Webb Simpson Wins Players Championship by 4 Strokes; Tiger Woods Finishes 11th

Webb Simpson hadn't won a PGA Tour event since 2014, but he broke out of his slump in a major way at one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

He cruised to victory during the final round of the 2018 The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Sunday. He shot a one-over 73 in the last round but finished four shots clear of the rest of the field at 18 under par for the tournament.

Tiger Woods was among the challengers to Simpson's commanding lead, and he climbed into a tie for second place at one point before settling for a tie for 11th. However, he and the rest of the field had far too much ground to make up against the eventual victor.

Here is a look at the scores for Simpson and the rest of the top finishers, per the PGA Tour's official website.      

1. Webb Simpson, -18

T-2. Charl Schwartzel, -14

T-2. Jimmy Walker, -14

T-2. Xander Schauffele, -14

T-5. Jason Day, -13

T-5. Jason Dufner, -13

T-7. Keegan Bradley, -12

T-7. Harold Varner III, -12

T-7. Tommy Fleetwood, -12

T-7. Danny Lee, -12

The primary storyline entering play was whether anyone would challenge Simpson, who was a head-turning 19-under par through three rounds and a full seven strokes ahead of Sunday playing partner Danny Lee.

Lee appeared to be a significant threat with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3, but the beauty of thoroughly dominating the first three rounds was a massive cushion for Simpson.

Per Geoff Shackelford of Golfweek, Simpson's caddie, Paul Tesori, explained his and Simpson's approach as aggressively conservative, which was perfect for holding the advantage. Shackelford paraphrased the strategy: "Aim to the safe green area away from the trouble, but take an aggressive swing playing to that safe location."

The result was par saves galore (12) and a rather straightforward victory even with a double bogey on the last hole.

If there was ever a moment Simpson sweated, it was when Woods started making his charge. After all, if anyone's climb up a leaderboard is going to put a spook in someone with a massive lead, it's that of a 14-time major winner.

Woods' turnaround was all the more impressive considering he barely made the cut at one under through two rounds. It looked like this might be just another tournament as he strives to put multiple back surgeries behind him and return to form, but he found some of his old magic.

"Eventually, I was going to put all the pieces together, and [Saturday], for the most part, I did that," Woods said after the third round, per Bob Harig of ESPN.com. "I hit a lot of good quality shots. I hit some shots in the correct spots, which was nice."

He hit those spots early Sunday with four birdies on the front nine, and he pulled into a tie for second and four strokes back with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12. However, a bogey on No. 14 ended any realistic chance at winning the tournament, and his tee shot into the water on the famous 17th was just salt in the wound.

Woods still shot a three-under 69 in the final round to bring his total to 11 under, which was a drastic improvement from Friday.

He was one of a number of marquee names who couldn't muster late charges against Simpson.

Playing partner Jordan Spieth was looking to build on Saturday's seven-under 65, but a quadruple bogey on the final hole was a sour finish to a two-over 74 Sunday.

Elsewhere, Dustin Johnson was in third place entering the final round and looming nine strokes back, but he needed to rack up birdies fast to make any type of run. He never gave himself a chance with just one on the front nine on the way to an even 72, and he lost more than just the tournament, per Jason Sobel of the Action Network:

Jason Day was the steadiest presence of the household names, and he finished under par in all four rounds thanks to Sunday's four-under 68.

Like everyone else, though, Day was left battling behind Simpson as the 32-year-old veteran mastered TPC Sawgrass.