Tim Clark Wins The Players Championship, His First Ever PGA Win

Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sports Network) - Tim Clark captured his first career PGA Tour win in his 206th start, firing a five-under 67 in the final round of The Players Championship on Sunday to beat Robert Allenby by a stroke.

Clark was one of only two players to break 70 during a difficult final round at Sawgrass. He collected all five of his birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn to take the lead, then held on with gutsy shots down the stretch.

Tim Clark put himself in position to win the Players Championship by shooting a 6-under Round 3, and through his first ten holes of Round 4, he’s making the most of it.

The South African just recorded birdies in four of the last five holes, tying him for the lead with Lee Westwood at 15-under. Robert Allenby is one stroke behind.

Early in Round 4 at TPC Sawgrass, the best golf is being played by one Scott Verplank. He’s steadily improved throughout the Players Championship, having posted a 1-under in Round 1, a 2-under in Round 2, and a 3-under in Round 3. Naturally, Verplank has a 4-under through the first twelve holes of Round 4.

Currently, he’s tied for ninth place. He’s only four strokes off the lead at this point, but since the eight golfers ahead of him are just now starting to hit the course, he isn’t likely to advance more than a couple more places.

Here are the tee times for the players near the top of the leaderboard entering Round 4 at TPC Sawgrass:

12:40 - Luke Donald, Chris Couch

12:50 - Davis Love III, Ryan Moore

1:01 - Paul Goydos, Fredrik Jacobson

1:12 - Andres Romero, Nick Watney

1:23 - Jimmy Walker, Fred Funk

1:34 - John Rollins, Bill Haas

1:45 - Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson

1:56 - Bo Van Pelt, Heath Slocum

2:07 - Charley Hoffman, Tim Clark

2:18 - Chris Stroud, Francesco Molinari

2:29 - Ben Crane, Lucas Glover

2:40 - Lee Westwood, Robert Allenby

Heath Slocum, Robert Allenby, and Ben Crane claimed shares of the lead late in Round 3 of the Players Championship, but entering the final round, Lee Westwood still stands alone on top.

Westwood made a remarkable recovery shot to avert disaster on the 18th hole. His 2-under for the day was enough for the Englishman to hold a one-stroke lead over a crowded field.

After shooting 5-under on Saturday, Robert Allenby trails Westwood at -13. He shot up the scoreboard late in the day after a 16th-round eagle and a birdie on the dreaded 17th hole.

The biggest charges were made by Chris Stroud, Tim Clark, Phil Mickelson, and Fred Funk, who each shot 6-under in Round 3. Clark moved up 17 places on the leaderboard, thanks in part to an eagle on the sixth hole. Funk played consistently well until late, when he bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes. He made up for these struggles with an eagle on the 16th to tie for 15th place entering the tournament’s final round.

In case you’re curious, noted golfing enthusiast Tiger Woods shot 1-under for the day. He now stands at 4-under for the tournament, ten strokes behind the lead.

This is the view from the top of the standings:

1. Lee Westwood (-14)

2. Robert Allenby (-13)

T3. Ben Crane (-12)

T3. Lucas Glover

T3. Francesco Molinari

T6. Chris Stroud (-11)

T6. Tim Clark

T6. Charley Hoffman

T6. Heath Slocum

10. Bo Van Pelt (-10)

The already-crowded top of the 2010 Players Championship is getting even more claustrophobic. As of this writing, the top nine players are separated by just two strokes.

Robert Allenby suddenly has a share of the lead after following up a 16th-hole eagle with a birdie on the infamous 17th hole. Entering the final hole, he has a 5-under score through Round 3 and a 13-under for the tournament.

Chris Stroud had an excellent Round 3 at TPC Sawgrass, and as a consequence, he’s right near the top of the leaderboard. Stroud committed only one bogey and shot seven birdies -- including three consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th, and 12th holes.

As he headed to the clubhouse on Saturday, Stroud held sole possession of third place at 11-under, two strokes behind tournament leader Lee Westwood. After finishing up Round 3, Phil Mickelson speculated that those playing late Saturday, given the changing conditions, may have more trouble than the early players had, so an 11-under score may look even better by the end of Round 3.

When Tiger Woods walked up to the dreaded 17th at TPC Sawgrass, he was smiling. It was nice. We haven’t seen much of that lately. Right before he stepped up to the tee, an alligator surfaced from the water -- the cameras didn’t catch this, but apparently its jaws were wide open.

So that happened. Tiger’s shot made it to the island, but a little further from the hole than he would have liked. So, of course, he dropped an F-bomb on the live broadcast.

Fred Funk has just completed his Round 3 of the Players Championship, and he enters Round 4 as a contender.

Through the middle of the round, Funk enjoyed a streak in which he birdied five of six holes. He suffered consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th, but rebounded with an eagle on the 16th.

