THE PLAYERS: Fourth-round notebook

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Brian Davis, who tied for fifth, became the 55th player in tournament history to post four sub-par rounds in one tournament, posting rounds of 71-69-71-71.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Henrik Stenson, 68-69-73-66--276 (-12), in his 44th career PGA TOUR start, posted the only bogey-free round on Sunday with a 6-under 66 to capture THE PLAYERS Championship by four strokes over Ian Poulter (70). At 12-under 276, Stenson steps into the winner's circle for the second time on the PGA TOUR (2007 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship).

• Stenson's win comes in his fourth start at THE PLAYERS (tied for third in 2006, tied for 23rd in 2007 and tied for 10th in 2008). He has now made the cut in all five starts on TOUR this season, including a previous season-best tie for third at the Shell Houston Open.

• International players have now won five of the last eight titles at THE PLAYERS, including Stenson (2009), Sergio Garcia (2008), Stephen Ames (2006), Adam Scott (2004) and Craig Perks (2002). Stenson is the ninth international player to win the tournament (10 overall victories), but the first from Sweden. He is also just the third European-born player to win THE PLAYERS, joining Garcia (2008) and Sandy Lyle (1987).

• Stenson is just the second of the last five winners of THE PLAYERS who has failed to lead or tie for the lead in greens in regulation (tied for 12th/49 of 72) and driving accuracy (tied for 11th/41 of 56). Garcia (2008), Stephen Ames (2006) and Fred Funk (2005) all ranked either first or tied for first in both greens in regulation and driving accuracy when they won.

• Tiger Woods, 71-69-70-73--283 (-5), finished eighth, his best outing at THE PLAYERS since he won in 2001. He now has four top-10 finishes at the tournament (tie for 10th in 1999, second in 2000, won in 2001, 8-2009).

• Woods has not missed a cut in 12 attempts at THE PLAYERS, with Sunday's eighth-place finish snapping a string of six consecutive appearances at the tournament without a top-10 finish (dating back to his win in 2001). The six consecutive events without notching a top-10 finish represents Woods' longest streak at any single event in his career.

• Sunday represented the 22nd time Woods has entered the final round five shots off the lead. In those events, he came back to win twice (2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational).

• By the numbers: Woods is now eight of 21 (38 percent) when entering the final round second or tied for second. ... He is now eight of 19 (42 percent) when entering the final round second or tied for second and playing in the final group. ... Highest score when in the final group and not leading (77 at 1998 Bay Hill Invitational). ... Highest score when in the final group and leading (73 at 2008 U.S. Open).

• 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).

• Third-round leader Alex Cejka struggled on Sunday, posting a 7-over 79 and a season-best tie for ninth finish. His previous best showing in 2009 were identical ties for 13th place at the Honda Classic, Puerto Rico Open and the Verizon Heritage. Cejka has now failed to win in both attempts with at least a share of the 54-hole lead (tied for 13th at the 2001 British Open and tied for ninth at the 2009 PLAYERS).

• The third-round leader/co-leader has won 14 of 19 events (74 percent) on TOUR this season. Last year, the third-round leader/co-leader only won 22 of 46 events (48 percent).

• Since THE PLAYERS moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982, the third-round/co-leader has gone on to win just 11 of 28 times (39 percent).

• Geoff Ogilvy (tied for 22nd) maintains the top spot in the FedExCup standings for the 11th consecutive week, with 1,431 points. He is followed closely by Phil Mickelson (1,377 points).

• Ian Poulter has now finished runner-up three times in his career on TOUR (second in the 2009 PLAYERS, second in the 2008 British Open, tied for second at the 2006 WGC-American Express Championship).

• John Mallinger (tied for third) has now finished a career-best third or tied for third six times in his career (third in the 2007 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, tied for third in the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 2007 Turning Stone Resort Championship, 2008 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, 2008 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and 2009 THE PLAYERS).

• The rounds of the day were turned in by Stenson and Aaron Baddeley with matching 6-under 66s. The lowest final round in PLAYERS Championship history is an 8-under 64, posted by Fred Couples (1996) and Davis Love III (2003).

• Vijay Singh posted a 5-under 67 to finish tied for ninth, just his third sub-70 round this season. It represents his best round since a final-round 63 in winning the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship.

