Players Championship: Si-Woo Kim triumphs as Ian Poulter finishes tied for second

Final leaderboard: Top five

-10 Si-Woo Kim

-7 Ian Poulter, Louis Oosthuizen

-6 Kyle Stanley, Rafael Cabrera Bello

Scroll down for collated scores 

Day four report

South Korea's Si Woo Kim produced a nerveless display to become the youngest ever winner of the Players Championship as Ian Poulter had to settle for a share of second place.

Kim carded a final round of 69 at Sawgrass to finish 10 under par, three shots ahead of Poulter and former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

After his victory in the Wyndham Championship last year, Kim is the fourth player in the last 25 years to win twice on the PGA Tour before the age of 22, following in the footsteps of Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Jordan Spieth.

And the 21-year-old is also comfortably the youngest winner of the so-called "fifth major" - surpassing the record set by former world number one Adam Scott, who was 23 when he won in 2004.

Kim began the day two shots off the lead shared by Americans JB Holmes and Kyle Stanley - but birdies on the first, seventh and ninth gave him a two-shot lead at the turn.

Poulter closed the gap with a birdie on the 11th but the 41-year-old Ryder Cup star three-putted the 12th to end his bogey-free run at 39 holes and did well to salvage a bogey at the last after a wild approach into the trees resulted in a penalty drop.

A run of nine pars in succession on the back nine was enough for Kim to seal victory, while Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello produced a far more spectacular finish to claim a tie for fourth with Stanley.

Cabrera Bello holed out from 181 yards for the first albatross in tournament history on the 16th, then followed that with another two on the 17th, before holing from 35 feet for par on the last after hooking his tee shot into the water.

Final-round collated scores

(USA unless stated, par 72):

278 Si Woo Kim (Kor) 69 72 68 69

281 Ian Poulter (Eng) 72 67 71 71, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 66 73 73

282 Kyle Stanley 69 66 72 75, Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa) 69 70 73 70

283 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 74 69 71, Brendan Steele 69 71 75 68, Adam Scott (Aus) 70 72 71 70, Lucas Glover 70 70 73 70

284 Alex Noren (Swe) 68 71 72 73

285 Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 72 71 67 75

286 Dustin Johnson 71 73 74 68, Chris Kirk 74 72 69 71, Smylie Kaufman 74 67 76 69, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 75 71 68 72

287 Brooks Koepka 74 69 71 73, Vijay Singh (Fij) 70 68 79 70, Mackenzie Hughes (Can) 67 75 74 71, Blayne Barber 70 76 72 69, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 72 70 74 71, Webb Simpson 71 69 77 70

288 Pat Perez 74 72 66 76, Seung-Yul Noh (Kor) 73 69 75 71, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 72 71 76 69, Yuta Ikeda (Jpn) 73 69 72 74, Paul Casey (Eng) 71 69 77 71, Patrick Cantlay 69 70 72 77, William McGirt 67 75 71 75, Patrick Reed 72 73 74 69

289 Ben Martin 71 70 73 75, Charley Hoffman 74 72 72 71, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 73 71 67 78, Sung Kang (Kor) 71 75 72 71, Adam Hadwin (Can) 71 72 76 70

290 Rory McIlroy (Nirl) 73 71 71 75, Harold Varner III 71 70 77 72, Russell Henley 75 68 73 74, Kevin Chappell 72 72 73 73, Jim Herman 71 75 72 72, Cameron Tringale 70 71 76 73

291 Steve Stricker 72 70 73 76, Billy Hurley III 71 72 76 72, Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 70 73 76 72, Phil Mickelson 70 72 78 71, J.B. Holmes 68 69 70 84, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 74 67 76 74, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng) 76 70 71 74

292 Zach Johnson 72 73 71 76, Rod Pampling (Aus) 72 74 74 72, Branden Grace (Rsa) 71 75 73 73, Boo Weekley 70 76 73 73, Cody Gribble 69 75 74 74

