PLAYERS Championship: Inside the final round

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Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Hey, who's that popping out of his new locker at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse? Why, it's PLAYERS champ Henrik Stenson.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Analysis, notes and numbers from Sunday's final round of THE PLAYERS Championship:

FIVE OBSERVATIONS

1. A new best player without a major: Henrik Stenson has never played Bethpage Black. Yet he will go into the U.S. Open in five weeks among the favorites after his PLAYERS victory. And with the win, the enormously focused Stenson also may have edged out the 2008 PLAYERS champ, Sergio Garcia (who presented him with the Waterford crystal on Sunday) as the best player never to have won a major. It's a dubious title, at best, but a show of respect for talent and accomplishments which the Swede has in abundance. Stenson tied for third at the British Open last year and shared fourth at the PGA. And he certainly showed major mojo at the Stadium Course that will stand him in good stead in New York next month. -- Helen Ross

2. 3-wood excellence: One fairway missed. Just one fairway. On a course that arguably punishes wild driving more than any other on TOUR, it helped that Henrik Stenson has the ability to hit a 3-wood almost 300 yards. Stenson pounded out 3-woods off the tee at TPC Sawgrass that were not only straight, but most were long enough to leave short irons into the brutal par-4 holes. Even on the one fairway he missed -- the 14th -- Stenson muscled a brilliant shot that found the green for an easy two-putt par. In my mind, that shot sealed the win, much as Paul Goydos' bogey at No. 14 last year signaled his downfall. -- Ryan Smithson

3. Learn and move on: Alex Cejka didn't exactly leave a favorable last impression, but let's not forget how well he played in the first three days. especially his 66-67 start. And let's hope he doesn't forget it either. Blowing a five-stroke lead and shooting 7-over 79 would eat at the confidence of anybody, especially someone who hasn't won in seven years. But Cejka needs to take the positives and move on. And hopefully, next time he'll pack a red shirt to wear on Sunday. -- Mike McAllister

4. A major-type course: How good was Henrik Stenson hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation on Sunday? Go try to stop a 9-iron on an asphalt driveway and you'll know. TPC Sawgrass was so baked and crusty, a couple of the greens were nearly lost -- and that was on Saturday. When superintendent Tom Vlach e-mailed me Sunday morning saying only the dead spots were being watered and that the greens would be rolling a foot faster than the day before, you had a feeling a ball mark repair tool might not be necessary. Major or not, this tournament sure played like one Sunday. -- Brian Wacker

5. Euros rule: Two European winners in two years here at THE PLAYERS? And Europe going one-two for the first time in PLAYERS history? Get ready for the 2010 Ryder Cup hype. The U.S. grabbed back the Cup last September, but you have to figure Sunday's champ Henrik Stenson, runner-up Ian Poulter and 2008 PLAYERS champ Sergio Garcia will be key guys for European Captain Colin Montgomerie in Wales. Garcia has been a mainstay since he was a teenager and Stenson and Poulter have played in two Cups each, combining for a 7-5-2 record. Stenson came into this week ranked ninth in the world; Poulter 30th. Both will move up. And Garcia? The No. 3 player tied for 22nd this week. -- Melanie Hauser

Bomber Report

Longest drives Longest putts Player Hole Length Player Hole Length Angel Cabrera 1 338 yards Aaron Baddeley 18 61 feet, 10 inches Heath Slocum 14 337 yards Tommy Armour III 13 60 feet, 3 inches Phil Mickelson 18 336 yards Tim Clark 16 51 feet, 5 inches Tommy Armour III 9 335 yards Kevin Na 16 51 feet, 4 inches Bubba Watson 11 333 yards John Merrick 17 44 feet, 2 inches

Revealing comments

Henrik Stenson 6-under 66 "I like to hit my 3-wood a lot, and that club just matches perfectly around here." Ian Poulter 2-under 70 "I felt I just had to finish in front of Tiger to win today. But I wasn't expecting someone to go out there and shoot 66." Tiger Woods 1-over 73 "When you're playing a golf course like this and you don't have it and the greens are this fast and this hard, you can shoot some pretty high numbers." Alex Cejka 7-over 79 "It doesn't matter what I shoot. I still finished top 10. It's good."

THIS AND THAT

• Bogey free: Henrik Stenson was the only player to record a bogey-free round on the weekend at the Stadium Course. For the four-day tournament, just four bogey-free rounds were produced -- Stenson (66) on Sunday, and Bart Bryant (71), Ryuji Imada (70) and Kevin Na (66) in Friday's second round..

• Rare over-par round: Tiger: Woods has posted 18 of 20 rounds at par or better in 2009, with his only over-par efforts coming Sunday with a 1-over 73 and during the third round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (71).

• Crane sets putting record: Ben Crane made putts totaling 430 feet this week at THE PLAYERS. In the SHOTLink era, no player has had a higher total for putts made than Crane this week. Crane surpasses the previous high of J.L. Lewis in 2005, who made putts totaling 438 feet.

• 17th update: Just six balls found the water on the 17th hole Sunday. For the week, just 30 balls landed in the water off the 17th tee. That's the lowest total since 30 in 2004.

• Na loves the 16th: Kevin Na eagled the par-5 16th in each of the last two rounds. Only two other players have been four under par on any single hole at The PLAYERS Championship in rounds three and four -- Kevin Stadler on the 4th hole in 2008 and Stuart Appleby on the 2nd hole in 2002.