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Players Championship: Winners and Losers from TPC Sawgrass

By Tim Letcher

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 14: Justin Thomas of the United States celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 14, 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 14: Justin Thomas of the United States celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 14, 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Each week on the PGA Tour, there are players who play better than expected and those who fall short of what they are expected to do. Here at Pro Golf Now, we call them winners and losers. Here are the winners and losers from this week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Winners

Justin Thomas – The native Kentuckian had an incredible weekend, shooting 64 on Saturday to climb into contention, followed by a 68 on Sunday to beat Lee Westwood by a shot. For Thomas, who had not been at the top of his game lately, this was a huge win.

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Lee Westwood – Two weeks in a row, the Englishman came up just short. But at 47 years of age, Westwood is showing he can hang with the young guys (Bryson DeChambeau last week and Thomas this week).

Brian Harman – The 34-year-old has won twice during his PGA Tour career, but this is arguably the best finish of his career. His tie for third, while facing one of the world’s best fields, impressive indeed. Harman shot 69 on both Saturday and Sunday to rally.

Talor Gooch – Only once during his career has Gooch finished higher than his than his tie for fifth this week. And, much like Harman, this is the best finish of Gooch’s career. His 67 on Sunday allowed him to climb into the top five.

Phil Mickelson – Honestly, it looked like Lefty’s days on the PGA Tour were numbered. He had struggled mightily this season until this week at the Players. His tie for 35th is Mickelson’s best finish of the season so far.

Losers

Rory McIlroy – Thursday was an awful round for McIlroy. How bad was it? He had three birdies on his back nine and still shot a 79. He followed that with a 75 on Friday to miss the cut by a whopping 10 shots.

Rickie Fowler – A past champion at this event, Fowler hoped that this would be the week his fortunes turned in a positive direction. Instead, he made three double bogeys in the span of five holes on Thursday to fall out of contention. A 77-73 left him home for the weekend.

Patrick Cantlay – He’s been rock solid all year but this was not his week. Cantlay was not awful, shooting 74-75, but he wasn’t nearly good enough to be around for the weekend.

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Xander Schauffele – The week got off to an awful start for Schauffele, who was 5-over par by the time his first nine holes were finished. He never recovered, shooting 76-72 to miss the cut.

Kyle Stanley – Brutal. Absolutely brutal. Stanley had five bogeys, five double bogeys and a triple bogey in 36 holes. He shot 83-84 to miss the cut by, wait for it, 23 shots! Stanley finished dead last, five shots behind his nearest competitor.

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