The 16th at TPC Sawgrass has been kind to Funk this year; the American birdied the hole in the first two rounds before shooting his eagle on Saturday.

Funk won the Players Championship in 2005. He has eight total PGA Tour wins.

You can follow the live leaderboard here. For all things golf, check out SB Nation’s own Waggle Room.

Phil Mickelson woke up Saturday nine strokes behind the leader, Lee Westwood, but after shooting 5-under in the front nine, he’s officially making a Round 3 charge. Mickelson, who won last month’s Masters tournament after rallying past Westwood (among others), has scored five birdies and no bogeys so far in Round 3.

Entering Saturday, he had only birdied 6 of the first 36 holes of the Players Tournament.

With Round 2 over, we know that for the fifth time in Players Championship history, the cut will be under par. Players had to shoot a 2-under score through Round 2 to reach Round 3 on Saturday.

Lee Westwood, who started strong at the Masters, is at it again at TPC Sawgrass. Westwood followed up a 5-under first round by shooting 7-under in the second, including an eagle at the 16th hole. Right behind him at 11-under are Japan’s Ryuji Imada and Italy’s Francesco Molinari.

With the afternoon groups just getting their second day started at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Lee Westwood has climbed to the top of the leaderboard after a scintillating 7-under round of 65 brought him to 12-under on the tournament. Westwood notched six birdies and an eagle on the day (to go with a single bogey), as conditions at Sawgrass continue to be extremely conducive to low scoring.

Ryuji Imada and Francesco Molinari finished in a tie for second at 11-under, shooting 6 and 7-under respectively on the day. Defending U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover is alone in third place at 9-under after his own round of 7-under, while first-round co-leader Robert Allenby has sole possession of fourth place at 8-under on the tourney, followed by a host of golfers at 7-under.

With the morning groups well into their second rounds at TPC Sawgrass, the scores continue to drop, and a new golfer has birdied his way to the top of the leaderboard: Ryan Moore. The 27-year old Moore has put on a clinic thus far, shooting 6-under on the day through 12 holes, to bring him to 11-under on the tournament. Moore’s round began on the back nine, and has featured five birdies and an eagle so far, before giving a stroke back on his twelfth hole.

Japan’s Ryuji Imada is building off his strong first-day with another round of 5-under through 15 holes, and is tied with Lee Westwood’s, thanks to the Brits’ own second round of 5-under through 11 holes. Francesco Mollinari is alone in third place at 9-under through 11 holes, with John Rollins alone in fourth at 8-under through 15 holes, and a pair of golfer behind at 7-under, including first-round co-leader Robert Allenby.

After the first round of play at the 2010 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, there is a pair of leaders: J.B. Holmes and Robert Allenby. Both shot a six-under 66, putting them one stroke ahead of a group of eight golfers sitting in a tie for second, including Ben Crane, Kenny Perry and Lee Westwood.

Allenby had sole possession of the lead earlier in the day, but bogeyed the eighth hole to fall back to six-under (he began his day on the front nine).

With the morning groups finished and the afternoon groups making their way at TPC Sawgrass, we have a new leader: J.B. Holmes, who sits in the clubhouse at 6-under. Holmes fired a bogey-free round of 66 that saw him finish with a flurry, notching birdies on three of the final five holes to grab the outright lead.

Luke Donald and Ben Crane led a group of five one shot back at 5-under, while a gaggle of golfers are two shots behind at 4-under. Among that group at 4-under are Bill Lunde, Ryuji Imada, Davis Love III, Kenny Perry and Robert Allenby -- all of whom are about halfway through their rounds.

With the first afternoon groups about to tee off, there is a new first-round leader at golf’s “fifth” major: Ben Crane. The 34-year old Crane sits at 6-under through 14 holes, in a round featuring seven birdies and a single bogey thus far. Crane has been particularly electric right at the turn, recording birdies on all but the tenth hole between the 9th and 13th holes.

Brit Luke Donald currently sits alone in second place at 5-under through 12 holes, while six players are knotted at 4-under, including Charley Hoffman and Tim Clark. Vijay Singh is a shot back of that group at 3-under, while Phil Mickelson sits at 1-under through 15 holes.

It’s often referred to as golf’s mythical “fifth major”. Indeed, the big purse at The Players Championship at Sawgrass attracts most of the world’s top golfers, offering the deepest, most competitive field outside the quartet of majors. And this year, there’s the added drama of Phil Mickelson potentially unseating Tiger Woods as the top-ranked golfer in the world -- which would happen if Mickelson wins and Tiger fails to finish in the top-5.

With the morning groups nearly halfway through their opening rounds, Alex Prugh has jumped out to the early lead at 5-under through 12 holes, with Charley Hoffman and Stephen Ames a shot back at 3-under, and a host of players right behind them at 2-under. Phil Mickelson is currently 1-under through seven holes, as he makes his bid to ascend to the top of the world rankings for the first time in his career.