PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – Justin Thomas found the right moment for an almost perfect performance to leave a difficult start to the year behind, recovering from three kicks behind with a daring game to close with a 4-under 68 and win the Championship of players on Sunday.
He won for the seventh consecutive year, his 14th career title, and became the fourth player to win an important championship, The Players Championship, FedEx Cup and a World Golf Championship.
Thomas said it was the best he ever played on the tee-to-green, and he needed it to outlast Lee Westwood, an unlucky runner-up for the second week in a row. Westwood birdied the final hole for a 72 to finish a shot behind TPC Sawgrass.
In January, Thomas uttered an anti-gay slander softly after missing a short shot at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii. This caused one corporate sponsor to drop him and another to give him a public reprimand. The only time he had a chance to win, he learned that his grandfather died before the final round of the Phoenix Open.
“It’s been a horrible couple of months. Things happen in my life that I never thought would happen,” said Thomas. “Losing Grandpa was terrible and having to play a round of golf to deal with it, and then, moreover, not playing well, it was a lot, and it cost me a lot mentally.
“This week it was very important to win a great championship like this in front of the fans again, which is incredible. It tested me mentally, physically, emotionally, and I am very proud of myself for doing that. ”
Like most Sundays in this championship, it was as wild as ever.
Thomas was four strokes behind when he left the green in par 3, eighth, with a three-stroke bogey. Four holes later, he left the 12th green with a two-shot lead.
He hit a 5 to 6 meter iron to hit a two-stroke birdie in par 5 ninth. He took a tough pin at No. 10 for a 6-foot birdie. He punched a 4-20 foot iron for an eagle at No. 11 for his first advantage of the week, and he ended the race with a nifty shot behind the green at par-4 12 for birdie.
Westwood, runner-up last week for Bryson DeChambeau at Bay Hill, was tied for the lead on Sunday until he could not match Thomas, playing in the lead group, in par 5 16.
Thomas took a low shot and launched a strong, low draw that reached about 40 yards and mounted a 5-wood at 50 feet, which he delayed for a two-stroke birdie. Westwood’s 3-iron cut a tree and fell into the sand, and that peculiar 65-yard shot went to another bunker and forced him to fight for the pair.
“When you are in the running, I would like to win all the tournaments you are playing in, ” said Westwood after a 72.” But I didn’t get my game very well today. ”
He made a birdie on the 18th to finish alone in second. DeChambeau (71) and Brian Harman (69) were another shot behind.
Thomas finished with 14 under 274. He was off the cut line after nine holes on Friday, got two shots to spare and tied the record for The Players Championship with 12 under 132 at the weekend.
Thomas still had one more chance before he was clean. He entered the water framing the left side of the 18th fairway, the ball moving from right to left and bouncing straight into the crown of the first cut, safely on the fairway. Only when he saw him on the ground did Thomas turn his club, pulling his cap over his face and wiping his forehead.
“I fought so hard today,” said Thomas. “It’s probably one of the best rounds of my life on the tee-to-green. I’ve seen crazy things happen on TV in the past and I’m happy to be on this side. ”
All “crazy things” came early.
DeChambeau overcame a hybrid in the fourth par 4 hole that traveled just 140 yards before falling into the water.
“Dude! I don’t know what happened! ” He said to his caddy.” I never did that before. ”
From 237 yards on an advanced tee to a green protected by water, he hit a slice with a 4 iron that hit about 40 yards to the right of the green.
“Oh my God! What’s going on? ” DeChambeau said.
He did double bogey and was scratching the rest of the way to stay in the game. He still had a chance with an eagle on hole 16 to get inside two, but when Thomas made the pair on the 17th, his chances were over.
Westwood hit his starting shot in the water on the fourth hole and had an 8-foot shot to save bogey. He got his approach right with the pine straw that cut two branches and found water in the 5-second hole to make the bogey. But he was never far from the lead and Westwood regained some of the lead with an 8 foot birdie putt on the 14th.
His hopes ended with a three-stroke bogey in the par 3 17th.
Thomas won $ 2.7 million from the $ 15 million grant. He said he was in a good place when he started and felt even better when he posed with the trophy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.