The 2021 PGA Players Championship provided the returning golf fans with a fantastic viewing and late drama this weekend. 

Justin Thomas took and held a late lead to win the championship, which was until the last day, dominated by Lee Westwood and Bryson DeChambeau.

Away from the eventual winner, here are three other golfers that impressed this tournament. 

  • Lee Westwood

Westwood was one of a few English players that sat near the top heading into the final day. The 47-year-old went into the final round -13, with -3, -6 and -4 in his first three rounds. Westwood hit 15 birdies in all, with a driving accuracy of 54.76%.

His third-round provided a magical moment on the 17th that saw him put a 25 footer after landing one perfectly on the green. The Englishman rivalled the American giant DeChambeau heading into the final round as he looked to avenge his defeat in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

The leader started his final round with a birdie before hitting a bogey on the second hole, fortunately, DeChambeau struggled just as much hitting a double bogey on the fourth hole. 

It looked until halfway through the last round that Westwood would win the tournament. However, a shakey first nine in the final round allowed Thomas to take the top spot and hold it.

Despite losing the tournament Westwood played like a true champion throughout and even got the better of rival DeChambeau.

  • Doug Ghim

The 24-year-old was right up there with the leaders, finishing on 284 (-4). He hit 16 birdies this tournament and averaged a driving accuracy of 69.64%. 

Ghim's last tournament appearance was the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he was tied 36th place, finishing 2 over par. That was down to a poor fourth round where he finished 9 over par on the last day.

Embed from Getty Images

His previous major tournament includes The Masters in 2018, where he was the only amateur to make the cut and finished the tournament off tied 50th. In the U.S Open in the same year, Ghim failed to make the cut, something he did with ease in this year's Players Championship. 

Finishing in the top five after the first three rounds and being able to keep up with the big names is impressive for Ghim. His average driving distance was one of the lowest in the leading pack but for what he lacks in distance he makes up for in accuracy.

Unfortunately, the Players Championship ended the same way the Arnold Palmer Invitational did. A poor fourth-round saw him finish six over par. However, he did end the tournament tied 29th and spent three days in the top ten.  At 24-years-old, that's not too bad! 

  • Sergio Garcia

The super Spaniard was once again among the leaders and was positioned well in the chasing pack in the final round. Garcia started the tournament brilliantly with a 65 (-7) in the first round.

An early vantage point over the others came in handy as Garcia parred the course in the second round before hitting 71 (-1) in the third. 

He parred the final round to leave him with a total of 280 (-8) for the tournament. Garcia hit three birdies, and 15 birdies with an average SG (Shots gained) total of 2.132. 

Embed from Getty Images

Last year was a poor year for Garcia. He missed the cut in both the 2020 PGA Championship and U.S Open and missed The Open due to COVID-19. Therefore it was important that Garcia bounced back with a strong performance to start this year correctly.

Garcia finished tied ninth and that top ten finish should set him up well for the rest of the year.