While there are plenty of tough holes at the famous Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, one stands out.
Even if some yield a higher average score over the week of The Players Championship, there’s absolutely no doubt which hole gets into every golfer’s head more than any other.
The par-3 17th at Sawgrass is innocuous in terms of length (it measures just 146 yards) but the fact that it’s surrounded by water gives the course’s penultimate hole a totally different dimension – especially when the wind gets up.
And part of the reason why players start thinking about the island green as soon as they begin their rounds is the knowledge that it can absolutely wreck a card and blow a tournament.
Here, Golf365 looks at some of the biggest meltdowns at the 17th.
Kevin Na – 2021
No golfer likes a snowman ‘8’ on the card. It’s bad enough on a par 5 but on a par 3 that’s five shots gone on one hole.
In the first round in 2021, Kevin Na fired three balls off the back of the green at 17, watching in horror at the trio of watery graves.
It could have been even worse. Na actually chipped in for the eight after his fourth attempt to keep his ball on the putting surface landed in greenside rough.
Na then found more water on 18, signed for an 81 and withdrew with a ‘bad back’.
Byeong Hun An – 2021
Amazingly, just minutes after Na’s horror show, Byeong Hun An came to the 17th and suffered an even bigger disaster.
The Korean walked onto the 17th tee at a decent enough 1-over for the day. He walked off the 17th green at 9-over after an 11!
An knocked four balls into the water on his way to an octuple bogey. He signed for an 82.
Bob Tway – 2005
Tway, a veteran with eight PGA Tours wins between 1986 and 2003, including the 1986 PGA Championship, was still competitive in 2005 despite being in the twilight of his career on the main tour.
Rounds of 67-71 had put him 12th at halfway and he was only four off the lead when taking on the 17th hole in round three.
But everything went horribly wrong – and then some – as a bemused Tway put four balls in the water and three-putted to rack up a 12. It’s still the highest ever score at 17.
An 80 wasn’t that bad all things considered and he eventually finished the tournament in 56th place.
Len Mattiace – 1998
While the first three examples contain big numbers, at least they came before the final round when one of the biggest trophies in golf and the huge purse is up for grabs.
Mattiace was just one back heading to the 17th on Sunday in 1998 but blew his chances completely with a combination of water, sand and water again contributing to an eight.
The 17th hole disaster relegated him to fifth, four behind winner Justin Leonard. A par would have left him one ahead of Leonard.
Scott Gump – 1999
A year later, there was another tale of woe at 17.
And, once again, it involved an underdog story going terribly wrong.
Scott Gump was tied for the lead with David Duval with two holes to play but watched his 8-iron bounce over the back of the 17th green and into the wet stuff.
While Gump scribbled a ‘5’ on his card and finished runner-up, Duval held his nerve to claim a victory that took him to World No.1.
Davis Love – 1995
Love is a two-time winner at TPC Sawgrass (1992 and 2023) but he also has a definite ‘one that got away’ story.
Tied for the final-round lead and in great position to win his second Players Championship title in four years, Love’s tee shot bounded off the back of the green and into water.
The extra frustration was that conditions were calm and only one other ball that day had found the drink.
Love dropped back to a tie for sixth, three back from winner Lee Janzen.
Phil Blackmar – 1995
While Gump and Love’s tee-shots at least landed on the green before bouncing off it, Phil Blackmar really twitched when also tied for the lead in the 1991 edition.
The 6ft 7” Californian, who became an on-course TV reporter, chunked his eight-iron at 17 straight into the water. “Not even close,” said Johnny Miller in commentary as the ball came up way short and right.
Blackmar finished in a tie for third after his double bogey, two back from winner Steve Elkington.
Sergio Garcia – 2013
While the 90s was a particularly bad time (or good time if you like drama) for 17th hole catastrophes, the most famous implosion came in 2013.
Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods shared the lead with two to play – a scenario with even greater spice given that the two were not exactly the best of friends at the time.
Garcia, considered the villain of the piece by the Florida crowds, let the pressure get to him and dumped two balls in the water at 17 to crash out of contention.
He followed that quadruple bogey seven with a double bogey six at 18 to crash to tied eighth as Woods held firm to secure a 78th PGA Tour title.
Read more: Everything you need to know about Sawgrass’ iconic 17th hole
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Article Link: The most famous meltdowns at TPC Sawgrass’ 17th hole