PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Jeff Young rose from his teal camping chair. It was time to witness more carnage.
For two decades he’s been stationed here on the back-left portion of TPC Sawgrass’ 17th tee box, a clipboard and a walkie-talkie tucked under his left arm. His job is to radio to the truck what players are hitting on one of the most infamous holes in golf.
Back in 2002, his bosses told him this role is “his to lose,” so long as he didn’t commit the cardinal sin: Don’t guess the club. Because if a player made a hole-in-one with the wrong club mentioned on-air, well, that’s a problem – and that’s his fault.
Of course, Young didn’t have to concern himself with any aces Thursday at The Players. He was too busy counting the water balls: 10, 15, 20, 25...
By the time this reporter arrived, around 4 p.m., Young was astonished at what he’d seen so far.
“In our little pool I predicted 43 water balls – for the tournament, not the first day!” he said. “And we’re already at 32! This is really unusual.”
How unusual?
The 17th hole measured 143 yards in the opening round and was the second-hardest hole on the Stadium Course. On a teeny par 3 that required no more than a 9-iron, and oftentimes just a pitching or gap wedge, the hole surrendered just 30 birdies, had an average proximity of 27 feet and doled out plenty of pain.
There were 13 double bogeys and nine others, two of which were extraordinarily awful. In all, 35 shots – a whopping 23% – found the water.
“That’s not a fun hole today,” Nick Taylor said, and that’s coming from the guy who hit one of the best shots of the day: to 5 feet.
It’s the most talked- and written-about par 3 in the world – and for good reason, amplified by the setting and its position in the round, so close to the finish line, with such potential to be a round-wrecker. Kevin Na found the water three times (including twice from the drop zone, just 83 yards away) and needed to chip in just to save a quintuple-bogey 8. He withdrew a half-hour later with a back injury. Byeong-Hun An was 1 over for the day when he stepped to 17. Then he hit four balls in the water, wrote down an octuple-bogey 11 – the second-highest score ever recorded on the hole – and followed that debacle with a double bogey on the last, all of a sudden signing for an 83.
“We all have bad days in our life and we just have to learn to move on,” An tweeted. “But it was a horrendous f—ing tee shot on 17th...”
So, how best to play this silly thing?
There are few good options when the pin is tucked in the back, as it was Thursday. If a player lands the ball on the top shelf, there’s a good chance it’s kicking over the green and into the water, especially with a helping breeze and an adrenaline boost with 10,000 fans back on-site. But if the tee shot doesn’t clear the crown in the middle, as soft as the greens are, it’s likely to rip back down to the front edge, 50 feet away.
To many, that’s a fine leave. Lee Westwood never goes for the flag, no matter where it’s located. Years ago, he played a practice round here with Hall of Famer Nick Price, the 1993 champion, who told him: “Try and land it on that crown every day. Ignore the flags.”
So that’s the advice Westwood followed. His tee shot found dry land, 51 feet short and right of the flag. Then he lagged to 7 feet and saved par.
The Players Championship: Full-field scores | Full coverage
“If you walk off 17 with a 3,” he said, “you’re more than happy.”
Except not many were in the opening round.
The average total of water balls for the tournament is 47, but Thursday’s 35 were the most in the first round since the disastrous opener in 2007, when 50 were rinsed. Pour one out for K.H. Lee, Robby Shelton and Jim Herman – their entire group found the drink. Maverick McNealy was part of the last group to finish the hole before darkness set in, and it was a fitting finale – he put two in the water and went to sleep knowing he’d just carded an 8.
Several players noted how the 17th green was significantly firmer than the rest. Justin Thomas suggested it was intentional. “They were very consistent over the course, except for that hole,” he said. “It’s always a little bit firmer, I would say for obvious reasons.”
Like excitement. Or humiliation. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference.
There was at least one reasonable explanation.
The 17th green was closed from April 27 through July 5 to improve drainage. At the time, the course’s general manager explained in an email to membership that the “design and slopes of the green will be consistent with its current design,” but its newness was apparent. Short irons with 90 feet of apex – plenty of height – should be able to hold the green. And some didn’t.
Late in the afternoon, the wind started to subside, and so did the carnage. For a while, it became a routine shot – a wedge with a slight helping breeze to 20 feet. But Young was watching on the Jumbotron as Richy Werenski’s pitching wedge soared through the air, landed on the back shelf and trundled into the water.
All he could do was shake his head in disappointment.
“Yep,” Young sighed, highlighting another victim on his clipboard.
There’d be another before his shift was over – and the potential for dozens more over the next three days.
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