293 Brian Harman 71 75 71 76, Daniel Summerhays 69 73 75 76, Ryan Moore 73 72 74 74

294 Jimmy Walker 71 74 73 76, Roberto Castro 71 71 76 76, Kevin Kisner 71 75 73 75, Chez Reavie 68 72 79 75

295 Jason Day (Aus) 70 72 73 80, Keegan Bradley 75 69 73 78, Jason Dufner 73 71 77 74, Michael Kim 72 74 73 76, Rickie Fowler 70 74 72 79

296 Daniel Berger 69 72 77 78, Ricky Barnes 70 74 76 76, Justin Rose (Eng) 74 71 71 80, Lee Westwood (Eng) 70 75 76 75

297 Graeme McDowell (Nirl) 71 72 74 80, David Hearn (Can) 70 69 80 78, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 72 72 75 78

Day three report

Three weeks after thinking he had lost his PGA Tour card, Ian Poulter will head into the final round of the £8.1milllion Players Championship just three shots off the lead.

Poulter defied the windy conditions at Sawgrass to card 17 pars and a solitary birdie in a third round of 71 which kept him firmly in contention for a first victory since 2012.

Americans JB Holmes and Kyle Stanley share the lead on nine under par, with former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen a shot behind and South Korea's Si Woo Kim a further stroke adrift.

Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and Poulter held a share of fifth place on six under, with Masters champion Sergio Garcia on five under after matching Grillo's 67.

Poulter has slipped from a career-high of fifth in the world to 197th and was without a full PGA Tour card until fellow professional Brian Gay alerted officials to a discrepancy in the points structure used for players competing on major medical extensions.

After playing just 13 tournaments in 2016 due to a foot injury, Poulter had 10 events this season to earn 218 FedEx Cup points or 347,634 US dollars (£269,755) to remain fully exempt.

He came up short in both categories after missing the cut in his 10th event last month, but Gay - who was also playing on a medical exemption after back problems - came to the rescue by discovering a difference between the way points were allotted this season compared to a year ago.

"I've given him some champagne but he tells me he prefers red wine so he'll get some of that as well," Poulter told Sky Sports.

"It's a huge amount of weight lifted, I can't really explain and put it into words. It's a big deal to be able to concentrate on just playing golf and it makes a huge difference."

Speaking about his round, the 41-year-old added: "It was a difficult day. Standing on the range before we went out there was a good constant 25mph wind and on this course that's extremely difficult to play.

"I knew I had to be kind of smart going at certain pins, trying to take opportunities when I had them and to not make any mistakes and obviously a clean card today was very good.

"I wish I had taken a couple of decent opportunities there at the end, it definitely could have been lower, but if you asked me if I'd have taken 71 before teeing off today I would have for sure.

"It's good golf, I'm playing solid (and) I'm happy to be here because a few weeks ago I wasn't, so let's hope tomorrow I can take advantage of that."

Making his first start since claiming a maiden major title at Augusta National, Garcia was four over par for his first six holes of the week and was on the same mark before following a birdie on the 16th by recording a hole-in-one on the famous 'island green' 17th to salvage an opening 73.

A second round of 71 still left the 37-year-old nine shots off the halfway lead and seemingly not in the frame to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Masters and Players Championship in the same year.

However, with blustery winds making scoring difficult on Saturday, the 2008 champion surged up the leaderboard with a third round of 67 containing six birdies, three bogeys and an eagle.

"It was important to make the cut this week after all the highs from the Masters and how overwhelming everything was at the beginning of the week - I felt like I was playing with a little bit of the handbrake on," Garcia said.

"Today I was able to free up a little bit and hit some really good shots so hopefully I will be able to do more of the same tomorrow."

Further down the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy was still struggling to rediscover his top form in his first event since the Masters, after which he got married and signed a multi-million pound equipment deal with TaylorMade.

McIlroy, who will have an MRI scan on Monday after suffering a recurrence of the back problem which ruled him out for seven weeks earlier this season, carded four birdies and three bogeys in a 71 to finish one under par, with world number one Dustin Johnson two over after a 74 which included five dropped shots in the last six holes.

Day two report

Danny Willett and Rory McIlroy are major doubts for the BMW PGA Championship after suffering from ongoing back problems in the Players Championship, where 54-year-old Vijay Singh was just three shots off the halfway lead.

