Golf: As it happened - The Players Championship

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods in action at The Players Championship. Photo credit: Getty

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Thanks for joining our updates of the final day at The Players Championship.

Danny Lee couldn't quite mount a challenge, after lying second overnight, but still secured his best finish of the season.

Tiger Woods gave his a glimpse of his best form and continued his return to the top flight.

Great performance by Webb Simpson to win by four strokes.

-18 Simpson
-14 Schwartzel, Walker, Schauffele
-13 Day, Dufner
-12 Lee, Bradley, Varner III, Fleetwood

11:02am
Lee putts in from the very edge of the green to finish with 72 at -12, a tie for seventh. That's still his best result of the season by far and will surely help him going forward.

Simpson misses his par putt and bogeys, but still wins by five strokes. He played superb golf through the first thee days of this tournament and didn't waiver over the last.

11am
Lee pitches from off the 18th green and barely makes the putting surface. Simpson pitches his fourth shot well past the hole.

10:58am
Lee had missed the fairway right off the tee, but plays a skilfull shot under some trees to lay up short of the green.

10:55am
Simpson's second at 18 is in the water. Can he find a way to lose from here?

10:53am
Simpson finds the centre of the fairway at 18.

Dufner misses par at the last and drops from a share of second. He finishes with 68.

10:49am
Lee makes his par putt, so he stops the rot. He and Simpson now head to the final tee.

10:47am
Lee's long birdie putt at 17 slides by. Simpson makes his testing par putt.

10:46am
They've already engraved Simpson's name on the trophy - literally.

He would have to putt into the water at 17 to lose from here - and he almost does. It stops about a metre short.

Walker finishes with a 67 and is tied in second at -14.

10:44am
Schauffele taps in for a birdie on 18 - he finishes with 67 and is now part of that tie for second at -14.

10:42am
Simpson and Lee are at the island 17 - Simpson finds the middle of the gree and it rolls away from the hole.

Lee also finds the middle of the green.

Schauffele almost chips in on the last and should birdie for a share of second.

10:39am
-20 Simpson
-14 Walker, Dufner. Schwartzel
-13 Day, Schauffele
-12 Bradley, Varner III, Fleetwood, Lee

Day pars at 18 for 68, and he is tied for fifth at -13. Dufners pars 17.

10:37am
Simpson makes birdie to extend his lead to six shots.

Schwartzel finishes with birdie for 67 and moves into a tie for second.

10:35am
Dufner has now played the island 17 36 times without finding the water - that's pretty impressive.

Lee drops another shot at 16 and falls to -12.

10:29am
Simpson plays safe at 16, just off the left side of the green. He's seeing off his challengers here - no-one has been able to maintain a run and he hasn't caved. 

Lee is playing his third at 16 and it's in the water. His day is turning to custard.

10:26am
Dufner leaves his birdie putt short at 16, so he stays at -14 and tied for second.

10:21am
Woods' birdie putt on the last misses right, so he finishes with 69 at -11, tied for 11th.

Schwartzel has par on 17. Dufner misses an eagle putt on 16 and leaves himself some work for birdie. 

10:16am
-19 Simpson
-14 Walker, Dufner
-13 Day, Schauffele, Lee, Schwartzel
-12 Bradley, Varner III, Fleetwood

Walker misses another birdie opportunity at 16, Woods has a birdie opportunity at 18.

Tommy Fleetwood finishes with 68 and -12, tied for eighth.

10:14am
Schwartzel plays it safe at the island 17 and leaves himself a long putt for birdie. Day, who still seems to be favouring that shoulder, is also safe.

10:12am
Schwartzel birdies 13 and improves to -13, now tied with Lee for fourth.

Lee scrambles par, Simpson follows suit.

10:09am
-19 Simpson
-14 Walker, Dufner
-13 Day, Schauffele, Lee
-12 Bradley, Varner III, Schwartzel

Woods double-bogeys at 17, just grazing the lip for bogey, and falls out of the top 10.

Lee plays out of a greenside bunker at 15 and has a long par putt.

10:06am
Woods plays from the drop zone at 17 and it threatens to overshoot the green, but stops short.

