Lee Westwood came agonisingly close to winning what would have been his most lucrative tour win yet, as the Nottinghamshire golfer who lead going into the final round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass yesterday, was finally pipped at the post by the American Justin Thomas.

Worksop golfer Westwood was 13 under par, a shot ahead of the big hitting Bryson DeChambeau going into the last day and although the now 47-year-old went even par for the day, Thomas, from four shots behind at one stage eventually took the lead on the 16th and holed a par putt on the 18^th to finish 4 under for the round and 14 under for the competition to go on to win outright, before Westwood shot a birdie at the last to finish outright second and take home a cool $1.6m.

It was a magnificently entertaining final round which changed leadership a number of times and Westwood, considered as one of the best golfers never to win a major, but who has played some of his best career golf over the last year or so where he also won the 2020 Race To Dubai, stated “I hate to say it, age is catching up with me. Yesterday I felt like my legs were just starting to get a bit tired and weak, and today I just didn’t feel like I had my legs under me.”

He said on his final round “I was hitting shots I don’t normally hit. The ones right off holes 2, 4, and 11 were poor shots. I couldn’t quite find the strike.”

But optimistic about the year ahead, having already finished second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this month and now having a successive second placed finish, this time at the PGA Championships, which many consider as the fifth major, Westwood who has been enjoying his golf recently, stated “Everybody keeps telling me how old I am. I’m 48 in a month’s time, and I’m still out here contending for tournaments and playing in final groups with great players like Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas and people like that.

“It’s just a joy to be involved and still playing well and being able to contend.”

Whilst Westwood perhaps didn’t get the finish and the result he wanted this weekend, there’s already a good $2,600,000 reasons why March 2021 has been a highly successful start to the golfing season for a man ever-nearing his fiftieth year but still competing with the best, around the corner is Augusta and the Masters where Westwood has two previous second place finishes, just after the Honda Classic which starts on Thursday.

*Main image @GolfMagic Lee Westwood has had an incredible month to finish successive second and pocket over $2.6m.