing up walking to 17 green. To have to play 5-8 yards [more] on adrenaline on 17 and 18 … it was so hard to explain but it felt great. It’s why we all play, why we do this. It felt great to execute in front of those fans.”
The only time Thomas lost his composure was during the first post-round interview on NBC, when he was asked about winning his first tournament since the death of his grandfather Paul on Feb. 8.
“I wish I could talk to him,” Thomas said, choking back sobs.
It was an emotional victory for Thomas, who has been caught up in a vortex of turmoil since he uttered a homophobic slur in the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Championship in January. He immediately apologized and has done so on many occasions since, but he lost a sponsor and had another publicly scold him. Then his grandfather passed. Then Tiger Woods, a friend and mentor, was in a serous car accident.
“It’s been a crappy two months,” Thomas said. “I’ve had stuff happen in my life I never thought I’d have happen, and I mean, losing grandpa was terrible, and having to play a round of golf dealing with that, and then on top of that not playing well, it just was a lot, and it took a lot on me mentally.
“I had to figure it out and had to get over it, and if I wanted to come to these tournaments and have a chance to win, then I needed to suck it up and get over it. If I wanted to throw a pity party for myself or feel sorry for myself, there’s no reason to show up, and I can stay home until I feel like I’m ready.
“I felt like I was in a good enough head space where I could play. This week was huge to win a big championship like this in front of fans again, which is incredible. You know, it tested me mentally, physically, emotionally, and I’m very proud of myself for getting it done.”
But it was a victory that was in doubt when Thomas’ tee shot on the final hole skirted the left side of the fairway and looked destined to wind up in a lake, but it stayed dry and Thomas finished off his victory.
Westwood’s best chance on the closing holes was squandered when he hit into the left bunker fronting the 16th green with his second shot, then squirted the ball right into another trap. He made par but since the 16th was playing the second-easiest on the course in the final round, it was an opportunity lost.
Westwood had one more opportunity, at the 17th. But he left his tee shot 55 feet away and he three-putted for bogey, missing an 8-foot par attempt. Before that, he had made 16 consecutive putts of 10 feet or closer for the day.
It was another crushing disappointment for the 47-year-old Westwood in a huge worldwide event. He now has 24 top-10 finishes in the four major championships and The Players (18 in the majors) without a victory.
“I didn’t quite have my game today,” Westwood said. “I don’t know what it was. Maybe I just haven’t played a lot of golf. I hate to say it, age is catching up with me. [Saturday] I felt like my legs were just starting to get a bit tired and weak, and today I just didn’t feel like I had my legs under me. I was hitting shots I don’t normally hit.”
The native of England has won European Tour titles in four decades and has 25 in all. He was trying to become the first player in PGA Tour history to go 10 years or more between victories two times.