Dufner salvages a par on 16 to stay in a share of second. Varner finishes with a 68 at -12 and a share of eighth.

10:03am
Day plays his second at 16 and immediately grabs his left shoulder.

Jordan Spieth is playing the same pair as Woods, so we're seeing a lot of his shots, even though he's not in contention. He almost aces the island 17.

Woods is in the water - he's well short. That will be end of his challenge.

9:59am
Simpson misses his birdie at 14. Lee salvages a par, which is a great result, considering his wayward tee shot.

9:53am
Dufner tees off at 15 and hooks into trees. Walker makes par at 15.

Woods lines up a birdie putt at 16, but it misses right.

9:52am
-19 Simpson
-14 Walker, Dufner
-13 Day, Woods, Schauffele, Lee, Varner III
-12 Bradley, Kuchar, Schwartzel

Dufner misses a birdie at 14 - birdies seem to have dried up among the leaders for now. 

Woods has set up another birdie opportunity at 16.

Lee is starting to spray his tee shots - he's playing from way off the fairway at 13 and finds a bunker.

9:45am
Lee and Simpson have missed their birdie putts at 13, both make par. Walker misses a birdie at 15

9:39am
Simpson and Lee are on the par-three 13th tee - Simpson has a long putt for birdie, Lee has an even longer one from the front of the green

9:30am
Woods misses a birdie putt at 15. Lee drops a shot at 12, Simpson lips a birdie putt.

9:28am
-19 Simpson
-14 Lee, Walker, Dufner
-13 Day, Woods, Schauffele
-12 Bradley, Varner III, Kuchar, Schwartzel

Lee's third at 12 is within a few metres of the hole - he needs that for par. Simpson lands at a similar distance from the hole, but that's second.

9:26am
Jimmy Walker birdies the 14th, and is now tied with Lee and Dufner in second at -14.

9:25am
Lee hits into the water off the 12th tee - that could be the end of his hopes right there! Simpson lays up perfectly.

9:23am
Woods drives big at 15, Dufner misses a birdie putt at 12 - that could have given him outright second.

9:19am
Lee misses a birdie putt narrowly at 11 - that's three in a row now. Simpson birdies to extend his lead to five strokes.

Woods lips out at 14 for bogey, dropping a shot behind Lee.

9:17am
-18 Simpson
-14 Lee, Woods, Dufner
-13 Day, Walker, Schauffele
-12 Bradley, Varner III, Kuchar, Schwartzel

Woods unleashed a massive drive at the par-four 14, but his second spins back off the green.

Schauffele makes a birdie 12 to move to -13. Jimm Walker joins him.

Lee plays out of the greenside bunker at 11, but has a makeable par.

9:11am
Dufner makes birdie at 11, so he is now level with Woods and Lee.

Lee misses the 11th green left. Simpson plays over bunkers, water and trees to land on the front fringe.

9:07am
Dufner has an eagle putt at 11 for outright second - it slides left, but he should birdie to tie Woods and Lee.

9:03am
-18 Simpson
-14 Lee, Woods
-13 Day, Dufner
-12 Bradley
-11 11 players

Woods has a long birdie putt at 13, just three inches short.

Lee tees off down the middle of the 11th fairway. Simpson is also safe.

8:59am
Simpson also lips out at 10, so he drops a shot to -18. 

8:57am
Lee's birdie putt at 10 lips out - that's the second hole in a row and these misses could be costly, with the momentum Woods has now.

8:55am
Simpson puts from off the green at 10, out of a deep hole with a sprinkler head close by. It's too hard and rolls past the hole - he could drop a shot here. 

8:54am
Woods birdies 12 and is now level with Lee at -14.

8:53am
-19 Simpson
-14 Lee
-13 Woods, Day, Dufner
-12 Bradley
-11 10 players

At 10, Simpson's second hits the green hard and rolls off the far edge. Lee is in the middle of the green.

8:50am
Woods plays his second on 12 and lands it within a few feet of the hole, a great chance at birdie to tie Lee.

8:47am
On the 10th tee, Lee is safely on the fairway and Simpson follows him.

