It was almost worth the wait. On the fifth day, the season-delayed Players Championship delivered moments worthy of its tournament lofty status.
The final three holes of the eventual winner, Cameron Smith, summed up the dramatic nature of the proceedings. The Australian snap-hook took a drive into Pine Straw on the 16th, from where he made a brave equal save. His tee shot on the coveted 17th was incredible for his audacity, aimed at a teasing pin on a green surrounded by a pond. As Smith converted a birdie putt from four feet, his three-shot lead meant it looked screaming throughout.
Wrong, as it happened. Smith 18. but removed more debris from a chip completelyth, his ball bounding, bounding, bound in the water. The Aussie had to run with the worst bogey ever and did it courtesy of a 60-yard chip, who rested within tap-in range. Smith’s last 18 holes included 13 single puts.
India’s Anirban Lahiri only 72. could be equal toRa Hole, and Smith were $3.6m (£2.77m) richer. His day was the epitome of a golfing rollercoaster. Smith birdied five of his first six holes and later slipped on three bogeys in a row. After 14, Smith had leveled only twice. By the end of the game, he was signing for 66 and 13-under-par total.
Smith cut an emotional figure with his mother and sister, who were attending a tournament from Australia for the first time in more than two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Lahiri finished runner-up by one strike, denying what a successful victory would have been for Indian golf.
At one point in this final round, there was a five-way tie for the lead. Included in that group was Paul Casey, who later regretted his rotten fate. 16. British drive onth One ended in the pitch mark, leaving him with no chance to take five holes in two. Casey had to be content with third place with 11 under.
Casey later said, “It was a shame because it was the best drive I had hit all day.” Keegan Bradley, another important part of the proceedings for so long, finished bogey, double bogey – like Smith, he fell apart in the last – and finished fifth behind Kevin Kissner.
Even the controversy erupted. In a scene quite different from top-class golf, Viktor Hovland and Joel Dahmann took the exception of Daniel Berger’s intended position for a penalty drop in the 16th year.th hole. Norway’s Hovland, usually not one to be particularly excited about anything, was particularly vocal. Berger, stone-faced, refused media duties after his round, but was heard saying at the time: “I’m falling here because of you guys but it’s a false fall.”
Hovland at least made his point clear. “It’s not a fun conversation,” said the Norwegian. “Daniel has a great game and I have a lot of respect for him as a player. But at the end of the day, we have to protect the field and everyone else… When you firmly believe in something, you have to stand your ground.
Dustin Johnson’s final round of 63, a tie for the course record, was scored by a hole-out eagle from 67 yards. “It would have been much better if I had been in contention,” Johnson admitted. He had already left Ponte Vedra as Smith.