Scottie Scheffler is The Players Championship winner again and in incredible style.
Entering the final round five shots behind Xander Schauffele, the World No.1 carded a 64 to complete an almighty turnaround, becoming the first player to ever successfully defend the title.
Here is how the action from the final round of the PGA Tour’s flagship event played out…
So what happened in The Players Championship final round?
Although both players in the final group made birdies on the 2nd hole, Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark struggled to gain any momentum in the opening holes on Sunday. Clark should’ve eagled this par 5 but missed from short-range, then Schauffele struggled to a bogey on the tantalising 4th hole with water in front of it.
While this pair toiled, Scheffler emerged from the shadows with his ailing shoulder a distant memory. He holed out from 92 yards on hole 4 to reach 14-under-par. A birdie at the next took him a shot closer to Schauffele, who was just about to fall back to 17-under-par.
Clark was lobbing along and there was a trio of American leaders before Schauffele solidly birdied the par-4 7th hole to take the initiative. There was now a trio of Americans in second place as Champion Golfer of the Year Brian Harman crept up the leaderboard to 17-under-par with three consecutive birdies from holes 7 to 9.
The back nine became so, so intriguing. Schauffele entered it with a one-shot lead. After opening it with two pars, Scheffler joined him on 19-under-par in a share of the lead with birdies on the par-5 11th hole and the par-4 12th hole.
At this stage, Clark and Harman were still in good shape. Both players found birdies of their own on the 11th hole to reach 18-under-par and this quartet had separated themselves from the field. Si Woo Kim, a previous winner of The Players at just 21 years of age, was in the clubhouse on 15-under-par with a stunning 64 on Sunday.
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Schauffele won the race to 20-under-par with a birdie on the 12th hole. Not only was he on the cusp of his best career win so far, but he was scaring Greg Norman’s 72-hole record of 24-under-par. He still had a one-shot lead over Scheffler with five holes left as Scheffler teed off on the par-5 16th hole, entering the lion’s den.
Scheffler, looking to win The Players in consecutive years in the event’s 50th year, completed an impressive up-and-down from the greenside bunker on the 16th hole to join Schauffele on 20-under-par. A two-shot swing was complete when Schauffele bogeyed the 14th hole and rather incredibly, Scheffler led on his own.
After scaring the hole on the island green 17th and the exciting 18th, Scheffler signed for an eight-under-par 64 to post 20-under-par for the week. Harman had two holes to earn one shot and force a playoff, while Schauffele needed to fire two-under-par in the final three holes to go into extra holes with Scheffler.
Schauffele missed a golden opportunity for a birdie on 17, but Clark took his. We had a line-up of Harman, Clark and Schauffele on 19-under-par. One of them needed a birdie on the 72nd hole to force Scheffler into extra holes.
Harman was first. From 17 feet, he missed with a club that was so good to him on Merseyside last summer. Schauffele came next. From 61 feet, he admirably rolled by the hole.
Clark was last. From 17 feet as well, Clark’s ball all-but horseshoed back around the cup and missed in the most agonising fashion possible.
Scheffler, while practising his putting in case of a playoff, won The Players Championship the week after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
What did the players say?
Scottie Scheffler:
“I was hoping to be in this position. Yesterday — I put up a good fight for four days. That’s really all there was. Teddy kept me in a good head space out there. We had a great finish yesterday, and then got off to a slow start today, but then the hole-out on 4 kind of propelled us a little bit, and hit a lot of good shots today, did a lot of good things this week.
“That’s a good question. I’m a pretty competitive guy, and I didn’t want to give up in the tournament. I did what I could to hang around until my neck got better. Today it felt really good. Marnus did a great job getting me going, getting it massaged out, and I was very thankful.”
Wyndham Clark:
“It was coming with some speed, too. I don’t know how that putt doesn’t go in. It was kind of right centre with like a foot to go, and I knew it was going to keep breaking, but it had speed and I thought it was going to good inside left, and even when it kind of lipped, I thought it would lip in. I’m pretty gutted it didn’t go in.
“I just played back-to-back weeks on two pretty challenging golf courses that I traditionally haven’t done very well on, and just went second and second. I’ll take those positives. I played awesome in both weeks. I’ll also take that I can play in the moment, in my moment against the best players in the world on the best golf courses.
“I almost birdied the last three at one of the most iconic golf courses. Maybe next week sometime I’ll really be able to look at those positives and feel good about it, but right now I’m pretty down.”
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Xander Schauffele:
“I’d say “A” game would be a little bit more than 2-under. But I hung in there. I gave myself a realistic chance. Not on 18, but on 17. If I made that, it could have been a different story. I hung tough, and, yeah, no surprise to see Scottie’s name up there.
“I hit some better shots today in some tough spots. I didn’t really convert on some of the putts that I wanted. When you’re trying to win a tournament you’ve got to make those sketchy nine-footers, and I missed a couple of them or a few of them on the back nine.”
Brian Harman:
“Yeah, just needed a couple more. Missed a couple short putts to start. I had my chances, just didn’t cash in. 4-under today. I’m proud of the way I fought back, birdieing 7, 8 and 9, then birdie on 11, birdie on 15 to get within one. I wish I could have the drive on 16 back. I wish I could have the putt on 18 back.
“Really thought that wedge shot on 18 was going to nestle up there close, but it’s just how it goes.”
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What was the biggest talking point of The Players Championship final round?
As the titans of world golf provided the fireworks on the golf course, former FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay made some sparks off it.
After the final round of The Players Championship, Cantlay confirmed that the PGA Tour would be meeting with the Public Investment Fund on the Monday after The 50th Players.
Golfweek first reported that PGA Tour players were being encouraged to meet with figures from the PIF, and Sports Illustrated were able to confirm this by speaking to the PGA Tour Policy Board member.
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“Well, I’ve got to hear out what they have to say, and I will always do my best to represent the entire membership whenever I am in a meeting in that capacity,” Cantlay said here at TPC Sawgrass.”I think more information is always better.”
You can read more about this latest news here.
Shot of the day
This was the shot that started the drama. Scheffler hit a monster drive down the 4th hole on the Stadium Course and from 92 yards, he jammed in the approach and began his charge…
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The award for waiting the longest for their putt to drop goes to…
On the 11th hole, Austin Eckroat sent a putt towards the cup which didn’t quite fall in. The ball was overhanging the lip and as he and his playing partners waited for it to drop, it eventually did drop.
But because the white sphere took longer than 10 seconds to do so, he was given a par and not a birdie. Eckroat went on to card a four-over-par 76 and finish on four-under-par for the week.
Stat of the day
During the final round, Sam Ryder made his 27th birdie of the week and in doing so, broke the record for the most birdies made by a player in a single week at The Players Championship.
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