Bradley finishes with a 66 for -12, currently outright sixth.

8:46am
Woods hits his tee shot at 12 way right, but it hits the trees and seems to ricochet back onto the fairway.

8:41am
Simpson makes par at nine.

-19 Simpson
-14 Lee
-13 Woods, Day, Dufner
-12 Bradley
-11 10 players

8:40am
Simpson putts from off the green and leaves himself a niggly putt for par at nine.

Lee's birdie putt lips out, but he makes par - that could have been crucial, if Simpson misses his par.

8:38am
Woods just misses his eagle at 11, but makes birdie and is now a shot behind Lee, six off Simpson.

Simpson has an awkward chip from a grassy knoll and it flops short of the green - he could drop a shot here. 

8:33am
Woods finds the green with his second at the par-five 11, so he has an eagle opportunity.

Dufner takes back that lost stroke with a birdie at the ninth and is again a stroke back from Lee.

The Kiwi lays up short on the ninth fairway, Simpson lands on the fringe of the green.

8:27am
-19 Simpson
-14 Lee
-13 Day
-12 Bradley, Woods. Dufner
-11 Koepka, Thomas, Howell III, Scott, Walker, Schauffele

Dufner dropped a shot at eight, after soncsecutive birdies, so his momentum stalls a little. Bradley picked up a shot at 16, but misses his birdie putt at 17.

8:23am
Thomas is safely on the island green at 17. This is always tricky, with wind on the tee often in a different direction to the wind at the hole.

Simpson's par putt at eight does a 360-degree around the hole and stays out. He drops a shot to -19.

Thomas makes his par and if the world rankings were taken right now, he would be the new No.1, edging ahead of Dustin Johnson.

8:19am
Woods' birdie putt at 10 misses right.

Simpson chips out of the bunker and leaves himself a tricky-length putt for par. Lee putts from off the green - he misses, but should be an easy par.

8:17am
Simpson finds the bunker with his tee shot at par-three eight, Lee is short, but not far from the hole.

8:13am
-20 Simpson
-14 Lee
-13 Day, Dufner
-12 Woods

Woods plays his second from the 10th fairway within a few feet and has a shot at birdie. Thomas plays from the fairway bunker and has a long birdie putt.

8:10am
Day chips in from the bunker at nine for an eagle - that takes him to -13, a shot behind Lee.

8:08am
After barely making the cut on Saturday, Woods has hit 30 and 32 over the front nine holes each day since - that's -10.

Maybe that playing group of Ricky Fowler and Phil Mikkelson was dragging him down over the first two days.

Lee chips onto the green at seven and lands it withina few feet of the hole - should be a par. Simpson makes birdie to go -20, another shot clear.

8:04am
Lee plays out of the fairway bunker at seven, but is short of the green and left. Looks like he might have issues with a sprinkler head as well.

Simpson just finds the left side of the green.

8am
Simpson and Lee have just teed off at the par-four seventh hole. Lee has found sand, but that's not to bad a position on this hole, while Simpson is down the fairway.

Simpson has made six pars so far today, but Lee made birdies at two and three to pick up a couple of shots, and provide some hope he can make a run.

Woods has just made a birdie at the ninth, moving to -12 and a tie for third. Dufner then makes a birdie at six to edge one ahead of Woods.

7:57am
Here's how things stand at the moment...

-19 Webb Simpson 
-14 Danny Lee 
-12 Jason Dufner 
-11 Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Charles Howell III, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter, Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Jimmy Wallker
-10 Eight players

*****

Kia ora, good morning...

Welcome to our coverage of the last hours of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.

If you've just woken up on this Monday morning and dragging hyourself slowly out of bed, it's squeaky-bum time at the unofficial fifth golfing Major.

Overnight, Kiwi Danny Lee lay seven shots behind leader Webb Simpson, who has played superb golf all weekend.

Lee's been pretty good too, easily his best performance so far this PGA season, and sat two strokes clear a whole bunch of players in third.

Lurking behind them was Tiger Woods, who has made a nice run this morning to get among the chasers.

Newshub.