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PGA Tour

PGA Tour: Cameron Smith wins Player Championship 2022

Cameron Smith wins the Players Championship 2022. (Foto: Getty)
Cameron Smith wins the Players Championship 2022. (Foto: Getty)

Cameron Smith wins the Players Championship, the most important tournament on the PGA Tour. The Australian won by one stroke ahead of Anirban Lahiri in second place and Paul Casey in third. For his victory at the TPC Sawgrass, Smith collects 3.6 million dollars, one of the highest prize money ever in golf for a tournament victory. On the final day, the 28-year-old carded a round of 66 on the par-72 course to record an overall score of -13 for the tournament.

Full Leaderboard Players Championship 2022

After five birdies on the first six holes, it initially looked as if Smith could pull away early. But after three bogeys in a row at the end of the front nine, the Australian came under pressure again. Right at the start of the second nine, he then set off on another series of birdies. Smith only recorded one par until the 14th hole. So he went into the last hole with a seemingly safe three-stroke lead. A missed fairway and a free shot from the pine needles into the water changed the situation dramatically on the last hole.

Lahiri was suddenly back within striking distance and, after Smith’s bogey on the 18th, had a chance to go into the play-off with a birdie. But the Indian left his approach too short and missed the chip-in. For sole second place, he receives prize money of more than two million dollars.

Dustin Johnson ties course record

Dustin Johnson showed the best round of the day, tieing the course record with a 63 (-9). The 37-year-old finished the Players Championship with an eagle hole out on the 18th. “DJ” played the back nine with only 29 strokes.

After several weather disputes, the Players Championship could only be finished on Monday. The first round alone lasted three days due to rain and thunderstorm interruptions. On the last day of the tournament, the professionals not only completed the final round, but also had to play the rest of the third round in the morning. The last time the Players Championship was finished on a Monday was in 2005.

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PGA Tour

Another hole-in-one! Viktor Hovland celebrates at the Players Championship

Viktor Hovland celebrates the second ace at PGA Tour's Players Championship 2022. (Photo: Screenshot Twitter/@PGATOUR)
Viktor Hovland celebrates the second ace at PGA Tour's Players Championship 2022. (Photo: Screenshot Twitter/@PGATOUR)

Viktor Hovland scores the second ace at this year’s Players Championship on the PGA Tour! In his third round, which was finished on Monday due to the weather, the Norwegian holes for eagle, his second of the round.

The Players Championship 2022: Leaderboard

There are a total of four par-3 holes at TPC Sawgrass, the most notorious of which is 17 with the iconic island green. On this hole Shane Lowry scored the tenth ever hole-in-one in round 3 on Sunday, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Shane Lowry records 10th ace on 17

Players Championship: Viktor Hovland with the ace

Now Viktor Hovland hits another ace at the flagship event of the PGA Tour, this time at the 8th hole. For the 24-year-old, who had started at the 10th tee, it was the second-last hole and he sank the ball from 219 yards. The shooting star had already scored an eagle on hole 2. Hovland finished the round with a total of 68 strokes and climbed a few places on the leaderboard. Before the final round, the three-time winner on the PGA Tour is at four-under-par.

Afterwards, Hovland celebrated with Kevin Streelman, similar to what Lowry and Poulter had done the day before.

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PGA Tour

PGA TOUR: Monday finish at the Players

The Players Championship will be decided in a mega Monday finish (foto: Getty)
The Players Championship will be decided in a mega Monday finish (foto: Getty)

The Players Championship has been running for four days, but even now there is still no winner. In all likelihood, the tournament will end today. So a mega golf day awaits the players. After these eventful five days of Players, one of the players will prevail and take home the 3.6 million dollars.

Bad weather overshadows the Players Championship

The tournament was not under a good star. Already at the beginning of the Players week many responsible persons were aware that an end of the tournament on Sunday, as regularly planned, will be very difficult. Bad weather with heavy rain falling for hours on the TPC Sawgrass and partly heavy thunderstorms delayed the play more and more and made it difficult for the professionals. Now it’s Monday, actually the week after the tournament. But the tour has a clear plan and goal this Monday to finish the tournament. A mega-Monday finish is planned: First, the third round will be played out in the early morning in Florida. After that, the complete fourth round will be played. If everything goes smoothly, there would even be enough time for a playoff.

