Power consolidates top 50 spot but elbow needs rest; Lowry tied 13th
Cameron Smith. Picture via PGATOUR.com
CAMERON SMITH claimed a dramatic win in the Players Championship and a cheque for $3.6 million as Shane Lowry and Séamus Power failed to fire at TPC Sawgrass.
The Australian began the final round tied for sixth on seven-under, two shots behind India's Anirban Lahiri but made ten birdies in a six-under 66, getting up and down from 58 yards for bogey after visit to water at the last, to win by a shot from the Indian and by two strokes from England's Paul Casey on 13-under par.
Lowry went into the final round just three shots behind Lahiri on six-under-par but could only manage a level-par 72 to finish tied 13th on six-under.
The Offaly man shaved the hole for birdie on the first two greens, then bogeyed the third and sixth.
He fought back with birdies at the eighth, ninth and 11th to get within three strokes of the lead again but didn't make the putts and had to settle for a cheque for $327,222 after finishing with a bogey.
It was also a frustrating final round for Power, who was four-under after seven holes but double-bogeyed the 17th, his eighth, after a visit to water and played the remaining holes in level par to card a 70 and tie for 33rd on three-under with Rory McIlroy, who signed off with a bogey-free 66.
Power, who won $100,111, will get a chance to rest his troublesome elbow this week after a disappointing week at Sawgrass left him facing a nervy two weeks to find out if he will qualify for the Masters.
While he was projected to move up two places to 48th in the world with the top 50 on March 28 qualifying for the Masters, he is skipping this week's Valspar Championship to rest his elbow before teeing it up in the final counting World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas next week.
“I’m going to rest for the next couple of days because my elbow has been hurting again”
"I played poorly all week and hit a lot of bad shots," lamented Power, who was projected to move up two spots to 21st in the FedEx Cup. "I didn't really do anything well, to be honest. I didn't really make a lot of putts and hit a lot of loose shots, and that kind of adds up around here.
"You don't get away with too many loose shots here with the breeze and rough up, maybe not today but the last couple of days."
Quizzed about his world ranking and his quest to remain in the top 50 after next week's final counting WGC at Austin Country Club, he said: "It's not something I am concerned about, to be honest. People keep asking me about it. People were disappointed how I played the last couple of weeks, and it hasn't been great.
"But I'm going to rest for the next couple of days because my elbow has been hurting again and then get back into some practice and go from there."
Power had surgery on wear and tear in his elbow towards the end of 2020 and after recovering well, he went on a hot run of form that culminated in his maiden win in the Barbasol Championship last July.
Meanwhile, Viktor Hovland tied for ninth after a rollercoaster 69 that included an animated discussion with Daniel Berger over drop disagreement as he attempted to protect the field.
Hovland said he had "massive respect" for Berger despite insisting he felt the American got his point of entry wrong and wanted to take an incorrect drop at the par-five 16th.
"This is a bad drop here, I'm telling you," said Berger, who was as adamant he should be allowed drop far closer to the green. said. "I'll drop here, if this is where you guys want me to drop. But it's way too far back."
Hovland stuck to his guns, however, and later explained: "Daniel's game is great, and I have massive respect for him as a player. But, at the end of the day, we've got to protect the field and protect all the other guys.
"It's not a fun conversation, but when you strongly believe in something, you kind of have to stand your ground.
"It ended up being somewhat of a compromise. He dropped a little bit further up than Joel [Dahmen] and I kind of thought, but we ended up making a compromise, and that's where he hit it from.”
There was no prolonged post-round chat on the controversy, Hovland said, adding: "We try to keep it professional. It's not like we're trying to dog on Daniel and trying to screw him over.
"It's just, that's what we believe, and he obviously felt strongly the other way. It's just what it is. I'm not accusing him of anything.
"The golf ball is in the air for a couple seconds, so it's tough to exactly pinpoint where it crossed and not. But Joel and I saw it in one way and he saw it differently."
