Everything can be lost at Sawgrass’ 17th hole
It’s only 132 yards, the shortest hole at TPC Sawgrass. But this weekend, NBC will have more cameras — 11 — trained on the par-3 17th than any other hole as it documents the carnage in the 38th Players Championship.
No. 17 at Sawgrass needs no introduction. It’s the island green — the most infamous hole in golf.
Fans love it. Players hate it. It was the dastardly creation of designer Pete Dye, who transformed 415 acres of swampland into one of the most recognizable courses in the world.
| UP NEXT |
| Players Championship |
| When » Thursday-Sunday |
| Where » TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. |
| TV » Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday), NBC (Saturday-Sunday) |
| FIVE TO WATCH |
| Martin Kaymer |
| The last 18 Players have produced 18 different champions. With world No. 1 Lee Westwood idle, No. 2 Kaymer is the top-ranked player in the field and can return to the top ranking with his first Players win. He’s paired with Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar. |
| Tiger Woods |
| Because of minor knee surgery, Woods revealed he had not swung a golf club since the final round of the Masters until he played nine holes Tuesday at Sawgrass. He has not won a tournament in 18 months. Woods’ lone Players title came in 2001. |
| Luke Donald |
| As if anyone cares about the FedEx Cup points list, the Players has paired Donald, who ranks No. ?2 on the list, with No. 1 Bubba Watson and No. 3 Mark Wilson. Can the Englishman become the fourth straight non-American to win the Players? |
| Tim Clark |
| The flag of the country of the defending champion flies near the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass. But 2010 champ Clark of South Africa asked the flag of Spain be flown to honor immortal Seve Ballesteros, who succumbed to brain cancer last weekend. |
| Matteo Manassero |
| The youngest participant in the 38-year history of the event, Manassero is in a threesome with Rickie Fowler and Alvaro Quiros. He’s not long but has the accuracy necessary to win at penal Sawgrass. He won four weeks ago on the European Tour. |
No. 17 is the reason so many hackers pay so much ($275) to make the pilgrimage to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. More than 100,000 balls each year are retrieved from the waters that surround the hole. It comes out to slightly more than two balls for every player who dares to challenge the island hole.
Cigarette and a blindfold, anyone?
For professionals, the hole doesn’t play as difficult as you might expect. Last year out of 209 par 3s on the PGA Tour, it was the 140th toughest with a stroke average of 3.01.
But with the wind whipping and the surrounding hillsides full of fans anxious to see blood, the hole still can intimidate even the best players in the world, especially on Sunday when the leaders arrive.
Four years ago, Sean O’Hair trailed Phil Mickelson by two strokes when they both stepped on the tee. O’Hair, needing a birdie, challenged the tough final-round hole location on the right side of the green with a 9-iron, hitting it long. Splash.
Nine years earlier, Len Mattiace did the same as he trailed by a stroke, a shot witnessed on the course by his mother, who was dying of lung cancer and watching from her wheelchair.
Before 2007, when the tournament was played in March, wind was much more often a factor. Veteran Mark O’Meara said he once hit a 5-iron.
“I hit a lob wedge one time, and then I’ve hit 8-irons in there because of the wind. I think I’ve hit it in the water more than I’ve hit it on that green,” Bubba Watson told reporters. “I’m getting used to the drop area.”
One of the most intimidating aspects of the hole is the walk that precedes it. As players leave the 16th green, they walk along the lake a few hundred yards before reaching the tee box. It’s plenty of time to consider what can go wrong.
“There are very few holes in the world that don’t have an area where you can miss it,” said Mickelson, the 2007 champion. “It has no bail out. You have to hit a great shot. You have to hit the green or it’s a two-shot penalty. It might as well be out of bounds there.”
Hitting the green is no guarantee of safety. The undulating, hard surface can kick balls sideways and long into the water.
“Even though it’s a decent-sized green for that short of a shot, in reality it’s only a small portion that you’re trying to land it on, especially when it gets firm,” Luke Donald said. “You’re talking about five yards or so.”