Willett admitted his body and mind need a rest after being forced to withdraw from the £8.1million event, the former Masters champion retiring after nine holes of the second round.

McIlroy then revealed he would have an MRI scan on Monday to determine the extent of his own back problem, with the world number two admitting the "most important thing" is to be fit for June's US Open.

The BMW PGA Championship takes place in a fortnight's time and has a prize fund of £5.4million as the first event of the European Tour's Rolex Series.

"Hopefully, touch wood," Willett said when asked about his prospects of competing at Wentworth. "We'll see how things go.

"I've already limited the schedule down a lot. Hopefully, all going well, we get back on. We have a week to do some work and see how it feels."

Willett, hampered by back problems throughout his career, struggled to an opening 79 and covered the back nine at Sawgrass in 40 before calling it a day.

The 29-year-old from Sheffield wrote on Twitter: "Not good to have to withdraw but swinging very poorly is putting a lot of unwanted strain on the back. Body and mind need a rest!"

Willett has slipped from a career-high of ninth in the world to his current position of 21st after a string of poor results, including becoming the first defending champion since Mike Weir in 2004 to miss the cut at Augusta National.

He also made an early exit from his next event in the RBC Heritage, where he split with long-time caddie Jonathan Smart after the first round.

McIlroy's injury is a recurrence of the back and rib problem which kept him out for seven weeks at the start of the season, although he was able to add a 71 to his opening 73 to finish level par alongside Masters champion Sergio Garcia and world number one Dustin Johnson.

"I hit a couple of tee shots practising on Monday and just didn't feel right and I've been getting treatment on it," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "We just hope it's not the same thing, the joint and the rib.

"It feels more like a muscle strain so I'm going to get an MRI scan on Monday after the tournament and I might have to rest for a week or two. As long as I get myself right for the US Open, that's the most important thing."

McIlroy was just five shots off the clubhouse lead when he finished his round, but ended the day nine adrift of former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and American Kyle Stanley.

Oosthuizen added a flawless 66 to his opening 69 and has carded just one bogey in 36 holes, while Stanley also shot 66 with eight birdies and two bogeys.

JB Holmes was two shots off the lead after dropping shots on his last two holes, with Singh another stroke back after a three-putt bogey on the 18th was the only blemish in a 68.

Singh would surpass the 52-year-old Sam Snead as the oldest winner in PGA Tour history with his first victory since 2008.

The former world number one is suing the PGA Tour for ''reckless administration and implementation'' of its anti-doping program after he was banned for using deer antler spray in 2013.

The ban was subsequently rescinded when the World Anti-Doping Agency said they no longer considered use of the spray to be a doping violation without a positive test, but Singh filed a lawsuit in New York claiming the Tour's actions left him "'humiliated, ashamed, ridiculed, scorned and emotionally distraught.''

The following players missed the half-way cut:

147 Luke List 78 69, Spencer Levin 75 72, Jason Kokrak 73 74, Scott Brown 74 73, Hudson Swafford 76 71, Andrew Loupe 74 73, Tony Finau 73 74, Jim Furyk 73 74, James Hahn 72 75, Martin Laird (Sco) 74 73, Luke Donald (Eng) 74 73, Kyung Ju Choi (Kor) 72 75, John Huh 74 73, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven) 78 69

148 Cameron Smith (Aus) 71 77, Wesley Bryan 72 76, Ryan Palmer 71 77, Marc Leishman (Aus) 73 75, Graham De Laet (Can) 74 74, Russell Knox (Sco) 76 72, Jordan Spieth 73 75

149 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 71 78, Shawn Stefani 74 75, Ross Fisher (Eng) 76 73, Jonas Blixt (Swe) 77 72, Chad Campbell 74 75, Bill Haas 76 73, Freddie Jacobson (Swe) 76 73, Kyle Reifers 74 75, Patrick Rodgers 73 76, Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) 76 73

150 Peter Malnati 75 75, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 76 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 74 76, Brian Gay 74 76, Shane Lowry (Irl) 74 76, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 73 77, Troy Merritt 74 76, Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 75 75, Robert Streb 75 75

