Final-Round Notes – Sunday, March 14, 2021
Weather: Mostly sunny. High of 78. Wind ESE 6-12 mph.
Final Leaderboard
Justin Thomas 71-71-64-68—274 (-14)
Lee Westwood 69-66-68-72—275 (-13)
Brian Harman 67-71-69-69—276 (-12)
Bryson DeChambeau 69-69-67-71—276 (-12)
Talor Gooch 71-68-71-67—277 (-11)
Paul Casey 73-67-67-70—277 (-11)
Things to Know
- Justin Thomas wins THE PLAYERS Championship by one stroke over Lee Westwood, earning his 14th PGA TOUR victory and first PLAYERS title
- Thomas is the fourth player since 1960 to win 14 times on the PGA TOUR before turning 28, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller
- Thomas 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
- With scores of 64-68 in the final two rounds, Thomas ties the tournament record for closing 36-hole score (132)
- Lee Westwood is the first player to finish solo-second in consecutive PGA TOUR events since Webb Simpson in 2019
| Statistic | With the victory |
| Age | 27 years, 10 months, 13 days |
| FedExCup | No. 2 |
| OWGR | No. 2 |
| Starts at THE PLAYERS | 6 |
| Wins at THE PLAYERS | 1 |
| Top-10s at THE PLAYERS | 2 |
| Career PGA TOUR starts | 165 |
| Career PGA TOUR wins | 14 |
| Career PGA TOUR top-10s | 59 |
| PGA TOUR starts in 2020-21 | 10 |
| PGA TOUR wins in 2020-21 | 1 |
| PGA TOUR top-10s in 2020-21 | 5 |
- Earns 14th PGA TOUR title in his 165th start at the age of 27 years, 10 months, 13 days
- Becomes fourth player since 1960 to win 14 times on the PGA TOUR before turning 28, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller
- 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
- Ties THE PLAYERS Championship record for lowest closing 36-hole score (132, Fred Couples and Rocco Mediate, 1996)
- Played the par 5s in 14-under for the week, tied for the lowest in THE PLAYERS Championship history (Geoff Ogilvy, 2004) and the lowest by a champion in tournament history (previous: -13, Webb Simpson, 2018)
- Becomes the third player to win THE PLAYERS in the ShotLink era (since 2003) despite hitting a ball into the water on No. 17 (Matt Kuchar/2012 and Webb Simpson/2018); did so in the first round
- Had one top-10 in five prior starts at the event (T3/2016)
- Started the third round seven strokes off the lead, tying the largest 36-hole comeback victory of his PGA TOUR career (2020 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational)
- Moves to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings with a win (THE PLAYERS) and a runner-up (T2/ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD) in 10 starts on the season
- Sixth consecutive PGA TOUR season with a win
Lee Westwood (2nd/-13)
- Made birdie on No. 18 to post an even-par 72 and finish solo-second; becomes the first player to post solo second-place finishes in consecutive weeks since Webb Simpson did so at the 2019 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and Wyndham Championship
- Marks the third time a player has finished runner-up in consecutive weeks this season
- Joaquin Niemann – Sentry Tournament of Champions (2nd), Sony Open in Hawaii (T2)
- Xander Schauffele – Farmers Insurance Open (T2), Waste Management Phoenix Open (T2)
- Posts his sixth top-10 in 15 starts at THE PLAYERS; previously, his best finish was T4 in 2010 when he was also the 54-hole leader
- A birdie on No. 1 extended his lead to three strokes; a bogey on No. 2 ended a streak of 45 consecutive holes without a bogey
- Entered the Florida Swing (beginning at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession) at No. 153 in the FedExCup standings; is now 22nd after his runner-up finish
Other Notes
- Brian Harman’s T3 finish is his best on TOUR since he finished T3 at the 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier
- Bryson DeChambeau posts a T3 finish for his fifth top-10 in eight starts in 2020-21; retains the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup for the 10th week this season
- Paul Casey was 2-over through 13 holes on Thursday, including a quadruple-bogey on No. 17; he was 13-under over his last 59 holes and finished T5 at 11-under
- Talor Gooch closed with a 5-under 67 for a T5 finish, the seventh top-10 and sixth top-five finish of his career
- The lowest final-round was 6-under 66, shot by four players: Corey Conners (7th), Charles Howell III (T9), Sungjae Im (T17) and Collin Morikawa (T41)
Course Statistics
Toughest Hole Easiest Hole
R1: Par-4 18th (4.416) Par-5 16th (4.610)
R2: Par-4 14th (4.346) Par-5 11th (4.536)
R3: Par-3 8th (3.239); par-4 14th (4.239) Par-4 12th (3.507)
R4: Par-3 17th (3.352) Par-5 11th (4.563)
Scoring Averages
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
R1: 36.896 36.909 73.805 –
R2: 36.072 35.967 72.039 72.925
R3: 35.634 35.451 71.085 72.310
R4: 36.324 35.254 71.577 72.421
Bogey-free rounds:
R1 (1): Tom Hoge (69)
R2 (2): Lee Westwood (66), Doug Ghim (67) (Note: Westwood and Ghim were also the only two players with bogey-free rounds in R1 last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard)
R3 (2): Lee Westwood (68), Abraham Ancer (68)
R4 (1): J.T. Poston (70)
Balls in the water at No. 17 (since 2003)
| Year | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 2021 | 35 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 66 |
| 2019 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 45 |
| 2018 | 24 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 54 |
| 2017 | 19 | 29 | 10 | 11 | 69 |
| 2016 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 4 | 36 |
| 2015 | 21 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 45 |
| 2014 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 28 |
| 2013 | 15 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 44 |
| 2012 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 39 |
| 2011 | 12 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 40 |
| 2010 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 29 |
| 2009 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 32 |
| 2008 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 64 |
| 2007 | 50 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 93 |
| 2006 | 19 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 57 |
| 2005 | 7 | 8 | 25 | 28 | 68 |
| 2004 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 30 |
| 2003 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 29 |
| Average | 17.22 | 13.24 | 8.06 | 9.72 | 48.22 |
Morgan Stanley Eagles for Impact Challenge
As part of its Eagles for Impact Challenge, Morgan Stanley will donate 1,500 books for every eagle made at THE PLAYERS to Book Trust—an early literacy non-profit that works to engage every child in book choice and ownership, cultivating literacy rich communities. Here’s a breakdown of eagles made and books donated:
Round Eagles Books
1 14 21,000
2 14 21,000
3 8 12,000
4 12 18,000