The finale of the Players Championship came down—as it often does–to the final three holes, a devastating combination of opportunity and challenge. But after JJ Spaun, who had one win in 226 starts heading into the week, overshot the 17th hole en route to a triple bogey six, the three-hole playoff was all but complete, with Rory McIlroy winning his second Players Championship.
The victory for McIlroy, who is ranked No. 2 in the world, was his third time winning on St. Patrick’s Day, which he called “good luck for me.”
“I feel bad for JJ—he hit a really good shot on 17 and it just went through the wind,” McIlroy said. “I was lucky to do enough and I’m unbelievably proud and happy to win my second Players Championship.”
After making birdie on the opening playoff hole, the par-5 16th, McIlroy played his approach on the famed island green 17th to a safe spot nearly 40 feet from the flag. The wind shifted overnight, leaving Spaun, one shot back, to make a valiant attempt for a birdie. But his tee ball flew the green, dropping to a watery grave. Though McIlroy three-putted the green, Spaun’s triple-bogey 6 left him with no real chance. McIlroy bogeyed the final hole for the win.
“I was committed to the club and the shot shape I was trying to hit,” Spaun said. “It was the perfect club and I guess I hit it too good and it went right through the wind. I hit a great shot and did what I needed to do. It is hard not to feel discouraged a little bit. Hopefully I can learn from this and get it done.”
17 hangs tough
The 17th might only be a pitching wedge for most at the Players—or a knock-down nine iron for McIlroy in the playoff—but the hole, which measures 141 yards, continues to be daunting for many of the PGA Tour’s best. Arguably the most famous par three in the world, the hole yielded 69 birdies over the course of 433 rounds, as well as 29 double bogeys or worse, including Spaun’s triple bogey in the final round. Playing at a shot average of 3.120, it wasn’t the hardest hole of the week, but still proved to be short and mighty.
Watery grave
It is estimated that amateurs playing the 17th at Sawgrass lose more than 100,000 golf balls each year. Arccos, the golf technology company, tracks the shots of amateurs and found the hole played to an average of 3.78 shots. However, the company admitted that number might be low. “It’s hard not to suspect that an extra mulligan (or two)—especially when the caddies are around—might be “helping” this stat,” Arccos wrote. “(We won’t judge—we’d probably do the same.)” For professionals, there have been 1029 balls find the water since 2003. Many of those balls are recycled thanks to a diver who battles the elements—and the occasional alligator—to reclaim them.
Conners leads Canadians
Corey Conners is having a breakout year to start his PGA Tour season, and his T6 finish was his third Top 10 of only seven starts. Conners finished at 9-under with a 1-under 71 in the final round. Conners’ putter went cold in the final round, but his driving was in the Top 5 for the week, an important factor at the demanding TPC at Sawgrass. Conners, from Listowel, Ont., was one of six Canadians in the field but the only one to play the weekend. He sits at 8th on the FedExCup standings and 27th in the world overall. Conners pocketed $843,750 in winnings.