The final match reaches the 18th green. Pars for Rahm and Fleetwood, the Spaniard signing for an extremely disappointing final round of 76, the Englishman a similarly distressing 73. Still no maiden victory on the PGA Tour for Tommy. Po’ Tom’s a-cold. But not for long: the pair enjoy a laugh, a smile and a warm embrace. When the hurt of this near miss subsides, they’ll both reflect on an excellent week’s work.
Rory McIlroy, the new Players champion, speaks! “It’s very special. I just tried to treat it like another day. Even though I’ve had all those close calls this year, they didn’t mean anything. If anything, they were good for me. I call them remote misses. They give you even more hope to go forward and again. I think all those misses led me to this point, and ultimately they were good for me, because they got me over the line today. The final few holes were tough. To get that birdie on 15 after the dropped shot on 14 was massive. The way I played those last few holes gives me so much confidence going forward. If I hadn’t have won today, I would have said I don’t need a win going to Augusta. But it’s very nice to get a win. Especially on this golf course, that plays similar to the way Augusta will play in a few weeks time. I feel like I’m playing some of the best golf of my life and I just need to keep going with it, and keep doing the same things.”
Ireland’s superstar pockets $2.25m for that, a lovely St Patrick’s Day treat. This win was gritty rather than spectacular, and for a while McIlroy’s hopes looked to be heading south. But he refused to buckle, went for it on 9, and the resulting birdie sparked a fire. He played the back nine wonderfully, his sensational second into 15 the moment he simply refused to let this one slip away. Heroic. Homeric. The Players is a huge deal all by itself, of course, and now Rory adds this to his stellar CV … but still, this is one hell of a fillip for the Masters next month. And that long winless streak comes to an end!
-16: McIlroy
-15: Furyk
-14: Pepperell, Vegas
-13: D Johnson, Snedeker, Fleetwood (17)
Rory McIlroy is the 2019 Players champion!
He sends his first putt 18 inches past the hole, but is never missing the one coming back. At -16, one shot ahead of Jim Furyk, he’s the champion! He blows out hard. That was a tough battle. But he really stepped it up after the turn, and is able to add the unofficial fifth major to his collection of four proper ones. Just the Masters left, then!
Day is up first. He can’t quite make his birdie putt. He’ll make do with par and a level-par round of 72. Back on 17, Fleetwood wedges from the drop zone to three feet, and tidies up for bogey. Then on the last, it’s Rory’s turn …
McIlroy sends his second over the flag, the ball stopping 20 feet from the hole. He probably didn’t mean to draw the shot quite so far left, with the water over there, not so far from the flag. But he’d take that outcome every day. He’s got two putts to win the 2019 Players Championship!
Rahm slam-dunks his tee shot into the water at 17. Yet another 54-hole leader at the Players who can’t seal the deal. He’s been as poor today as he was sensational yesterday. On 18, Day has found the centre of the fairway too, and the 2016 champion knocks his second pin high to 12 feet. What Rory would pay for that! He’s 155 yards away. Here he goes …
Rory’s going with driver at 18. He’s parred this hole on each of the first three days. What he’d give for one more now. He lashes a monster down the middle. For a second it looks like it might be toying with the water, but no. It’s a booming hit. And it’s going to set him up for possible victory, because back on 17, Fleetwood, the only man left who can realistically catch him at -16, goes for the flag. His ball hits the sleeper, and pings off into the murky blue. His race is run. Can McIlroy close it out with a par on 18? If he bogeys, it’ll be a three-hole play-off with Furyk. A double would be unthinkable.
Rory’s putt has a massive left-to-right break, suddenly turning like a slingshot. He tickles it over the top of the shoulder he’s behind, and sends the ball rolling hole-ward. Not quite. but he’ll tap in the one coming back for par. And he’s more than happy with that, wandering off with a huge smile on his face. Meanwhile back on 16, Fleetwood taps in for his eagle. He’s -14, just two behind with two to play. Too little, too late?
-16: McIlroy (17)
-15: Furyk (F)
-14: Pepperell (F), Vegas (F), Fleetwood (16)
-13: D Johnson (F), Snedeker (F), Rahm (16)
It’s the last roll of the dice for Tommy Fleetwood. Going down 16 at -12, he needs something to happen now. And it does: he creams a 7-iron straight at the flag, the ball getting a little help onwards from a sprinkler head and stopping three feet from the flag! A wonderful eagle chance that could thrust him back into contention at the death! It’s all witnessed by McIlroy, who glanced over to see what all the commotion was about. He strolls off towards the 17th green, chomping on a power bar, kidding on he’s the calmest dude in Florida. He won’t be, of course, but hats off to him for trying.
