Players Championship 2021: Tee Times, Pairings and Predictions for Sunday

Bryson DeChambeau gestures to a young fan on the 15th hole during the third round of The Players Championship golf tournament Saturday, March 13, 2021, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

John Raoux/Associated Press

For the second straight week, Bryson DeChambeau and Lee Westwood will play in the final group on Sunday of a tournament. 

Westwood once again leads DeChambeau after three rounds. The Englishman is ahead by two strokes at The Players Championship.

The 47-year-old has had plenty of success across the PGA and European Tours, but his resume lacks wins at some of the highest-profile events. 

DeChambeau used a five-under 67 on Saturday to move closer to winning back-to-back tournaments after beating out Westwood at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. 

While the focus will be on the Westwood-DeChambeau storyline, we should not forget about Justin Thomas, who used Saturday’s low round to move three shots back of the 54-hole leader. 

Thomas will start in the penultimate pairing on Sunday and there will be plenty of other star power in front of him on course. Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Matthew Fitzpatrick are all within six shots of the lead. 

Players Championship Sunday Tee Times

12:50 p.m. ET: Ryan Palmer, Abraham Ancer

1 p.m. ET: Cameron Smith, Si Woo Kim

1:10 p.m. ET: Sergio Garcia, Matthew Fitzpatrick

1:20 p.m. ET: Brian Harman, Chris Kirk

1:30 p.m. ET: Paul Casey, Jon Rahm

1:40 p.m. ET: Justin Thomas, Doug Ghim

1:50 p.m. ET: Lee Westwood, Bryson DeChambeau

Full list of tee times can be found on PGATour.com.

Predictions

Bryson DeChambeau Outduels Lee Westwood Again

The heartwarming story on Sunday would be for Westwood to capture what would be the biggest win of his career. 

However, we may see a similar situation unfold at TPC Sawgrass as it did at Bay Hill last weekend. 

DeChambeau was two shots better than Westwood in the final round at Bay Hill and he finished with a one-shot advantage atop the leaderboard. 

Westwood was more consistent than DeChambeau on Saturday, but he did not roll a birdie into the cup until the 10th hole. DeChambeau birdied two of the first four holes. 

The 27-year-old American birdied the second hole on two occasions and has one birdie at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6. Westwood has four birdies and one bogey on the opening four holes. 

If DeChambeau gets off to a fast start, he could shift all the pressure over to Westwood, who finished the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 73. 

DeChambeau has 11 birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine through three rounds, and he could produce a similar output to grab the lead and then extend it to win consecutive tournaments. 

Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm Make Push For Lead

The DeChambeau-Westwood drama will take center stage, but the players in front of them are more than capable of stealing the win from both players. 

Thomas exploded up the leaderboard through an early surge that put him in Sunday’s penultimate group with Doug Ghim.

Thomas began Saturday with four straight birdies and recorded a birdie on five of his first six holes. He finished up the round with an eagle at No. 16. 

In his last six starts, Thomas carded a 72 or better in every final round and he finished in the top 15 in all of those tournaments. 

Rahm has slowly worked his way up the leaderboard with a second-round 68 and third-round 67 that put him four shots behind Westwood. 

The Spaniard produced two 68s and a 66 in his last three Sunday rounds and he owns five top-10 finishes in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season. 

If Thomas or Rahm, or both, extend that final-round consistency into Sunday, they could be the two main contenders for the lead on the back nine. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from PGATour.com.

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