The Players: Justin Thomas Has Power To Win In One Shot As Lee Westwood Fails On The Final Day | Golf news

Lee Westwood struggles on the final day as Justin Thomas clinches victory with a final round of 68 at TPC Sawgrass, including an excellent run of three birdies and an eagle on four holes around the turn.

Justin Thomas put two turbulent months behind him when he shot a 68 in the final round to score a one-shot win over Lee Westwood at TPC Sawgrass.

Thomas charged to the top of the leaderboard when he hit five shots in a remarkable four-hole span around the turn, while Westwood and Bryson DeChambeau couldn’t keep mistakes at bay during a captivating Sawgrass Sunday.

Former world number one Thomas entered golf’s ‘fifth biggest’ for lack of confidence, admitting that the fallout from his use of a homophobic slur during the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January had “taken a toll” on his game. , while he also had to. deal with the death of his grandfather last month.

The excitement was palpable after he made a last-minute hole for par, just after Westwood made three putts on the 17th green, confident that he would be in possession of the gold trophy unless the Englishman or DeChambeau could hole out. from 72nd street.

It was to be another case of “ so close, so far ” for the 47-year-old Ryder Cup legend, who slept with a two-shot lead overnight after a couple of ghost-free rounds on Friday and Saturday. , but his assured long game left him on a fast and steady Stadium Course on the fourth day.

Westwood got off to an ideal start, splitting first fairway and cutting a soft iron at the close to set up a birdie, but his 45-hole run without a bogey ended on the next, when he carved a three-wood into the trees earlier. stabbing her escape attempt in the water.

He was right to limit the damage to a six, but there was great drama in the fourth when DeChambeau finished off his fairway wood in the water less than 150 yards away, and Westwood came off his tee shot and found the lake at the right. .

Westwood returned to rescue the ghost as DeChambeau, who dug his third deep into the woods, holed from six feet to drop just two shots. And although Westwood had encountered water twice on three holes, he was incredibly two strokes away from the course at the time.

After another error in the eighth, Westwood picked up some momentum in the final nine with a good birdie in the ninth pitch, just as Thomas was in the midst of his rise to the lead, the former PGA champion following the birdies at the 9 and 10 with a 20-foot putt for eagle at 11.

Thomas picked up another shot with an exquisite shot from the back of the 12th green, but then missed from less than a meter to slide back to 13 under on the 14th, a hole Westwood birdied after an impressive 200 seconds. yards from the sand. to eight feet, the next putt having just the right pace to fall.

The signal on Thomas’ 14th green was repaired at 16, where DeChambeau suddenly revived his hopes with an eagle after a towering second at 10 feet, but Westwood again had to work hard to climb a par after throwing his second on the sand behind a tree and hitting his third in the right front bunker.

He splashed five feet and putt for par, with Thomas on solid ground at 17 and safely making two putts for a three from long range, but came within a yard or two of landing his tee shot on the last. in the countryside. drink – his expression of relief as his ball landed right on the fairway and kicked a little to the right, telling us everything we needed to know.

And after he scooped the water out of the game with his second and found the leading edge of the green, his lead doubled when Westwood dropped 47 feet away on the 17th green, hit his birdie putt a fraction too hard and vanished. with the return. from two meters.

Thomas kept his composure to stay within a meter, and the par putt went straight to the middle before he made his way to hug his family, tears of joy and relief evident.

To his credit, Westwood earned a $ 1.6 million payday when he sent a daring second over the flag and holed from 15 feet for a final birdie and a round of 72, finishing one ahead of DeChambeau when his “rematch” of Bay Hill was overshadowed. for the brilliance of Thomas.

DeChambeau’s remarkable topped tee shot in the fourth was an early setback from which he struggled to recover, with his distance and directional control both found for the most part, though he forced his way back into the equation with birdies at 12 and 13 only. . err again on the next.

An eagle at 16 proved to be too little, too late, as he settled for a podium at 12 under alongside Brian Harman, who charged three birdies in the last nine in his second 69 of the weekend and was one of the players. that they stayed. in contact with the leaders without being able to keep up with Thomas.

Paul Casey closed with a mix of 70, with five birdies offset by three missed shots in the first nine, and the veteran’s low score of 11 tied Talor Gooch (67) for fifth with Open champion Shane. Lowry getting a top-10. finish with a 68 raising it to a low nine.

Midway leader Sergio Garcia, Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm were also among the contenders at various stages of the day, but their challenges faded down the stretch, although their eight-under totals were enough to secure valuable results among the Top 10.