The course at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach is not the favorite course of many golf pros for nothing. The course impresses with its challenging design and first-class conditions. The highlight of the course is hole 17, a par-3 where the ball has to be hit over a large pond directly onto the island green. The slightest mistake is severely punished: year after year, numerous balls go astray at the Players Championship, as even the pros miss the green from time to time.
Ten balls disappeared into the water
About 127 yards had to be overcome in round 1 of the Players Championship 2024. The flag was stuck on the front edge of the green, which made the approach even more difficult. Out of 138 players who passed the hole before the interruption due to darkness on the first day, ten players sank their ball in the water. It was particularly annoying for Sam Ryder, whose ball missed the hole by a hair’s breadth before rolling into the water (double bogey). Tom Kim, who was playing with a fever of over 39 degrees and gave up shortly afterwards, also sank his ball in the water (triple bogey).
Millimetres from an ace, millimetres from jarring his next one from the drop zone, and walks off with a 5. Golf. pic.twitter.com/TvaGyuS5WP
— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) March 14, 2024
Nevertheless, there was great jubilation on the par-3. 23 players mastered the hole with a birdie, but were eclipsed by Ryan Fox. Fox achieved what most golfers dream of: he holed out for a hole-in-one. With just the right amount of backspin, his ball rolled straight into the hole after landing. In combination with another eagle, which he scored on the 16th, Fox is the first player in the history of the tournament to achieve two double stroke wins in a row.
In addition to the ace and the 23 birdies, there were a total of 86 pars, 20 bogeys, seven double bogeys and Tom Kim’s triple bogey. This results in an average score of 3.087, which is slightly higher than last year’s 3.03. Last year, almost twice as many balls landed in the water: a total of 16.