You dare not miss that dreaded 17th

The par-three 17th at TPC Sawgrass is probably one of the most-talked-about holes in world golf. Whether it’s the number of balls that don’t make the putting surface and end up in the water, the “better than most...” putt from Tiger Woods when faced with a 60-foot, downhill, triple-breaking effort on his way to the title in 2001, or the hole-in-three for a par from Fred Couples in 1999 after his first shot found the water, the island green gets everyone’s attention.

Only eight holes-in-one have been hit during the Players Championship, the unofficial “fifth Major” and the PGA tournament that takes place there this weekend. Brad Fabel (1986), Brian Claar (1991), Couples (1997), Joey Sindelar (1999), Paul Azinger (2000), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2002), Will Wilcox (2016) and Sergio Garcia (2017) have all scored one on the par-three.

The opening round on Thursday saw only 137 yards to the pin – a wedge or nine iron for most professionals. So why is it so intimidating?

Well for starters, there is no bailout area. You miss the green, and you’re wet. Hitting the green sometimes doesn’t guarantee you safety as the ball can roll off the putting surface. There’s also the wind factor, and the sheer pressure of teeing it up in front of the hundreds of screaming fans.

During the opening round of the 2007 Players Championship, 50 balls found their way into the water. A further 43 balls drowned that year for a total of 93 balls in the drink – the most since 2003 when the tournament started to track this statistic. The fewest during four rounds was 28 in 2014. On Thursday 24 balls found the water.

Spare a thought for Bob Tway, who made a nine-over-par 12 on the par-three in 2005. Tway, seven-under and four shots off the lead when he reached the 17th during his third round, dropped four balls into the water before he three-putted for a 12. He was in 10th place before he played the 17th, but his third-round 80 saw him finish tied 56th.

Perhaps Englishman Justin Rose described the hole best this week.

“To me, 17 is one of the easiest holes we play all year ... on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Rose said. “Thursday, when you’ve got a scorecard in your hands, it ramps up. You feel your heart rate elevate on the tee box.”

I’ll just stick to the local club’s par-threes, and be happy if I walk away with a point or two, or just my pride intact.