Golf course architect Pete Dye would be proud. One of his most famous
tests, the island green at TPC Sawgrass was living up to its dubious reputation at The Players
Championship.
And no one felt its sting worse than Bob Tway, the former PGA champion
who set the all-time record for futility , taking a 9-over 12 on the
devilish 17th hole after dumping four balls in the water.
"You're playing great in the tournament and all of a sudden, in one
hole, you might as well be finishing last," a somber Tway said Monday.
His score erased the mark of Robert Gamez, who took an 11 on the hole
during The Players Championship in 1990.
"I didn't think anybody would break it," Gamez said. "Eleven is a
pretty big number.
Tway was tied for 10th stepping to the 17th tee Monday morning and
thought he struck a decent iron to the green, but a gust carried it into
the water. At the drop area, 77 yards from the cup, things got worse.
Tway again went over the green. His next two shots came up short, and
he finally hit the back side of the green, 40 feet away. He three-putted
for a 12.
"I think I played the hole 4, 4, 6 and 12," he said. "I don't know what
that adds up to, but I think that's quite a few."
After finishing at No. 18, Tway sat alone at the end of his golf bag,
hands covering his face. Scott Verplank, a fellow Oklahoman and one of
Tway's good friends, patted his buddy to boost his spirits.
Tway was far from No. 17's only victim.
Phil Mickelson put two shots in the water during the third round for a
quadruple bogey , then dumped
another one in during the the final round for a double bogey.
Sergio Garcia went over the green on his first shot, then short after
the drop to take a triple bogey.
Tiger Woods couldn't escape trouble either. His shoulders slumped as
his ball sailed over the green for a saddening splash.
Woods loves the hole, he just wishes it weren't in such a critical
location.
"I've always said, 17 is a great hole if it was No. 8, not No. 17," he
said. "I don't think a hole like that should decide a tournament."
The wind was a major factor. Morning gusts blew to 35 mph, keeping
players guessing what clubs to choose.
Vijay Singh, a resident of Ponte Vedra Beach, was asked what he
normally does in these conditions.
"When it's this breezy, we don't even go out, not even to the range,"
he said.
It wasn't so long ago, Dye says, when PGA Tour pros hated his creation
and the havoc it caused. Only recently, he said this week, have the
players "not snarled as they go by."
If Dye were around at the end of this one, he might have heard those
old, familiar grumbles. Tway shrugs his shoulders. There's not much to say
after a hole like that.
"It's a shame that it happens, that you play that well for that long,"
he said. "But everyone's got to play it."
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-29 15:06
