Kiwi ace ‘pretty chuffed’ by hole in one
Ryan Fox provided the early fireworks in round one of The Players Championship yesterday.
New Zealand’s leading men’s golfer made a hole in one at one of the most recognisable and challenging holes in world golf.
The Kiwi struck an ace on the iconic par-3, (125m) 17th “Island Green” hole at TPC Sawgrass in Florida in the tournament often referred to as “the fifth Major”.
Fox became only the 14th player to record a hole in one at the 17th at The Players Championship.
His memorable first round also contained an eagle at 16, making him the first player on record (1983-present) to make back-to-back eagles on 16 and 17.
He finished his opening round at three-under 69, leaving him tied for 22nd when the first round was suspended.
“I mean it’s such an iconic hole, and it’s an intimidating shot. I don’t care who you are. You get up there, most of the crowd probably either wants you to make a one or hit it in the water, so I’m glad to be on the right side of it in that respect,” Fox said.
“It was a nice gap wedge and you know you’ve got a little bit of a backstop there, and I was pretty chuffed to look up and see it going down the flag.”
Club selection is critical on the 17th with nowhere to land the ball but on the green, the small bunker or in the water. It is estimated more than 100,000 balls are scooped up from the surrounding water each year by professionals and tourists.
“When it landed and came back, I was like, this has got a chance. I mean, we had enough good shots that a few have a chance every now and again, but they don’t go in very often, so it was nice to see one properly go in.’’
In going eagle-eagle, Fox went from oneover to three-under in a span of about 20 minutes.
He had a mixed bag in his opening round, with bogeys on 14, 15 and 18 while playing the back nine first. His second nine was far more conservative, adding one birdie.
Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Wyndham Clark were co-leaders on seven-under-par when play ended prematurely for the day.