Well, it’s not ideal, but it’s dry. He whips his iron straight and hard, and it only just reaches the front of the green. He’ll have a look at birdie from just inside Pepperell Country. Up on 18, Snedeker’s chip finds the green but never looks like going in. His race is run.
The crowd surrounding the 17th erupts as Rory takes to the tee. His heart will be beating like a jiggered clock. One good 9-iron here, from 137 yards, and he’ll be within touching distance of his first Players Championship.
McIlroy can’t make the eagle putt. But the ball stops just to the left of the hole, and he taps in for birdie. That gives him a one-stroke lead over clubhouse leader Furyk at -16 … but the 17th and 18th await. A long way to go yet!
-16: McIlroy (16)
-15: Furyk (F)
-14: Pepperell (F), Vegas (F), Snedeker (17)
Meanwhile back on 16, McIlroy puts the pedal to the floor. He fires a 178-yard approach at the par-five to 20 feet. He’ll have a good look at an eagle that would put him in control of this tournament as we approach the business end. Up on 18, Snedeker wangs a wild drive up a huge bank to the right of the hole, and is fortunate that it bounces back down to the cart path. That allows him to fire his second greenwards, but the ball snags up on the bank. He’ll need to chip in from there if he’s to have any chance now!
Rahm can only splash out from the sand at 15 to 12 feet. The putt coming back is straight enough, but it stays out on the left. A bogey, and he slips to -13, two off Furyk’s mark. Meanwhile on 17, heartbreak for Schniederjans, who having nearly eagled 16 but settled for birdie, dumps his tee shot in the drink. It was miles short. The young man hangs his head in stunned despair.
Snedeker caresses a fine tee shot into 17. It lands in the centre of the green, the camber bringing his ball right, towards the hole. He’s left with a very makeable uphill 12-footer, but pulls it, and it’s just a par. He’ll need to birdie 18, the trickiest hole on the entire course, if he wants to make a play-off with Furyk, the best outcome left available to him.
Rahm’s drive at 15 finds a cart path deep in trees down the left. He tries to manufacture a Seve-style escape, but only finds a deep bunker front left of the green. That’ll be a tricky up and down.
Furyk makes his birdie at the final hole! He gently punches the air. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -15. Snedeker is within one at -14, finding the 16th green with a couple of big booms, then rolling his long eagle putt to kick-in distance. Dustin can only make par at 17. And McIlroy makes a stunning birdie at 15, taking advantage of the good break he had in finding the bunker with his drive. He sends a big slice round a tree and into the heart of the green, then sinks the 20-footer he was left with!
-15: Furyk (F), McIlroy (15)
-14: Pepperell (F), Vegas (F), Snedeker (16), Rahm (14)
-13: D Johnson (17), Fleetwood (14)
Another birdie for Dustin Johnson, this time at 16. He’s back in this at -13! His tee shot into 17 is average, nothing more, but folk have been rolling them in from everywhere, so let’s see how that pans out. On 15, McIlroy flays a dreadful drive towards the flowerbeds on the right, and he’s very lucky to catch the bunker in front of them. He’ll have a shot, at least. And he can’t afford any slip-ups, because up on 18, Furyk belts a drive down the left-hand side of the fairway, prime position, then screeches a wedge to three feet! There’s not a flicker of emotion on his face as he strides towards the green, the crowd going wild. He’s slipped into Business Mode. He’s certainly done the business with that shot. If he makes the putt, as he surely must, he’ll be signing for a 67 and will set a new clubhouse lead of -15!
You’d need a stone-cold heart not to feel sorry for Furyk here. The grand old boy teases his putt, which has a huge right-to-left curl, towards the hole. Perfect weight. It’s surely going to drop! But no. Somehow it refuses to topple and stays out on the high side. That’s so unfortunate. Furyk takes a couple of steps back in frustration, then suddenly remembers where he is, and spins round just in time, ensuring he doesn’t topple into the water. He nearly fell in at 18 yesterday, too, his toes balancing on the edge to the left of the fairway. He allows himself a rueful smile. He remains at -14 … though he’s got a share of the lead now, because Rory shoves a dreadful five-foot putt wide right at 14, and that’s a completely needless bogey. It’s very tight at the top now. Ludicrously so! Three-hole play-off, anybody?