An epochal Monday finish

The exact schedule has it all: After the actual fourth day of the tournament was interrupted at 7:30 p.m. local time due to darkness, the players will take to the court again very early on Monday. Virtually at sunrise, the players who have not yet completed the third round will get going again. The PGA Tour gives the remaining players three hours to finish the third round. At 11 a.m. local time, i.e. at 4 p.m. German time, the round will then be completed.

At the same time, both the tee times for Round 4 and the new pin positions and tee shots will be gradually prepared. At 11 a.m. local time the first players will start into the final round, in three-man flights from tee 1 and 10. The best placed players after round 3 will start at 1 p.m. according to the tour. If all goes well, the final round is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. local time. After that, there would even be time for the traditional three-hole playoff. The tour is very optimistic about keeping to the schedule and it looks like the weather is finally playing along as well. Until the start of the fifth day, you can enjoy the best shots from the 17th hole here:

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PGA Tour

Player Championship 2022: Shane Lowry records 10th ace on 17

Shane Lowry's hole in one at The Players Championship 2022. (Photo: Twitter.com/@PGATour & Twitter.com/@DPWorldTour)
Shane Lowry's hole in one at The Players Championship 2022. (Photo: Twitter.com/@PGATour & Twitter.com/@DPWorldTour)

At the Players Championship, all eyes are on the famous 17th hole. A special highlight is when someone plays a hole-in-one on that very hole. It’s not very common, but at this year’s flagship event of the PGA Tour we saw the tenth ace in the tournament’s 40-year history at TPC Sawgrass.

Hole-in-one at the Players Championship 2022

In the third round of the tournament, which was marred by weather chaos, Shane Lowry holed the ball in one shot.

Hier geht es zum Leaderboard der Players Championship
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PGA Tour

Players Championship: Bizarre rule earns Major winner penalty strokes

Keegan Bradley collects penalty strokes at the Players Championship. (Photo: Getty)
Keegan Bradley collects penalty strokes at the Players Championship. (Photo: Getty)

Keegan Bradley managed to stay one-under-par on the third day and his second round of the Players Championship. He is proud of “one of the best rounds” of his career, but despite his outstanding performance in the face of difficult weather conditions, the result could have been even better.

Leaderboard Players Championship 2022

Bizarre rule wording causes penalty strokes


Keegan Bradley had a three-meter birdie putt in front of him and marked his ball with a ball marker for it. So far so normal, but the strong gusts of wind caused his ball to roll away. For Bradley and his teammates, this was a clear situation. His ball was marked and therefore he was allowed to put it back in its original place.

Only a few holes later – Bradley started from tee 10 – did chief referee Gary Young award two penalty strokes to the American. The explanation is found in the wording of Rule 9.4 a. Here is an explicit movement described, first mark the ball, then pick it up and the subsequent again put down at the same place is considered as an official mark of the ball.

Players Championship: Bradley is visibly surprised


For the American, this subtlety of the rule is not new, however, he thought it had since been changed in favor of simplicity. “Everyone in my group, and I guarantee most of the entire field, thought the USGA changed the rule to simplify it,” Bradley said. “Put your coin down, that’s where your ball is. So put my coin down, the ball moved, a huge gust of wind came up.

“I looked at the guys in my group,” he continued, “and we all said, yep, the coin was down first, all good. Didn’t think about it again until Gary came up and spoke to me on 2, and proud of the way I handled that because that was tough news, especially with some tough holes in front of me.”

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PGA Tour

Players Championship: Mega putts and hole-outs – The best shots on video

The best shots of The Players Championship 2022 on PGA Tour. (Foto: Getty)
The best shots of The Players Championship 2022 on PGA Tour. (Foto: Getty)

The TPC Sawgrass in Florida presents some challenges to the best golfers in the world. Designed by legendary golf course architects Pete Dye and his wife Alice, the Players Stadium Course demands the utmost concentration and golfing skill from the professionals on the PGA Tour. At the Players Championship 2022, too, it is a fine line between joy and frustration. We compile the best shots of the mega tournament (20 million US dollars prize money).

The Players Championship 2022: Livescoring

Day 3 brings wind and troubleshots

The conditions on the third day of the Players Championship do not provide for an excess of outstanding golf shots. Rather, the professionals are struggling with gusts of over 40 kilometers per hour.

