Simpson too good as Kiwi Lee fades
nine where he put balls in the water at the 12th and 16th holes.
Simpson’s only big mistake didn’t even matter. Simpson’s approach to the 18th bounded across the green and into the water. He closed with a double bogey, but that only made the final margin closer than what it really was.
‘‘Being in that position is a lot harder than I thought,’’ Simpson said. ‘‘It’s hard to stay motivated to continue to do what I’ve been doing. I had a good morning, and I was able to get it done.’’
Justin Thomas left the TPC Sawgrass as the No 1 player in the world. He closed with a 66 to tie for 11th, more than enough to end Dustin Johnson’s 15-month reign at the top of the ranking. Thomas is the 21st player to reach No 1 since the ranking began in 1986, and the seventh American.
‘‘I’m very proud to have gotten there, but it means more to me how long I can hold it,’’ Thomas said in a text message.
Jimmy Walker closed with a bogey-free 67 and tied for second with Charl Schwartzel and Xander Schauffele, who also shot 67s. Walker, who struggled all of last year with Lyme disease, had his best finish since he won the 2016 PGA Championship.
Woods made the cut on the number – helped by Thomas and Jordan Spieth making bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday – got back to the first page of the leaderboard with a 65 on Sunday and ran off six birdies through 12 holes in the final round. He was tied for second at one point, still four shots behind, but that was as close he got. Woods made a soft bogey on the 14th hole when he missed the green with a sand wedge, and was well short of the island green in making double bogey on No 17.
He shot 69 and tied for 11th. ‘‘I hit the ball better today than I did yesterday, and I obviously didn’t end up with the score I needed to,’’ Woods said.
The final edition of May was one for the record books. Simpson tied the course record with a 63 in the second round when he seized control and he tied Greg Norman’s 54-hole record from 1994 at 19-under 197. Simpson set a record for the largest margin through three rounds.
Brooks Koepka became the eighth player with a 63 yesterday, featuring an albatross two on the par-five 16th, to finish tied for 11th.