Jim Furyk of the United States lines up a putt on the 18th green Photograph: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
-14: Pepperell (F), Vegas (F), Furyk (17), McIlroy (14), Rahm (13)
-13: Snedeker (15), Fleetwood (13)
Updated
Rahm becomes the latest player to regain some momentum. A lovely iron whip-cracked at 13 ends pin high, eight feet from the flag. He rolls it in dead weight, and returns to -14. Up on 17, Furyk decides that he has to go for it, and aims straight at the flag, which is situated in the smallest portion of the green. He’s rewarded for his bravery as his ball lands 12 feet behind the flag. A chance for a birdie that’ll give him a share!
Birdie for Fleetwood at 12. At -13, he’s moving back in the right direction. Dustin Johnson birdies 15 to return himself to -12. Justin Rose is in with a 68, ending his week at -12. And on 18, Vegas sends his second over the flag, but can’t make the 12-footer coming back. That birdie would have posted a new mark in the clubhouse, but he’ll have to settle for par and a 66. He shares the clubhouse lead with Pepperell at -14, one behind the active McIlroy.
Pepperell can only send his second at 18 into thick oomska front right of the green. He bumps a fine chip straight at the hole; it slips off to the right and he’s left with five-footer coming back up the hill. In it goes! He signs for a sensational 66, and he’s the new clubhouse leader. Meanwhile back on the tee, Vegas smashes a fine drive down the right of the fairway. The perfect angle coming in. And on 13, Jason Day’s revival continues with another birdie. He’s -12 and back, baby, back!
-15: McIlroy (13)
-14: Pepperell (F), Vegas (17)
Amid that kerfuffle, McIlroy made it back-to-back birdies with a cute chip and putt on 12. He’s now the sole leader of this tournament! Could his long Sunday suffering end today?
-15: McIlroy (12)
-14: Pepperell (17), Vegas (17)
-13: Rahm (11), Furyk (15), Snedeker (14)
-12: Matsuyama (F), Harman (14), Fleetwood (11)
More sensational scenes on 17! Vegas has left himself a 70-footer with a huge left to right break, over the brow of a hill. And in it goes! One of those you just knew was dropping 12 feet from the flag. It’s not dissimilar in shape or vibe to Justin Rose’s mugging of Phil Mickelson on the 17th at Medinah in that Ryder Cup! The crowd go ballistic. Vegas orchestrates them, then having whipped them up, tries to calm himself down. He’s one good drive away from asking some serious questions of the players who still have a few holes to play. First Pepperell, and now this. This is astonishing!
Despair for Jim Furyk! The veteran yips a tiddler for par on 15, and he falls out of the lead, back to -13. Neither Rahm nor Fleetwood can scramble their pars on 11. On 17, Vegas finds the green but he’s a million miles from the flag, out on the left. Birdie for Day at 12; having gone out in 38, he throws his arms wide in a self-deprecating hallelujah mime. He’s -11, and not out of this. And up on 18, Pepperell’s drive stays dry, but it’s short and in the thick stuff. He’ll have a testing second into the green.
Vegas launches his second at 16 into the heart of the green. He’s left with an uphill eagle putt from 20 feet, fairly straight. But he doesn’t quite hit it. Never mind, it’s a kick-in birdie, and he moves to -13, one off the lead. Ancer drops back to -12 after some weak work around the green at 12. And sensational scenes on 17! Eddie Pepperell’s tee shot finds the green, but only near the front, with the pin tucked in its traditional Sunday spot, behind the bunker on the right. And he’s 40 feet away. No matter! He strokes it over the shoulder, right to left and back again, and the ball snakes into the cup! Bedlam! It’s his third birdie in a row, his fifth in seven holes, his seventh in 11 holes, and he’s suddenly the co-leader of this tournament at -14! He allows himself a shy smile. He’s on the brink of posting a properly testing clubhouse mark!
