“Probably one of the best rounds of my life, tee-to-green...I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff on TV happen in the past on this back nine, so I was glad to be on the better side of it this year.” – Justin Thomas to Steve Sands
“As long as we are going to watch golf in the future, I doubt we will see more than a handful of ball-striking rounds by a winner better than this one.” – Brandel Chamblee on Thomas (-14, Champion)
“Today showed a lot to me – when he didn’t have his best, there was no momentum there in that final group...hats off to him.” – Justin Leonard on Lee Westwood (-13, 2nd place)
STAMFORD, Conn. – March 14, 2021 – NBC Sports concluded its comprehensive coverage of the 2021 edition of THE PLAYERS Championship today on NBC from The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Justin Thomas won his first career PLAYERS Championship with a final-round 68, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation en route to a one-stroke victory over Lee Westwood.
THE PLAYERS Championship – Final Leaderboard
| Player | Total |
| Justin Thomas | -14 |
| Lee Westwood | -13 |
| Brian Harman | -12 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | -12 |
| Paul Casey | -11 |
| Talor Gooch | -11 |
On Justin Thomas (14-under, Champion)
Thomas to Steve Sands on closing out THE PLAYERS Championship: “It’s a lot harder than when there weren’t fans here, that’s for sure...probably one of the best rounds of my life, tee-to-green...I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff on TV happen in the past on this back nine, so I was glad to be on the better side of it this year.”
Brandel Chamblee on today’s round: “That didn’t disappoint…Sublime play was interrupted for a brief moment by a shank, a top, and a slice, but none of those were coming from Justin Thomas. He absolutely had it on a string…That was one of the best ball-striking rounds that I’ve ever seen.”
Chamblee on Thomas’ final round: “As long as I’ve watched golf, I’ve seen only a handful of rounds better than what I saw today from a ball-striking standpoint. As long as we are going to watch golf in the future, I doubt we will see more than a handful of ball-striking rounds by a winner better than this one.”
Paul Azinger on Thomas: “He really did earn it. He scratched and clawed just to make the cut. And then he just blistered this golf course on the weekend.”
On Lee Westwood (13-under, 2nd)
Justin Leonard on Westwood: “I’ve always been impressed with Lee Westwood ever since I met him 25 years ago. Today showed a lot to me, when he didn’t have his best, there was no momentum there in that final group...hats off to him. I don’t know what his beverage of choice is as an adult, but after these last two weeks and the way he’s played, he deserves a few of them tonight.”
Chamblee: “He’s a reminder that the elder statesmen are not ceding all the ground to the younger players. When you start talking about longevity in this game, it’s enviable what he’s done.”
On Bryson DeChambeau at the 4th hole
Dan Hicks: “His mind is big-time scrambled right now. He can’t figure something out. That is as bizarre a pair of shots in a row that we’ve seen DeChambeau hit in a long time.”
Gary Koch: “He talks about being a perfectionist. Right now, it’s anything but.”
David Feherty: “That was ‘worse than most.’”
Roger Maltbie: “This is about as interesting a hole as I’ve seen played in just about 30 years.”
--NBC SPORTS--