Dustin Johnson showed his skills again on his last holes and placed the ball from more than 190 meters only centimeters next to the hole.

Jason Kokrak gave himself a gift on the 15th hole of his second round with a bunker shot that would probably be the envy of any golfer.

Only limited golf on day 2 of the Players

On the second day, the continuous rain over Florida gave the golfers a hard time. Before the first round was finally abandoned due to unplayability of the course and approaching thunderstorms, there were still some good shots to watch. Brive Garnett closed the gap to the top with this eagle, immediately followed by the end.

Kevin Kisner appears in this list for the second time. This time the American scores an eagle from the bunker at the 16th.

Cameron Young holes out for birdie.

Jordan Spieth scored his first birdie at the “fifth” major on hole 7 with this long putt.

PGA Tour: The best shots on day 1 of the Players Championship

Kevin Kisner, four-time winner on the PGA Tour, shone in round 1 of the Players Championship with this successful putt from over 16 metres from the front green.

Bad weather caused long interruptions on the first day, but Tom Hoge took advantage of the soft greens and holed the first eagle of the day on the second hole. After the first round had to be interrupted in the evening due to darkness, the American was even in the lead with six-under-par.

Anirban Lahiri also holed an eagle, sinking the ball from 125 yards (approx. 114 metres) on hole 6. The Indian brought a total of five-under 65 into the clubhouse.

Gary Woodland felt the ups and downs of golf. His first chip on the par-4 7th hole did not make it onto the green and rolled back again. At the second attempt, the 2019 US Open champion showed that he can do it better and saved the par in impressive fashion.

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PGA Tour

Players Championship: The pros despair of the wind – 17 becomes a ball washer

The gusts of wind make it difficult for the players at the Players Championship. (Photo: Twitter/Youtube @PGATour)
The gusts of wind make it difficult for the players at the Players Championship. (Photo: Twitter/Youtube @PGATour)

The third day of the Players Championship greeted spectators and players with sunshine, but steady winds and gusts of over 40 kilometers per hour made it difficult for the players. On the legendary Stadium Course, Kopeka, Fleetwood and Co. battled with the unpredictable gusts of wind and had to leave more than one ball in the water. In total, the field sank 33 balls on the 17th hole alone in round 1 and the 2nd round that started.

Golf is hard: The highlight of the windy Saturday at the Players Championship

If you read through the scores achieved on the 17th hole, you might well think it was an amateur tournament. But the island green at TPC Sawgrass is a challenge even under good conditions. With the strong wind, however, the penultimate hole developed into a final opponent for the players. Only two birdies, but nine bogeys, ten double bogeys and even four worse scores were recorded by the field on the third day of the Players Championship. 60 players made it to the iconic 17th hole in the second round. But for about 31 percent of the players it went into the drop zone. On the par 3, which is only 125 meters long, only just under 60 percent have even made it onto the green.

But also on the other holes of the waterlogged course there were penalty strokes. The highlights and lowlights from Saturday can be seen in the video:

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PGA Tour

Replica of the 17 and “wonder bread”: How to pass the time during the Players Championship

The pros also had to pass the time on the second day of the Players Championship. (Photo: Twitter/@PGATOUR; Screenshot Instagram/@ianjamespoulter)
The pros also had to pass the time on the second day of the Players Championship. (Photo: Twitter/@PGATOUR; Screenshot Instagram/@ianjamespoulter)

The Players Championship 2022 is drowning in weather chaos. On the first day, some players couldn’t even make a shot and on the second day, even less golf was played – 47 players still haven’t finished their first 18 holes. Some golfers therefore had a complete break from play on Friday, while others only had a few holes to play before play was paused at 11:15 a.m. local time and it was clear at 3:13 p.m. that there would be no play before 11 a.m. on Saturday either. So the stars of the PGA Tour had a lot of free time, which was used in different ways.

Here’s how it stands at The Players.

PGA Tour: Free afternoon for the players

Rory McIlroy is one of those who has not yet been able to hand in his first round scorecard. So far, the Northern Irishman has only played 15 holes, recording three birdies and four bogeys. The four-time major winner was then able to spend the free afternoon with his wife Erica and daughter Poppy.

