Who is Players Championship winner? Where did Paul Casey finish? Prize money breakdown and results

England’s Paul Casey fell just short of becoming the first ever English winner of the Players Championship as Australia’s Cameron Smith took the biggest win of his career in Florida.

In a tournament disrupted by extreme weather conditions, Smith produced a stellar performance, exhibiting what can only be described as a birdie masterclass to take an exhilarating one-shot victory at the Players Championship.

Smith is now the fifth Australian to win the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

The 28-year-old from Brisbane overturned a two-stroke deficit, birdieing five of his first six holes and turning around three consecutive bogeys starting his back nine with four consecutive birdies.

Smith had a three-shot cushion at the 17th hole but incomprehensibly pitched one of his final shots into the water and set a target at 13 under.

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri - 54-hole leader - required a final-hole birdie to take the event but posted a closing par and handed Smith his biggest career win.

This Players Championship was the 40th anniversary of the event to be held at the iconic Stadium Course and will be one that is hard to forget.

The first round of the tournament took 54 hours to complete as five inches of rain engulfed the course. Fans were then forced to evacuate the course on Thursday and Friday due to thunderstorms.

Saturday’s start was also delayed due to strong winds and by the end of the second round, the top 10 players on the leaderboard had all gone out.

England’s Lee Westwood was playing in the later starts and was consequently suffering the worst conditions.

He soon took to Twitter to say: “I haven’t seen this big a discrepancy between morning and afternoon waves for a good few years.”

For the first time since 2005, the tournament finished on a Monday. While the rain briefly returned on Monday, the final round was enjoyed in warmer and sunnier conditions.

How much did Cameron Smith win?

Cameron Smith will take home the sport’s largest prize of $3.6 million (around £2.7 million).

After his success, Smith said: “This hasn’t sunk in yet. I feel as though one of these big ones was the next step for me.

“I have knocked on the door a few times and I felt it was my time. I’m playing the best I’ve ever played. I hit lots of quality shots and did not back down.”

Where did England’s Paul Casey come in the tournament?

England’s Paul Casey pushed the Australian but ended third on 11 under.

Speaking after the tournament, Casey said: “I just played a really, really good round of golf in difficult conditions around Sawgrass. Shot 69 with one bogey and some breaks that didn’t go my way.

“You have to tip your cap to Cam, who played phenomenal golf. He won this tournament. There was no losing it, he flat out won it and you have to respect that.”

It was not until the 16th hole that Casey had to give into the strength of Smith. He had birdies on the 11th and 12th to get 11 under but a monstrous drive saw his ball end up in a divot, preventing him from going for the green in two due to the threat of water to the right of the green.

“It was the best tee shot I have hit all week on that hole. Cameron had hit it into the trees and I thought my door was open. I wanted to go for the green but there were too many variables and too many risks.

“You need a little bit of luck sometimes, don’t you? That wasn’t very good luck, was it? Deep down I wanted to go for it out of that lie, but it felt too risky. It would have been brave, but maybe foolish to try to go for it.”

Results:

• Winner: Cameron Smith -13
• Second Place: A. Lahiri -12
• Third Place: P. Casey -11
• Fourth Place: K Krsiner -10
• Fifth Place: K Bradley -9
• T6 -8: R Knox
•       H Varner II
•       D Ghim
• T9 - 7: V Hovland
•       D Johnson
•       S Straka
•       A Hadwin

When is the next PGA Tour event?

The Valspar Championship is the next event on the PGA Tour and will be played between Thursday 17 March 2022 and Sunday 20 March 2022 in Innisbrook, Florida.

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