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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Justin Thomas was shaken. A hot mic in Hawaii picked up Thomas using insensitive language; he was horrified and contrite and vowed to do better. His grandfather, PGA professional Paul Thomas, died at 89; he was gutted but played on. Barely two weeks later, Tiger Woods, Thomas' friend and Presidents Cup partner, was seriously injured in a one-car accident in Los Angeles. Thomas struggled to process everything. "I did a lot of things," he said after going 5 under from holes 9-12 on the way to a final-round 68 and a one-stroke victory over Lee Westwood (72) before an appreciative but limited crowd at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. "I talked to people. I’ve reached out to people. "I mean, I’m not embarrassed to say that I reached out to talk to people to kind of let my feelings out and just discuss stuff with them," he continued. "I think it’s something, especially at our level, a lot of people probably think that they’re bigger and better than that, but some of the thoughts and things I was feeling, it wasn’t fair to myself, and I needed to do something, and my girlfriend Jill was very helpful with that and staying on me to make sure I was taking care of myself, like I would want to do for anyone else in my family." Here are five stories you may have missed from THE PLAYERS. 1. Thomas: a ball-striking ‘clinic'. With his head in a better place, Thomas weathered a frustrating first eight holes Sunday as he split fairways and pelted greens but battled an uncooperative putter. His towering 5-iron at the par-5 ninth set up a two-putt birdie, and that ignited a torrid run - birdie, birdie, eagle (again reaching the green in two at the 11th), birdie - to seize control. Thomas went 14 under on the par 5s, the best performance in the ShotLink era (since 1983) at THE PLAYERS. Jimmy Johnson, his caddie, called the 5-iron on nine the most impressive shot of a day full of them. It was "a ball-striking clinic," he said after his man had hit 17 greens in regulation, missing only the last when his approach stopped on the front collar, inches short. It was another close call just earlier, Thomas' final drive stopping mere feet from trickling over the bulkhead, that had him thinking of his late grandfather looking down and keeping him dry. His 132 (64-68) on the weekend matched a tournament record for low final 36, and he becomes the fourth player to win THE PLAYERS, a major championship, a World Golf Championships event and a FedExCup title, joining Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy. Read more about Thomas’ emotional victory here. 2. Westwood left in a good mood. Lee Westwood, the 54-hole leader, admittedly had only his C game Sunday, but said he was proud of himself for holding it together and making birdie on 18 for a solo second. It was his second straight runner-up finish after the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. No, he didn't win, but as he reminded everyone, it's just golf. It's just a game. "It gets treated far too seriously occasionally," he said. "With what’s going on in the world, it’s fun to be doing a job that I love and that I’ve done for 28 years, and I’m still doing it." He and fiancé Helen Storey made for a fun storyline at TPC Sawgrass, just as they have in the U.K. tabloids (Sample headline: "Love Storey.") That Westwood, who will turn 48 next month, is enjoying a career resurgence owes largely to the influence of Storey, a health-and-fitness instructor whom even Bryson DeChambeau praised as Westwood's "secret weapon." After going from 153 to 22 in the FedExCup the last three weeks, Westwood joked about his age, adding, "It's just a joy to be involved and still playing well and being able to contend." 3. DeChambeau still FedExCup No. 1. It wasn't the best day for Bryson DeChambeau, who topped his tee shot 143 yards into a pond at the par-4 fourth hole. After taking a one-stroke penalty he cracked his 4-iron with his next effort and had to scramble from out of the pine straw just to salvage a double bogey. Still, DeChambeau didn't give up, grinding out a 71 to finish two back in a tie for third. That kept him at No. 1 in the FedExCup after his fifth top-10 finish in eight starts this season. "I can play on golf courses that don’t really suit me," DeChambeau said of his big takeaway from the week. "That’s a big lesson. I’d also say, no matter what happens, no matter if I pop a shot, no matter if I thin, whatever it was, and make a really good double or could have been triple or quad, I’m still never out of it for the most part. I know my game is good enough in most facets to get it back and compete with the best of them." 4. Harman saw positive signs. Brian Harman's 69 and T3 finish was his best on TOUR since he finished T3 at the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. Still, the result was somewhat bittersweet. Having birdied only one of the four par 5s, and bogeyed the third and sixth holes, it was easy to see where he might have made up the two shots that separated him and winner Thomas. "Just a couple swings I wish I could have back today," he said. "Just a couple sloppy bogeys on the front, but nice to make a run on the back nine. Yeah, I was trying to make birdies. I was aiming at flags, proud of the way I played 17 and 18, and just came up short." 5. Casey survived disaster at 17; Conners kept rolling. Paul Casey's chances looked grim after he hit two in the water and made a quadruple-bogey 7 at the 17th hole Thursday. Undaunted, he came all the way back and had a chance to win Sunday before signing for a 2-under 70. At 11 under he tied Talor Gooch (67) for fifth, three back. Casey was 13 under for his last 59 holes. Corey Conners (66, solo 7th), meanwhile, stayed hot after his third-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. He went 6-under for his first 13 holes to get within two of the lead at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, made five closing pars, and tied Charles Howell III (T9), Sungjae Im (T17) and Collin Morikawa (T41) for the day's low round. "Yeah, I’m doing a lot of things really well," said Conners, who will play in next week's World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time. "I’d say I’m hitting the ball really solidly, hitting it well off the tee. Ball-striking is usually a strength of mine so that’s really solid right now. Getting some putts to fall, as well, is a nice added bonus." TOUR TOP 10
THE PLAYERS Championship continues Sunday from the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Weather impacted the first two days of play, with the first round finishing nearly 55 hours after Thursday’s opening tee shot. A Monday finish has been assured with Round 2 set to resume Sunday morning. The top 30 golfers in the FedExCup standings – including 2017 FedExCup winner and defending champion Justin Thomas – are competing. It’s the strongest field of the season, and it includes world No. 1 Jon Rahm, 2019 PLAYERS champion Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and reigning FedExCup Champion Patrick Cantlay. Also, 600 FedExCup points will go to the winner as well as a first-place check worth $3.6 million. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: See full coverage details below Radio: Sunday, 1 – 8 p.m. ET. Monday, 12 – 6 p.m. ET (subject to change) (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR ENHANCED COVERAGE DETAILS THE PLAYERS and NBCU • 22 total hours of coverage from Thursday through Sunday ESPN+ coverage • More than 20 groups from the morning sessions will be available on ESPN+ Live From THE PLAYERS • 45.5 live hours on GOLF Channel, including the World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony • PGA TOUR LIVE to produce an estimated 167 hours of coverage across our 4 streams for the 4 tournament channels. Practice round shows • Tuesday: Military Appreciation Ceremony followed by Kelsea Ballerini concert • Wednesday: World Golf Hall of Fame Ceremony PGA TOUR LIVE • 12 hosts, 3 walking announcers, 130 personnel onsite, 75 personnel in St. Augustine • Use of ARL graphic technology for tracing and hole flyover animations with statistical information PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS Marquee Group Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm. Viktor Hovland (in progress on No. 1) Featured Groups Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen (in progress on No. 2) Joaquin Niemann, Patrick Rodgers, Cameron Smith (in progress on No. 1) MUST READS High winds make No. 17 even tougher Bizarre rules gaffe mars one of Bradley’s best-ever rounds Nine Things to Know: TPC Sawgrass Tiger Woods among those to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame Insider: Justin Thomas’ win at THE PLAYERS was a lesson in ball-striking Top five players in world ranking under age 30 CALL OF THE DAY
World No. 1 Justin Rose plays in his first tournament of 2019 in a field that includes defending champion Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson.
