Staff Reporter.
File: Justin Thomas was all smiles after winning the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational on Sunday, his 13th career PGA Tour title.
| The Players Championship: final leaderboard |
|---|
| -14 J Thomas (US); -13 L Westwood (Eng); -12 B DeChambeau (US), B Harman (US); -11 P Casey (Eng), T Gooch (US); -10 C Conners (Can), |
| Selected others:-9 S Lowry (Ire); -8 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), S Garcia (Spa); -1 D Johnson (US), J Spieth (US) |
Justin Thomas emerged on a hectic final day to win the Players Championship by one stroke as Lee Westwood finished runner-up for a second successive week.
The world number three produced some sensational golf to post a four-under 68 as he came from three back to win his 14th PGA Tour title on 14 under.
Westwood led heading into Sunday’s action at TPC Sawgrass but was pegged back after a wobble on the front nine.
He finished one ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, who beat him last week.
American Brian Harman made three birdies on the back nine to also finish two back at 12 under par.
England’s Paul Casey threatened to challenge but his five birdies were offset by three bogeys to leave him at 11 under par for the tournament.
American Talor Gooch also finished three off the pace set by 27-year-old Thomas, with Canada’s Corey Conners a further stroke behind.
It was billed as the rematch, with Westwood and DeChambeau going head-to-head in the final group for the second week running on the PGA Tour.
The American edged to a one-stroke victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational seven days ago but it was Westwood who made a quick start on Sunday as he opened with a birdie.
What followed was madness. Westwood found the water at two and bogeyed, before slicing his tee shot at the par-four fourth into another water hazard, but only after DeChambeau – the longest driver on tour – had topped his tee shot 100 yards into a different body of water.
DeChambeau then leaked his third shot onto the cart path before making a wonderful recovery to escape with double bogey, while Westwood tidied up for just one dropped shot of his own.
The world number six birdied the seventh before both dropped again at eight, but when Westwood reclaimed his two-shot lead with a well-made birdie it at nine it looked like the rest of the field had failed to capitalise on their struggles.