Lee Westwood leads the Gamers Championship by 2 factors when one other showdown with Bryson DeChambeau is due

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – A week later, the two main characters and the roles they play are still the same.

Only the stage – and the stakes – have changed.

Lee Westwood was surprised and delighted when his tee shot on the island green remained on par 17th on 17th ridge and then deployed a 25-foot birdie putt that got him 4:68 on Saturday in the Players Championship.

Bryson DeChambeau pumped his mighty arms twice as he made a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole, giving him a 67 and passing him 2 strokes and in the final group with Westwood.

So it was last week at Bay Hill when DeChambeau came from one shot behind to beat Westwood with a par on the final hole at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“It’s like Round 2, the rematch,” Westwood said.

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Westwood, who will turn 48 next month, will no longer have to move up a few classes to take on DeChambeau, the fearsome golf heavyweight. Unlike Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass is all about position, not strength.

On the other hand, DeChambeau plays well enough for any style of golf course.

“I suppose if you sit down here with Bryson and ask him which golf course suits him better, he’d probably say Bay Hill,” Westwood said. “You can open your shoulders a little more around Bay Hill than you can around it. This place is a little more strategic. But thanks to Bryson. You wouldn’t associate this golf course with his style of play, and he’s up there. It shows that he can customize his game. ”

It is the first time in over 14 years that the same two players have finished in consecutive PGA Tour events, with one big difference. This is separated by seven days. Vijay Singh and Adam Scott faced each other nine weeks apart – the Tour Championship at the end of the 2006 season and the Mercedes Championship at the opening of the season in Kapalua.

Westwood finished his round with a 5-foot par putt and extended his streak to 44 holes with no bogey. He’s only delivered two punches this week on a stadium pitch where one blow can result in a large number.

Westwood was under 203 at 13.

“He’s also doing a lot of great putts,” said DeChambeau. “That’s what it takes to win golf tournaments.”

Westwood has 41 wins around the world – at least one on every major International Federation of PGA Tours tour – and knows better than to deal with DeChambeau, especially here.

He had the 54-hole lead with the Players in 2010 when 14 players were separated by 5 shots into the finals and Tim Clark caught up from 3 behind to win.

Among those three shots that go back to Sunday is Justin Thomas, who started with four straight birdies and finished his 64 with a 5-iron just inches from the hole on the par-5-16 course for one Tap-in eagle stopped.

Doug Ghim, who is making his debut in the Players, is also 3 strokes back. He was one of the seven players who at one point on Saturday had at least some share of the lead and drove up to a costly stroke on the easiest hole, the par-5-16. He fell short in a bunker under a tree, tried to blast deep under his limbs and caught the rough and landed his lonely bogey.

Paul Casey had six birdies and an eagle to make up for his mistakes in a 67 and left him 4 shots with Jon Rahm (67). Also 4 shots behind is Brian Harman, who started his day with a wedge for the eagle and shot 69.

Sergio Garcia is 5 strokes back and is still unable to handle the short putts, including a 4-foot birdie that missed badly on the low side on the 17th. He had to be satisfied with a 72.

DeChambeau can’t blow away sawgrass because of the tree-lined fairways and water hazards. But its power is still useful. With his tee shot, buried about 210 yards away in the deep, rough right corner of the 18th fairway, he tore an 8 iron to just before the green and set his chance at par.

He was more excited about this par than his six birdies.

“You have to do these to win tournaments,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave a sour taste in my mouth.”

Westwood said this was the biggest win of his career and while he sometimes chose not to play as a member of the European Tour, the strength of the field – 48 of the top 50 players – and the nature of a Sawgrass course cannot be denied, on which luck can change with a single stroke.

The first prize is endowed with 2.7 million US dollars.

For DeChambeau, it’s a chance to stand out as a favorite with the Masters approaching when he isn’t already. He already has two wins this season. He also knows from recent experience – seven days ago – that the way Westwood plays may not be easy.

“Mr. Consistency,” DeChambeau called him. “I mean, his driving is flawless, his iron play is flawless and he does putts when he has to.” Luckily I got my job done last week and I think tomorrow will be an amazing fight. ”