The 17th at TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course is one of the most feared in the game but, measuring just 141 yards, the distance isn't the issue for most players, but the water surrounding its green.
The most famous island green in golf has caused more than its fair share of chaos over the years, and not just among recreational golfers teeing it up at the public venue that hosts The Players Championship.
It’s thought that more than a million balls have met a watery fate since the course opened in 1980, and it's a fact not lost on the PGA Tour. In 2024, it released a video to highlight just how daunting a challenge it presents to the average golfer showing that, in just one day, 102 balls were lost from the efforts of 95 players at the hole. But surely professionals fare better, don't they? Well, yes, but the results still aren't always pretty.
The pros make it look easy. It's not. We captured video and data of every amateur that played No. 17 @TPCSawgrass for one day. The results ... pic.twitter.com/xGp2vw8EVqMarch 6, 2023
Since 2003, the PGA Tour has kept a record of exactly how often balls come a cropper at the 17th during The Players Championship. The 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19, but, up to the 2024 event, that still left data from 21 editions, and the results are sobering.
In 2024, we reached four figures after 39 balls landed in the lake, including 2023 US Open champion Wyndham Clark, who chunked his shot into the water while sharing the lead during his third round. Following the 2024 event, the total over the 21 years had risen to 1,029 - an average of 49 a year. Meanwhile, Aaron Baddeley tops the list of individuals to have found the water in the event, at 14.
Through the years, the number lost to the water during the tournament has only been below 30 three times, in 2003, 2010 and 2014. In the latter edition, it was the lowest of the lot, when "only" 28 balls finished up at the bottom of the lake. In contrast, the year with the most was 2007, when a staggering 93 balls found the water over the four rounds of action.
Not surprisingly, over the years, plenty of pros have had their say on the hole. Among them is 18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus, who said in 2007: “You knew you were in trouble when you got on the tee. No matter what - you knew sooner or later it was going to get you.”
Marc Calcavecchia went even further two years later, saying: "It is like having a 3 o'clock appointment for a root canal. You're thinking about it all morning and you feel bad all day. You kind of know sooner or later you've got to get to it."
Considering the number of times even the world’s best players lose their balls at the hole, it’s understandable that it brings players out in a cold sweat, particularly for those in contention with just two holes to play.
One of the reasons TPC Sawgrass' 17th is so iconic is because it's instantly recognizable to golf fans the world over. However, another is undoubtedly its jeopardy, making even the best players fear undoing much of their good work from earlier with the swing of a club.
The Players Championship 2003 To 2024 - Balls That Landed In The Water At The 17th
- 2024 – 39
- 2023 – 58
- 2022 – 64
- 2021 – 50
- 2020 – (no tournament)
- 2019 – 45
- 2018 – 53
- 2017 – 69
- 2016 – 36
- 2015 – 45
- 2014 – 28
- 2013 – 44
- 2012 – 39
- 2011 – 40
- 2010 – 29
- 2009 – 32
- 2008 – 64
- 2007 – 93
- 2006 – 67
- 2005 – 68
- 2004 – 30
- 2003 – 29