Meanwhile, Max Homa philosophised during the rain delay why his mother never allowed him to eat the ” wonder bread” with peanut butter and jelly – he probably wouldn’t have been able to stop. Luckily, his caddies’ fiancée doesn’t see it so restrictively.

The fact that play was finally suspended completely for Friday probably didn’t bother the “Twitter King” of the PGA Tour, who is at two-under-par after 14 holes – after all, he can watch the new Batman then.

Justin Thomas hasn’t finished his first round either, but can spend his afternoon chilling on the couch.

The From the sofa, the defending champion also immediately found the guilty person: Max Homa.

But it could also have been Ian Poulter who caused the break-up. The Englishman had already finished his first round in a hurry on Thursday and therefore had Friday completely free. The 46-year-old was literally feverishly anticipating the break-off, letting his fans share it in his Instagram story and, given the weather, logically wanted to avoid the trip to the golf course. While the pro himself passed the time with Netflix at his house on the beach, his son Joshua rebuilt the signature hole of the TPC Sawgrass on the beach and also imitated his hurried father.

Players Championship Video: Ian Poulter in a race with darkness
Poulter hopes for rain, watches Netflix and checks out the "island green". (Photo: Screenshot Instagram/@ianjamespoulter)
Poulter hopes for rain, watches Netflix and checks out the “island green”. (Photo: Screenshot Instagram/@ianjamespoulter)

Players Championship at TopGolf?

With so many breaks, the stars naturally have time to connect with fans on social media. Some initiate discussions about the interruption of the tournament, Kevin Kisner would like to hear the expert opinions of the internet. One of them: Simply move the tournament to the nearby TopGolf facility – problem solved.

Justin Rose is organising a small contest on Instagram to pass the time. The Englishman, who currently has 14 holes played, wants to announce the winner after his second round. Cynically, you could say: There’s still plenty of time to take part.

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PGA Tour

Players Championship Video: Different kind of entertainment at 17

At the Players Championship 2022 on the PGA Tour, hardly any golf can be played because of the weather. So there will be other ways to pass the time. (Photo: Twitter/@PGATOUR)
At the Players Championship 2022 on the PGA Tour, hardly any golf can be played because of the weather. So there will be other ways to pass the time. (Photo: Twitter/@PGATOUR)

On the second day of the Players Championship 2022, hardly any golf could be played due to the weather. Continuous rain and thunderstorms ruled the stage in Florida, where the tournament with the highest prize money in golf is supposed to be played. In fact, even after two days, almost 50 players have not yet finished the first round and the flagship event of the PGA Tour will not be decided before Monday.

Players Championship: Entertainment at 17

The persistent rain made the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass non-playable, but it could be used for fun of a different kind. At the 17 with the spectacular island green, it was not the players who put on a show for the fans this time. The wet terrain was turned into a sliding area.

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PGA Tour

Weather chaos at the Players Championship: Here’s how the second day is planned

Dark clouds over the TPC Sawgrass: This is how it will probably look on the second day of the Players Championship 2022 on the PGA Tour. (Photo: Getty)
Dark clouds over the TPC Sawgrass: This is how it will probably look on the second day of the Players Championship 2022 on the PGA Tour. (Photo: Getty)

Patience was needed on the first day of the Players Championship 2022. Due to a large rain and thunderstorm front, the golfers on the PGA Tour first had to wait an hour for their starting times and eventually pass the time in an interruption lasting over four hours. As a result, many players had not yet finished their first round, while others had not even started. Therefore, on Friday, for which rain is again forecast, the first round will be finished first before the players start on their second round.

Players Championship Video: Ian Poulter in a race with darkness

The start times for the first round are scheduled for 07:15 local time (12:15 p..m. GMT). Only 69 players have already handed in their scorecards, twelve players had not even started yet. The last groups will start from the first and 10th tees on Friday morning at 7:26 a.m. local time (12:26 p.m. GMT) on the Players Stadium Course.

The second day of the Players Championship on the PGA Tour

The second round of the Players Championship is scheduled to start on Friday at around 11 a.m. local time (4 p.m. GMT). Whether everything can go ahead as planned will only become clear in the further course of the day. Interruptions are also to be expected on the second day on the PGA Tour, as the worst weather conditions of all tournament days are forecast for the day.

The weather at the Players Championship 2022: Is a Monday Finish looming?