The 17th green at Sawgrass has been quite the adventure during the Players Championship. A day after Byeong Hun An notched an octuple bogey on the hole, Dustin Johnson was hoping to avoid a similar situation.
Johnson succeeded in that regard. It did not take him 11 shots to make it past the 17th hole, but he did have one extremely unfortunate moment.
With Johnson 121 yards away, he hit what looked like a beautiful shot directly at the hole. Turns out, Johnson’s accuracy was too good. The ball hit the flagstick and bounced all the way into the water.
If Johnson had gone full Happy Gilmore and tossed his club directly into the water while yelling out four-letter obscenities, we wouldn’t blame him. But to Johnson’s credit, he couldn’t help but smile at his rotten luck.
Johnson wound up with a double bogey on the hole. It was a far cry from An’s octuple bogey, but it’s tough to be happy about that.
Lee Westwood maintained his lead heading into Sunday, firing a 4-under 68 to remain 2 shots ahead of Bryson DeChambeau with Justin Thomas also in the mix.
The 17th hole at Sawgrass has been tough on the pros all week. While An’s unfortunate adventure on the hole remains the worst outcome so far, three other golfers shot an 8 on the hole. The pin’s placement sits close to water, and the wind has apparently made things a lot tougher. The hole is a par-3.
An’s struggles may have been bad, but he didn’t set the record for the worst-ever performance on that hole. That belongs to Bob Tway, who shot a 12 on the 17th hole at Sawgrass in 2005.
Based on how the hole is playing in 2021, it might be a few hours before someone else matches, or surpasses, Tway’s record.
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