Caddie Network

The Players Championship: All the holes in one on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass

T.J. Auclair
Sergio Garcia
Sergio Garcia’s ace on the par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the first round of the 2017 Players Championship was the eighth hole-in-one recorded on that hole in tournament history. Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

In the history of the Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass – which dates back to 1982 – there have been a total of 10 holes in one on the iconic, island green, par-3 17th hole.

On the scorecard, the hole plays just 137 yards. But depending on the conditions, which often includes swirling winds, it can be one of the most intimidating holes in all of golf… especially when the PGA Tour’s crown jewel event is on the line.

RELATED: Caddie Mark Urbanek on the time he threw a ball from tee to green on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass

Here’s the list of the 10 aces – chronologically – with the latest coming from Shane Lowry in the third round of the 2022 Players Championship:

  1. Brad Fabel, 1986, Round 1
  2. Brian Claar, 1991, Round 3
  3. Fred Couples, 1997, Round 4
  4. Joey Sindelar, 1999, Round 1
  5. Paul Azinger, 2000, Round 3
  6. Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2002, Round 1
  7. Willy Wilcox, 2016, Round 2
  8. Sergio Garcia, 2017, Round 1
  9. Ryan Moore, 2019, Round 1
  10. Shane Lowry, 2022, Round 3

While there have indeed been 10 aces on No. 17, only five of the 10 have been captured on video.

Let’s take a closer look at those…

2000: Paul Azinger, Round 3

Azinger’s ace in the third round of the 2000 Players was just the fifth on that hole in tournament history. He finished T17 in the tournament that year. You can see the ace at the 1-minute mark of the video below:

 

2016: Willy Wilcox, Round 2

Any hole-in-one is incredible to see. But not all reactions are created equally.

Willy Wilcox went absolutely bananas after his ace on No. 17 in the second round of the 2016 Players. It was the first ace in 6,300 shots in the Players Championship and he did it with a yellow ball.

The celebration was just the best. Wilcox nearly injured himself and the caddies and then ran over to high-five fans around the tee.

 

2017: Sergio Garcia, Round 1

Sergio Garcia is one of the most electric players in golf. And what a memorable year 2017 was for Serge. Just a month after winning his first major at the Masters – when the Players was still played in May – he went and recorded the eighth ace in Players Championship history on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass.

 

2019: Ryan Moore, Round 1

It was getting to be later in the afternoon that Thursday. Moore, with a gap wedge from 121 yards, threw an absolute dart with a rare slam-dunk hole-in-one. The ball never touched grass, going from tee to flagstick to the bottom of the cup.

Remarkably, it was the fifth ace of Moore’s PGA Tour career and he excepted high-fives from the gallery on the whole walk up to the green.

2022: Shane Lowry, Round 3

Few in golf can celebrate quite like Ireland’s Shane Lowry.

Bonus: The Fred Couples “hole-in-three”

One of the most famous aces on No. 17 wasn’t actually an ace at all.

In the first round of the 1999 Players Championship, Fred Couples did something rather ordinary: he hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th into the water. No shame in that. Thousands before and thousands after would do the same.

But what he did next remains unmatched.

Couples re-teed, hitting three. With that next shot, he found the bottom of the cup on the fly for the rarest of pars.

In true Couples fashion, the ultra laidback superstar’s reaction to his amazing par was similar to that of his reaction when the first shot found a watery grave.

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