Simpson eases to victory, but Tiger impresses again

What happened at the Players Championship?

A seven-shot 54-hole lead has never been lost in PGA Tour history. At one point on Sunday, Webb Simpson must have started to feel the pressure as his lead dwindled down to four shots, with Tiger Woods primed to pounce from the chasing pack.

Simpson started solidly, and the 30ft birdie putt at the 7^th would have settled him down. But then things started to get a little nervy with bogeys at 8 and 10 while Woods was charging alongside the likes of Jason Day, Charl Schwartzel and Jimmy Walker.

When Woods bogeyed the 14^th after a huge drive, the momentum had come to a shuddering halt. Simpson then went on to birdie both par-5s on the back-nine to make his task comfortable heading up the daunting 18^th hole.

It was an ugly finish, as he pulled his approach into the water and failed to get up-and-down, but a closing double-bogey wouldn’t ruin what was a sensational performance all week from the former US Open champion.

The winning putt @THEPLAYERSChamp.

A huge victory for @WebbSimpson1! ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/gBAVITev4r

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Full Players Championship leaderboard

Justin Thomas has been considered as the best golfer in the world for quite some time now. This week, it was made official, as he knocked Dustin Johnson off the top spot. Johnson has held the number one ranking for 64 consecutive weeks.

.@JustinThomas34: 21st player to reach world no. 1 since inception in 1986; 7th American; 4th-youngest to do it (Woods, Spieth, McIlroy)

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 13, 2018

Talking point

Tiger Woods is back.

Woods, in his patented red-and-black, was six-under through 12 holes while striking the ball beautifully. His 353-yard drive down the middle of the fairway at the 14^th hole evidenced that. With wedge in hand, he pitched the ball just feet away from the pin, and spun it back off the front of the green – an awful shot in the circumstances.

The way Woods was playing up to that point, only a few would have predicted the sloppy bogey that followed. That was his chance gone, but make no mistake, Tiger Woods is back and is a force at the top of the game.

He made the cut on the number, and he’s been in contention of winning in four of his last six starts, and while some will say that he needs to win again to prove that he is truly back, putting himself in the mix week after week is enough to be back in most people’s book. Let’s be honest here, to even be in this position now is a miracle considering where Woods was twelve months ago.

Best moments

The good news is he can make a 9 and still win. pic.twitter.com/2LTVCdsPZs

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

A quadruple bogey for Jordan Spieth.

From T17 to T41 as he finishes #THEPLAYERS. pic.twitter.com/uP4YFWO2Bi

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

A double bogey for Tiger Woods.

He leaves the 17th hole 8 shots back. pic.twitter.com/hT4wcg0cLE

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

? @JordanSpieth at No. 17 ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/L1WE1CNinS

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Tied for second. -6 thru 12.@TigerWoods is on fire. ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/iiqozcfR8a

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

The eagle *just* slides by for Tiger.

Another birdie and he's T3. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/hiTCOwIPzU

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

BANG. ?@JDayGolf finishes his front 9 with an eagle.

He moves to T3. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/X2bNYVJoW3

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

20-under for @WebbSimpson1!

He leads by SIX. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/pKeCqzfLmC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Birdie.
Birdie.
Birdie.@TigerWoods is now tied for fourth!#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/a6Yj5O5rnk

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Roll it in, @TigerWoods.

-2 thru 4.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/SfAhq3Rxap

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Jordan to 4 feet, 3 inches.
Tiger to 4 feet, 2 inches.

Got a feeling they'll be doing this all day.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/9voFpUuoHS

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Sunday red. ?
Sunday roar. ?@TigerWoods with his first ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/f3zhI80lGn

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Here it is!@BKoepka one-hops in his second shot at the par-5 16th for an ALBATROSS!!#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/WkILTIl7VQ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 13, 2018

Best stats

Webb Simpson gets his 1st win since the 'anchor ban' by leading the field in strokes gained putting.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 13, 2018

Tiger Woods: 1st double-bogey on 17 at Sawgrass since 2003

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 13, 2018

Dustin Johnson's run of 64 straight weeks at no. 1 would be the 5th-longest in the history of the Ranking (since 1986). There are only two runs of 100+ weeks at no. 1 all-time: the both belong to Tiger, and they are both more than 200 weeks long.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 13, 2018

Brooks Koepka: 8th ever round of 63 at TPC Sawgrass in @THEPLAYERSChamp. He made albatross at 16; the second ever to do that. Last year, Rafa Cabrera Bello made the 1st one. Both players followed that 2 up with a birdie at 17.

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 13, 2018

Best tweets

I want Webb's lead to be so big that he purposefully hits a shank on 17. Kinda like the guy who used his lifeline to call his dad on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to let him know he won the million.

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) May 13, 2018