-14: Pepperell (17), Furyk (14), McIlroy (11), Rahm (10)
-13: Fleetwood (10), Snedeker (13), Vegas (16)
-12: Matsuyama (F), Harman (13), Ancer (12)
Hideki Matsuyama nearly chips in for birdie at 18, but the ball rolls shamelessly past the hole and he’ll have to make do with par. That’s a closing round of 67 to go with yesterday’s 66, a fine weekend’s work. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -12. It’s unlikely to be enough but … altogether now … you never know.
Disaster for Tommy Fleetwood on 11. He doesn’t catch his approach at the par-five, and he’s wet. His compatriot Justin Rose escaped with a par earlier today after making the same mistake. So all is not yet lost. And his playing partner Jon Rahm follows him in the water, attempting an absurd snap hook around a tree from a bunker, going for the green instead of taking his medicine and chipping out. That was ludicrous.
Tommy Fleetwood of England plays to the 11th hole Photograph: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Updated
McIlroy is left with a 30-foot eagle putt across the 11th. He strokes it to tap-in distance – the eagle effort’s always missing on the left – and he’s back in a share of the lead at -14. Snedeker pops in another birdie, at 12, and he’s one off the lead at -13. A street-fighting four for Furyk at 14, chipping close from the thick stuff to the side of the green. And a birdie for Pepperell at 16; a strong finish and the 28-year-old from Oxford will be in with a shout! This is such a great tournament. Look at this!
-14: Furyk (14), McIlroy (11), Rahm (10)
-13: Pepperell (16), Snedeker (12), Ancer (11), Fleetwood (10)
-12: Matsuyama (17), Vegas (15), Harman (13)
-11: Rose (16), DeChambeau (17), Scott (14), D Johnson (13)
Updated
Matsuyama’s putt on 17 is downhill and treacherous. He does extremely well to nurse it towards the hole, and par is most acceptable. He remains at -12. Dustin Johnson will join him there, having nearly driven 12 then bumped a chip to a couple of feet. Back on 11, Rory sends his drive into sand down the left, but his lie is perfect and he can lash a long iron into the heart of the par five.
Matsuyama only just gets over the water at 17! But he’s on the green, and will have a look at birdie from 30 feet or so. He’ll have certainly taken that when the ball was in mid air, taking all his hopes and dreams with it. McIlroy sends a wonderful second into 10, his ball screeching to a halt nine feet from the flag. But the birdie putt lips out. His frustration betrays him as he spins around in despair. Meanwhile birdie for Rose at 15, and he moves to -11, just three off the lead of Furyk and Rahm. What he’d give to play the 1st and 5th holes again on Thursday; they cost him five shots. How precious they’d be now.
Here’s an interesting development! Hideki Matsuyama lashes a glorious long iron into the heart of the risk-reward par-five 16th. It ends up four feet from the flag. In goes the eagle putt, and he’s -12, moving into proper You Never Know territory. That was a sensational shot. Not quite up there with Rickie Fowler’s carpe-diem moment in 2015, but that bar’s set at an unfair height. What a move by the Japanese superstar! Also heading very much the right way: Eddie Pepperell, who has just chipped in from the side of 15 to move to -12 as well. This is the young Englishman’s first go at the Players, and he’s very much enjoying it.
Nobody has ever successfully defended the Players. Last year’s champion Webb Simpson gave it a good go, though: he’s just signed for a final-day 68 to go alongside three rounds of 70. A shame he bogeyed 14 and 15, and only just failed to guide in a big left-to-right birdie breaker on the last. A couple of shots shaved off that round, and the way things are going … well, you never know. But at -10 he’s a little shy. Still, a fine effort. The Sawgrass gallery gives the outgoing champ the warm reception he deserves.
Fleetwood sends his third at 9 over the flag, but can’t make the 20-foot birdie putt coming back. It was a dimple’s width away from dropping, and he holds his head in his hands accordingly. Also frustrated: his partner Rahm, who has a simple enough straight putt from 15 feet, but sends it off to the left, never dropping. A pair of pars.
If Jim Furyk triumphs today, he’ll become the oldest player to win this championship. He’d be 23 days older than 2005 winner Fred Funk, who was 48 years, nine months and 14 days young. And there’s a fair chance of this, because he’s just got up and down from sand at 11 to join Rahm at -14. Meanwhile McIlroy’s power and length earns a birdie at 9, and suddenly he looks a lot happier with life. He’s a shot off the leaders at -13.
