Lee Westwood gave it his best shot on Sunday at The Players Championhip. He beat Bryson DeChambeau but fell a shot short of 2021 champion Justin Thomas.
Westwood holed a closing birdie after DeChambeau finished with a par to post 12-under and that 19-footer for and even par round of 72 (13-under) turned out to be a half-million-dollar birdie.
Thomas pocked the fat first-place money of $2.7 million and it looked like Westwood would finish in a three-way tie for second with DeChambeau and Brian Harman. After missing a bunch of crucial birdie putts all afternoon, Westwood drained his final putt of the week for solo second and a check for $1,635,000. Had he finished at 12-under with DeChambeau and Harman, the payout for all three would have been $1,135,000.
Huge putt — huge money ($1,650,000) for Westy. Bryson and Brian each cashed in $885,000.
Westwood was off his game from the start on Sunday. He was a ball-striking machine through the first three rounds but over the final 18, his tee shots were missing right and left and his usually reliable iron game was off as well. He made the turn in 37 and fell back to 12-under. Up ahead, Thomas took the lead with birdie at the 10th, eagle at 11 then another birdie at 12.
Westwood hung in there and finally picked up a birdie at 14. But he failed the birdie the 16th, a hole where you have to make birdie on Sunday. Then he missed from just inside six feet for par at 17 to fall back into a tie with DeChambeau, who eagled the 16th.
Then Westy made the big putt at 18, but it was too little, too late to catch J.T. He did beat Bryson, a week late and was philosophical afterwards. “There’s no downside,” Westwood said. “I didn’t deserve to win today because I didn’t hit the ball well enough.”
But $1,635,000 takes a lot of sting out of that loss.
Who Saw Brian Harman Coming?
The last time anyone saw Brian Harman, he finished tied for 43rd at the Genesis last month. Prior to that, he tied for 36th at Phoenix and tied for 39th at Pebble Beach.
So how can you explain the little lefty showing up this past week and shooting rounds of 67-71-69-69 to tie for third with Bryson DeChambeau?
It’s the nature of The Players Championship and how difficult it is to predict performance on the testy Stadium Course.
Dustin Johnson Not Interested In Olympics:
The No. 1 player in the world, Dustin Johnson, has said thanks-but-no-thanks to the 2021 Summer Olympics in Japan.
D.J. confirmed last weekend at The Players Championship that he did not sign up for the Tokyo Games.
“It’s right in the middle of a big stretch of golf for me, so that was the reason I was kind of waffling on it a little bit,” said Johnson, who skipped the 2016 games.
“It’s a lot of traveling at a time where it’s important for me to feel like I’m focusing playing on the PGA Tour,” Johnson said. He added that he “definitely” would have considered playing if there was more space between the tournaments. The men’s competition in Tokyo is scheduled for July 29 through August 1. It’s less than two weeks after the Open Championship and a week prior to the WGC-FedEx in Memphis — the St. Jude Invitational. The FedEx Cup playoffs start two weeks after the Olympics and the Ryder Cup is two weeks after the final event of the playoffs, the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
As it stands now, Players Championship winner Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau are available to compete for the U.S.
6 Comments
baxter cepeda
Tony and Xander are officially welcoming Lee to the second place club today.
I am not surprised about Harman. I’ve heard stories from Georgia folk what a true bulldog he is. He is a small ball master. He is at home on bermuda. It’s no shock at all. Not saying I had him all on my mind or anything—that would be crazy- but this is one this little guy can win.
Once I took pics of him standing next to kazzire at the Sony. Literally less than half the size.
Brian Harman is marvelous. He really is.
Tom Edrington
Wasn’t on my radar or anyone else I’ve spoken with…..
baxter cepeda
First of all he didn’t actually win. He contended.
But As they say a lot of guys can win this thing. It’s a bit of a crap shoot. It’s cool anything can happen; but it’s one of many reasons it’s not a major.
Tpc is a nice course, looks better in March, not sure it is better at challenging top players…but only one course is worthy of hosting majors every year…and this is not it.
In fact that other place can host multiple majors if it wants. Sawgrass can host a women’s players if it wants. That would be cool. But it still wouldn’t be a major.
Tom Edrington
Some of that forced carry would give the women fits…..LPGA needs more events, that’s for sure but it’s so much easier for the PGA Tour to find sponsors with big, fat pockets.
baxter cepeda
That is an outdated opinion Tom.
My barely teen daughters say they will take you down there.
The lpga women can clearly handle sawgrass from women’s championship tees. Like many of the men many will crash and burn. But a few will put on a show.
Only 1 man put on a show this Sunday; the rest was BAD at best.
I still remember how excited my boo Mr Ridley was after the women’s first event at Augusta National. It would be similar for Monahan and the pga tour; whom we are still hoping they bring the women across the gates of Kapalua; aka paradise; as Monahan said he might.
Sponsorships for the women’s tour is not the concern it once was. It’s hard for almost anyone to compete with men’s golf these days. But the women of golf are supported and seem lined up for much more supports moving forward as things improve from this last big setback for the world.
The women can handle sawgrass Tom. I might argue we may see even less water balls; compared with all these boys with a little too much of em for that place.
Tom Edrington
With one simple caveat: Provided there is no wind; A good friend who knows the LPGA Tour “better than most” has always told me: “Give the women a lot of wind and most of them cannot score well.”