Ryan Fox makes PLAYERS history with eagle, ace run at TPC Sawgrass' 16th, 17th

Ryan Fox made a hole-in-one at the 124-yard 17th hole in the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday.

The New Zealander watched as his tee shot landed behind the hole and spun backward into the cup for the first ace on No. 17 of this PLAYERS and the 14th on the iconic hole in tournament history.

Fox claimed a piece of history, all his own, by becoming the first to go eagle-eagle on holes 16 and 17 in THE PLAYERS since records have been kept (1983-present). Moments earlier he had hit his 180-yard second shot to 2 feet, 4 inches from the pin at the par-5 16th.

In going eagle-eagle, Fox went from 1 over to 3 under in a span of about 20 minutes.

The 37-year-old Fox, who earned his PGA TOUR card via the DP World Tour top 10, is coming off a final-round 65 and T35 in his last start at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. He also has two missed cuts this season, plus a T41 at the WM Phoenix Open.

"I mean, it's such an iconic hole, and it's an intimidating shot," Fox said of his ace on 17. "I don't care who you are. You get up there, most of the crowd probably either wants you to make a 1 or hit it in the water, so I'm glad to be on the right side of it in that respect.

"When we got to the tee, it was kind of a good number for me," he continued. "It was a nice gap wedge and you know you've got a little bit of a backstop there, and I was pretty chuffed to look up and see it going down the flag, and obviously a little bit of luck for it to come down the slope and go back in, but I'm certainly not complaining."

There were three aces on 17 last year.