• Ponte Vedra Beach resident Jim Furyk's tie for fifth is his third top-5 finish in his last six starts at THE PLAYERS (tied for fourth in 2003, tied for third in 2006, tied for fifth in 2009).

• Ames finished tied for 49th this week, his worst showing in seven made cuts here (11 starts). Ames entered the week with a tie for 17th or better finishes in five out of the last seven years, including a win in 2006 and a runner-up effort in 2002.

• Brian Davis (tied for fifth) became the 55th player in tournament history to post four sub-par rounds in one tournament, posting rounds of 71-69-71-71. Retief Goosen (2006) had been the latest to do so.

• Daniel Chopra (tied for 14th) led the field this week with 22 birdies. Fuzzy Zoeller holds the tournament record with 26 birdies in his runner-up effort in 1994.

• Boo Weekley withdrew during the final round (on No. 11) with a left shoulder injury.

• THE PLAYERS has yet to have a player win in back-to-back seasons, with defending champion Garcia recording a tie for 22nd this week. The best finish by a defending champion at THE PLAYERS is a tie for fifth, recorded by Jack Nicklaus in 1977, Tom Kite in 1990 and Hal Sutton in 2001.

• Local favorite Jeff Klauk, with a tie for 14th finish, had the best showing of the 19 first-time participants at THE PLAYERS this week. Nine first-time participants (two of which are rookies) made the 36-hole cut at this year's PLAYERS Championship.

• In the 35-year history of THE PLAYERS, Nicklaus (1974), Sutton (1983) and Perks (2002) are the only players to win the tournament in their first attempt, with Sutton and Perks doing so at TPC Sawgrass. In the history of THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass, 19 players have enjoyed top-10 finishes in their first PLAYERS starts, with Klauk (tied for 14th) barely missing out in his bid to be the 20th such player.

• The par-72 TPC Sawgrass yielded a 72.690 average for the week, with the par-4 14th playing the toughest (4.353) and the par-5 16th the easiest (4.622).

• The famous island green par-3 No. 17 played to an average of 3.025 this year. The last time the hole yielded an under-par average was 1997, when it played to an average of 2.952. A total of six balls were hit in the water off of the tee on the 17th hole on Sunday.

• Of the 28 winners since THE PLAYERS moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982, only two players have bogeyed the par-3 17th hole on Sunday (Steve Elkington in 1991, Fred Funk in 2005). The eventual champions have combined for 17 pars (including Stenson on Sunday), nine birdies and two bogeys during the final round at the famed hole.

• Stenson earned his second PGA TOUR victory in his 44th career event on the PGA TOUR at the age of 33 years, one month and five days. He climbed from ninth to fifth in Official World Golf Ranking.

• Stenson also owns five international wins. They came at the 2007 Dubai Desert Classic, 2006 BMW International Open, 2006 Commercialbank Qatar Masters, 2004 Heritage Tournament and 2001 Benson and Hedges International Open.

• Stenson is currently not a member of the PGA TOUR, but is eligible to join with a five-year exemption through the 2014 season. He also receives a five-year exemption to THE PLAYERS (2010-2014), and is eligible to compete in the 2010 SBS Championship, the PGA TOUR's season opening winners-only invitational.

• Stenson becomes the first Swedish-born player to win THE PLAYERS and joins Lyle (1987) and Garcia (2008) as the only Europeans to win in the 35-year history of THE PLAYERS. He is the ninth different international champion (total of 10 international wins) of THE PLAYERS and the fifth in the last eight years.

• His five-shot come-from-behind victory equaled the largest by a champion at THE PLAYERS at the PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, previously accomplished by Justin Leonard in 1998. The all-time tournament record is six (Raymond Floyd, six strokes, 1981).

• The Birdies for Charity program annually leads up to THE PLAYERS Championship and allows the community to support local charities through tracking the exciting, high-level of play during the tournament. Similar to a walk-a-thon, Birdies for Charity participants make a pledge to a local organization for each birdie made by professional golfers during THE PLAYERS. A record 68 local organizations are participating this year, up from 51 in 2008 and a strong indication that the generosity of First Coast residents will allow for a record fundraising effort.

• A total of 548 birdies were made in the first round for $58,485.60, while 486 birdies were made in the second round for $56,892.20. A total of 251 birdies were made in the third round for $50,852.70, and 217 birdies were recorded on Sunday for $49,978.90. The totals for the week were 1,502 birdies for $216,209.40.