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Players Championship: The pros despair of the wind – 17 becomes a ball washer

25 MPH at TPC Sawgrass: The 17th hole became the final opponent and also on the remaining holes the players of the Players Championship let the balls disappear in the wet.

The gusts of wind make it difficult for the players at the Players Championship. (Photo: Twitter/Youtube @PGATour)
The gusts of wind make it difficult for the players at the Players Championship. (Photo: Twitter/Youtube @PGATour)

The third day of the Players Championship greeted spectators and players with sunshine, but steady winds and gusts of over 40 kilometers per hour made it difficult for the players. On the legendary Stadium Course, Kopeka, Fleetwood and Co. battled with the unpredictable gusts of wind and had to leave more than one ball in the water. In total, the field sank 33 balls on the 17th hole alone in round 1 and the 2nd round that started.

Golf is hard: The highlight of the windy Saturday at the Players Championship

If you read through the scores achieved on the 17th hole, you might well think it was an amateur tournament. But the island green at TPC Sawgrass is a challenge even under good conditions. With the strong wind, however, the penultimate hole developed into a final opponent for the players. Only two birdies, but nine bogeys, ten double bogeys and even four worse scores were recorded by the field on the third day of the Players Championship. 60 players made it to the iconic 17th hole in the second round. But for about 31 percent of the players it went into the drop zone. On the par 3, which is only 125 meters long, only just under 60 percent have even made it onto the green.

But also on the other holes of the waterlogged course there were penalty strokes. The highlights and lowlights from Saturday can be seen in the video: