TPC Sawgrass’ weekend hole locations selected to elicit drama

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The first groups of the day were just making the turn Saturday at TPC Sawgrass, but already important putts were being hit on the 18th green. Robby Ware, the Senior Tournament Referee for THE PLAYERS, was stroking balls toward a can of spray paint that denoted the hole location for Sunday’s final round.

His putts rolled gently down the steep swale that bisects the 18th green as they headed toward the front-left corner of the putting surface.

Bringing back the front-left hole location this year was a conscious decision to produce more volatility for Sunday’s final round and perhaps give one last birdie opportunity to those players pursuing Wyndham Clark, who holds a four-shot lead at the tournament’s halfway point. It is the second-largest 36-hole lead in the tournament’s history.

“I’m just trying to give it a little different mix and different flow coming in,” said Ware, who’s been setting up TPC Sawgrass’ back nine for THE PLAYERS for nearly two decades. “Seventeen will be in its traditional hole location (on Sunday) in the low area there on the back-right, but this year I’m using the front-left on 18. Last year, I used the back-left. I’m just trying to give the guys different looks and different opportunities, and hopefully creating more volatility or excitement coming in on 16 and 18.”

Returning the Sunday hole location on 18 to the bowl in the front left introduces both more risk and more reward. Players will approach the hole with a shorter club in their hands and can use the surrounding slopes to funnel their shots toward the hole, but the hole also is located closer to the water that lines 18’s left side. The front-left hole location is much more accessible than the pins on the back of the green, which sit atop a small shelf on the rear of the putting surface.

The most famous moment for this hole location may have come when Rickie Fowler made birdie there en route to his win here in 2015. Fowler played the final six holes in 6 under, including an eagle-birdie-birdie finish, before winning in a thrilling playoff.

Ware selected a back-right hole location for Saturday to save the front-left location for the final day. He also selected a more accessible hole location on 16 for Sunday. A middle-right hole location on 16 on Saturday saved a back-left location for the final round, one that players can play more aggressively toward. They can aim directly at the flag without worrying about the water, and the hole being in the back of the green allows their long- or mid-iron approach to roll back toward the flag.

For the final round, the pin on 16 is often located in a bowl on the front-right corner of the green. This year, players will see a different Sunday hole location.

“Back-left gives players a little more green to work with,” Ware said. “The (front-right) bowl is very accessible, too, but that hole location is closer to the water and players may shy away. With the back-left, the only thing you have to worry about is not hitting too much club and going into the water.”

Seventeen will retain its traditional locations. The Saturday location in the front is the same one where Tiger Woods holed his “Better Than Most” putt in 2001 and Sunday will see the same back-right location that has been used for years.

TPC Sawgrass’ closing three holes were created to elicit drama, and this year should be no different.