Worst Scores Ever on 17th Hole (Island Green) in Players Championship

What is the highest score ever made on the notorious island-green 17th hole of TPC Sawgrass during The Players Championship? A whopping 12, which, on the par-3 hole, is 9-over par.

The 17th hole on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is only 130ish yards long. But surrounded by water and played under the pressure of the "fifth major," The Players Championship, it frequently becomes the site of bogeys, double bogeys, triple bogeys and worse.

In the history of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass (which became the tournament's permanent home in 1982), there are four golfers who've carded 10s or worse on the 17th hole. The record-holder is Bob Tway, who made that 12.

All the Double-Digit Scores on No. 17 in The Players Championship

  • 12 — Bob Tway, third round, 2005
  • 11 — Byeong Hun An, first round, 2021
  • 11 — Robert Gamez, third round, 1990
  • 10 — Phil Blackmar, second round, 1990
What happened to Tway? He put four balls in the water, as detailed in the video above. His tee shot was long, over the green, and then he hit three more balls into the water from the drop zone. Two of his shots from the drop zone hit the green but spun off. Once he finally held the green, Tway three-putted for his 9-over score of 12. A rarely seen (on the PGA Tour) "nonuple bogey."

"Someone told me later that I went into that hole in sixth place and left it in 66th," Tway later told Golf Digest. He still managed to shoot 80 for the round, which is a pretty good score where there is a 12 on your card.

The year 1990 was a particularly cruel one in terms of high scores on the Stadium Course's island green. As we see in the list above, two of the four double-digit scores made on the 17th hole during The Players Championship happened that year. But, also in 1990, there was a score of nine on the hole: Roger Maltbie recorded a nine in the second round.

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