By the numbers: No. 17 at THE PLAYERS Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The 17th delivered the drama again at THE PLAYERS Championship.

The little 136-yard par 3 was the toughest hole of the final round. With the pin in its traditional Sunday location, tucked on the far right side of the island green between the small front bunker and the water, the field was flummoxed by the penultimate hole.

The famed 17th relinquished just four birdies, the lowest total of the week, while a tournament-high 18 shots found the water. Nine players made double bogey or worse, including Martin Laird, who hit two in the water en route to a quadruple-bogey 7.

Though, one of those birdies came from an unlikely source at a pivotal moment in the tournament. The late-charging Wyndham Clark, who chunked his approach into the lake on the 17th during the third round, got a bit of retribution. After birdieing the 16th to get within two of Scottie Scheffler, Clark stuck his approach to 4 1/2 feet and sunk the putt to keep his tournament hopes alive. Xander Schauffele missed a putt of slightly shorter length that would have pushed him to 20-under and in a tie with Scheffler.

But it was a moment of fleeting hope for Clark, whose birdie putt on the 18th cruelly lipped out to lose to Scheffler by one. Scheffler was one of 51 players who escaped the 17th with par.

Here’s the island green on Sunday, by the numbers:

• Actual yardage: 136 yards
• Balls in the water: 18
• Closest to the pin: Denny McCarthy, 1 foot 3 inches
• Holes-in-one: 0
• Birdies: 4
• Pars: 51
• Bogeys: 9
• Double bogeys: 8
• Other: 1
• Scoring average: 3.342

Round 3

Chris Kirk arrived at the par-3 17th hole Saturday with the shared mark for most consecutive rounds at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course without a water ball.

After 41 straight competitive swings at No. 17 found dry land, though, Kirk’s streak ended in the third round of the 50th edition of THE PLAYERS. His ball tracked toward the hole but splashed just a few feet short of the bulkhead guarding the front of the green. Kirk’s water-free streak then ended at 41 rounds, tied with Jason Dufner for most on record. (Kirk made double bogey en route to a third-round 73; he stands T35 into Sunday.)

In contrast was Doug Ghim, who electrified the patrons Saturday with a 63-foot, chip-in birdie from the back fringe, eliciting comparisons to Tiger Woods’ famed “better than most!” birdie putt en route to his first PLAYERS title in 2001. Whereas Woods used putter, Ghim opted for the wedge – but Ghim’s upper-cut, fist-pump celebration brought a reminder of Woods’ trademark celebratory tactic.

“Obviously it's pretty sick to see it in real time and watch it go in,” said Ghim, who stands T12 at 9-under, eight strokes back of 54-hole leader Xander Schauffele. “It kind of came out just how I hoped it would; it was also part relief that I didn't have a par putt coming back. There were a lot of different emotions.”

The island-green 17th has that effect.

Here’s the island-green 17th on Saturday, by the numbers:

• Actual yardage: 123 yards
• Balls in the water: 6
• Closest to the pin: Peter Malnati, 1 foot, 6 inches
• Holes-in-one: 0
• Birdies: 24
• Pars: 41
• Bogeys: 4
• Double bogeys: 4
• Other: 0
• Scoring average: 2.836

Round 2

Beau Hossler owns a bit of unwanted history at TPC Sawgrass’ 17th hole.

When Hossler, playing in the second group of the morning, hit his tee shot in the water on the famed par 3, it marked the 1,000th ball hit in the water in the ShotLink era (since 2003). Hossler’s water ball was the first of 13 on Friday at the 17th.

Jason Day was one of those water balls. He walked to the hole 8-under overall and inside the top five. He left with a double-bogey 6 after his tee shot missed left of the island green. Justin Rose put two in the water on the penultimate hole, ultimately falling from 1-under to 3-over. Rose would have made the cut if he had parred out.

Hossler’s shot wasn’t the only bit of history on Friday.

Min Woo Lee drained a 60-foot-1-inch birdie putt on the hole, the second-longest putt made on the hole since 2003. It was a valuable shot for Lee, who bogeyed the par-4 18th to finish on the cutline at 1-under.

Meanwhile, Chris Kirk safely found the green, making the 41st consecutive round without a ball in the water on the 17th hole. That tied Jason Dufner for most rounds played without a ball in the water on hole 17 since 2003.

Here’s the island-green 17th on Friday, by the numbers:

• Actual yardage: 137 yards
• Balls in the water: 13
• Closest to the pin: Chesson Hadley, 1 foot 8 inches
• Holes-in-one: 0
• Birdies: 28
• Pars: 90
• Bogeys: 17
• Double bogeys: 3
• Other: 4
• Scoring average: 3.063

Round 1

Ryan Fox didn’t just record the 43rd ace at TPC Sawgrass’ island-green, par-3 17th hole in THE PLAYERS Championship history. During Thursday’s opening round at THE PLAYERS, he became the first player to record back-to-back eagles in tournament history, carding an eagle at the par-5 16th followed by a hole-in-one at 17.

Fox brought the crowd to its feet Thursday morning with a wedge from 124 yards that landed 15 feet behind the hole and spun to perfection, hitting the flagstick square-on and dropping in for a hole-in-one. The New Zealander raised both arms to the sky with a wide smile and high-fived his playing partners C.T. Pan and Kevin Streelman.

“Most of the crowd probably either wants you to make a 1 or hit it in the water,” laughed Fox after signing for a 3-under 69, “so I’m glad to be on the right side of it in that respect.”

Others weren’t as fortunate. Adam Hadwin groaned immediately after making contact; his ball splashed a few yards short of the front-right greenside bunker, leading to a double bogey. Tom Kim, battling a fever over 102 F, suffered a similar fate – his water ball leading to a three-putt triple bogey and a WD shortly thereafter.

Lady Luck offered a more pleasant outcome for Scott Stallings, whose ball careened off a bulkhead fronting the green and landed softly enough to hold the green’s right side. He two-putted for par from 54 feet, then made birdie at No. 18 to sign for a 2-over 74, within striking distance of the cut line (currently projected at 1-under).

In contrasting fashion, Sam Ryder’s ball came inches from an ace – his ball landed 20 feet past the hole, spun back and grazed the hole’s right side – before trickling through the narrow cut of rough and into the water. Ryder looked to be in shock, placing his hands softly on his head, before taking his drop, hitting a wedge to 7 feet and two-putting for double bogey. (He also made birdie on 18, carding a 2-under 70 to stand one stroke inside the projected cut line.)

In all, 138 players completed the 17th hole on Thursday; play was suspended due to darkness at 7:32 p.m. ET, with six players yet to complete the hole. (The opening round will resume at 8:50 a.m. on Friday; the second round will begin as scheduled at 7:40 a.m.)

Overall, the hole played as the seventh most difficult on Thursday, with a scoring average of 3.087. There were seven double bogeys and one triple bogey (Tom Kim).

Here’s the island-green 17th on Thursday, by the numbers:

• Actual yardage: 124 yards
• Balls in the water: 10
• Closest to the pin: Ryan Fox, hole-in-one
• Holes-in-one: 1
• Birdies: 23
• Pars: 86
• Bogeys: 20
• Double bogeys: 7
• Other: 1
• Scoring average: 3.087