151 Jerry Kelly 74 77, Mark Hubbard 76 75, Billy Horschel 75 76, Bryce Molder 74 77, Bubba Watson 76 75, Fabian Gomez (Arg) 78 73, Jason Bohn 75 76

152 D.A. Points 73 79, Derek Fathauer 76 76, Sean O'Hair 74 78, Vaughn Taylor 75 77, Matt Every 74 78, Brett Stegmaier 76 76, Johnson Wagner 74 78

153 Tyrone Van Aswegen (Rsa) 75 78

154 Patton null Kizzire 77 77

155 Danny Lee (Nzl) 78 77, Robert Garrigus 75 80

156 Zac Blair 76 80

160 Harris English 84 76

164 Scott Piercy 80 84

Day one report

Masters champion Sergio Garcia marked his return to action in spectacular fashion with a hole-in-one in the first round of the Players Championship.

Making his first start since claiming a maiden major title at Augusta National, Garcia had been four over par for his first six holes at Sawgrass after four-putting the fifth, the same hole he six-putted in the third round last year.

However, the 37-year-old started the back nine with a birdie on the 10th and followed a bogey on the 15th with a birdie on the 16th, before producing a moment of magic on the 17th.

Garcia's tee shot on the treacherous par three pitched short of the flag and bounced twice before spinning back into the cup for the eighth ace on the hole in tournament history.

In stark contrast, playing partner Adam Scott found water on the 17th and 18th to card consecutive double bogeys and slump from six under to two under alongside the likes of defending champion Jason Day, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler.

Garcia signed for a 73 which left him six shots off the pace set by American William McGirt and Canada's Mackenzie Hughes, with Spain's Jon Rahm and Sweden's Alex Noren a shot further back with JB Holmes and Chez Reavie.

"I played 16 nicely and I obviously hit a really, really good shot (on 17) but you're looking at it and you don't know what to tell the ball," Garcia told Sky Sports.

"You don't know whether to say 'be good', 'go' or 'sit' because it's such a tricky hole, but it was a pretty good yardage for me to hit a solid 52-degree (wedge) and fortunately it worked out perfect for me and went in."

Garcia admitted he struggled to get back into competitive mode early in the round, adding: "I thought it was going to be easier than it was.

"There have been so many things going on and maybe I would have loved to play something before this week to come here a little more relaxed. It's been a busy week and at the beginning I wasn't really in the tournament.

"When I woke up I was four over after six so I'm happy I was able to get back a little bit and salvage a decent round and I need a good one tomorrow to get back in the tournament."

Rory McIlroy had to birdie two of his last three holes to match Garcia's 73, the four-time major winner having double-bogeyed the 10th and 14th in his first tournament since getting married and signing a multi-million pound equipment deal with TaylorMade.

World number three Day had earlier shrugged off a poor finish to his round as he targeted an achievement which proved beyond the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus.

Since the inception of the Players Championship in 1974 no player has successfully defended the title, with only six managing to win the prestigious event more than once.

Day's prospects of creating history looked bright when he played his first 11 holes in five under par, but the 29-year-old Australian bogeyed three of his last four holes and had to settle for an opening 70.

He told Sky Sports: "It would be nice to be the first in history (to win back-to-back) but it's day one, it's going to be hot tomorrow and play tough the next three days, so I just have to slowly inch my way up the leader board and hopefully be in there Sunday."

Day's victory at Sawgrass 12 months ago was his seventh in 17 events, but he has recorded just one top-10 finish in 2017, although his form has been badly affected by his mother's battle with lung cancer.

The former US PGA champion broke down in tears after withdrawing from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March, just six holes into his opening match.

Two days later his mother Dening successfully underwent surgery to remove a "three-to-four-centimetre" mass in her lungs and Day returned to action in the Masters, finishing in a tie for 22nd at Augusta National.

"I'm just trying to gain some confidence, get back to working on the right things, doing the right things off the course that will hopefully produce the results on the course," Day added.

"The desire is starting to come back to try to reach the top again. A few distractions earlier this year kind of derailed that a little bit which is understandable, I had to be there with my mum, and now I'm ready to focus on my golf."