Players Championship Holes-in-One: 17th Hole and Others

The 17th hole of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship on the PGA Tour, is one of the most-famous in golf: the island green. Have any golfers scored a hole-in-one on that hole during The Players Championship? Yes, several have. And there have been quite a few aces overall during the tournament's history.

The Players Championship was first played in 1974, but it wasn't until 1982 that it moved, permanently, to TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course. The 17th hole of the Stadium Course is the famous island green. It's a very short hole, typically playing from 124 to 135 yards, give or take. But the visual from the tee — hitting to a green surrounded by water, with hardly any rough or even collar to stop balls running off — is daunting even to the world's best golfers.

Since the move to TPC Sawgrass, there have been 14 holes-in-one made on the 17th hole during The Players.

17th Hole Aces (TPC Sawgrass) During The Players Championship

Brad Fabel, 1986, first round. Fabel shot 71 in that round, but missed the cut after a second-round 75.
Brian Claar, 1991, third round. Claar had a 69 for the round and finished the tournament tied for 41st place.
Fred Couples, 1997, fourth round. Couples was the defending champion, but finish tied for 10th. His score for the ace round was 69.
Joey Sindelar, 1999, first round. Sindelar shot 72 and finished tied for 10th.
Paul Azinger, 2000, third round. Azinger's score in the ace round was 70. He tied for 17th place.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2002, first round. Jimenez shot 72, but missed the cut after a second-round 81.
Will Wilcox, 2016, second round. Wilcox shot 71 in that round and finished tied for 72nd.
Sergio Garcia, 2017, first round. Garcia carded a 73 and wound up tied for 30th.
Ryan Moore, 2019, first round. Moore shot 67 and finished the tournament in a tie for 20th place.
Shane Lowry, 2022, third round. Lowry had a 67 in that third round and placed 13th for the tournament.
Hayden Buckley, 2023, first round. Buckley had a 73 for the round and missed the cut.
Aaron Rai, 2023, third round. Rai had a 65 for the round and finished 19th.
Alex Smalley, 2023, fourth round. Smalley's score for the round was 74; he tied for 65th place.
Ryan Fox, 2024, first round. Fox had a 69 for the round, but missed the cut.

There had never been more than one hole-in-one on the island-green 17th hole during a single Players Championship — until three golfers came up aces in 2023. And Aaron Rai's 65 that he scored for the round in which he had his ace in 2023 became the lowest score carded by any of the hole-in-golfers for their respective rounds. The best finish by any golfer who had a hole-in-one on the Stadium Course 17th is a tie for 10th place, by Sindelar and Couples.

Has anyone made more than one ace in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass? Yes, Fred Couples. Couples has the 17th-hole ace on the list above, and also has a hole-in-one on the 13th hole that is included in the following list.

All Holes-in-One in The Players Championship

There were four aces in the tournament before it moved to TPC Sawgrass:

1976 at Inverrary Country Club: Wally Armstrong, 6th hole, 2nd round
1978 at Sawgrass Country Club: Grier Jones, 12th hole, 2nd round; and John Mahaffey, 15th hole, 4th round
1981 at Sawgrass Country Club: Bill Kratzert, 6th hole, 3rd round

The Players Championship moved to the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in 1982 and has been played there since.

1986
Jim Gallagher, Jr., 3rd hole, 1st round
Brad Fabel, 17th hole, 1st round

1991
Brian Claar, 17th hole, 3rd round

1992
Chip Beck, 13th hole, 1st round

1994
Russ Cochran, 3rd hole, 4th round
Gary Hallberg, 8th hole, 3rd round

1995
Phil Mickelson, 13th hole, 2nd round

1996
Jay Don Blake, 13th hole, 3rd round

1997
Mark Brooks, 8th hole, 2nd round
Fred Couples, 17th hole, 4th round

1999
Bob Friend, 8th hole, 1st round
Joey Sindelar, 17th hole, 1st round

2000
Paul Azinger, 17th hole, 3rd round
Ted Tryba, 8th hole, 4th round
Joe Ozaki, 8th hole, 4th round

2001
Chris DiMarco, 3rd hole, 4th round

2002
Miguel Angel Jimenez, 17th hole, 1st round
Craig Stadler, 13th hole, 3rd round

2004
Jose Maria Olazabal, 13th hole, 2nd round

2006
Justin Leonard, 13th hole, 2nd round
Jesper Parnevik, 13th hole, 2nd round
Henrik Stenson, 13th hole, 3rd round
Fred Couples, 13th hole, 4th round

2008
Robert Garrigus, 13th hole, 2nd round

2013
Michael Thompson, 8th hole, 1st round
Chris Stroud, 13th hole, 3rd round

2016
Will Wilcox, 17th hole, 2nd round

2017
Sergio Garcia, 17th hole, 1st round

2019
Ryan Moore, 17th hole, 1st round
Sungjae Im, 13th hole, 2nd round
Seamus Power, 3rd hole, 3rd round

2021
Denny McCarthy, 3rd hole, 2nd round
Brendon Todd, 8th hole, 2nd round

2022
Viktor Hovland, 8th hole, 3rd round
Shane Lowry, 17th hole, 3rd round

2023
Hayden Buckley, 17th hole, 1st round
Aaron Rai, 17th hole, 3rd round
Alex Smalley, 17th hole, fourth round

2024
Ryan Fox, 17th hole, first round

Photo credit: "TPC Sawgrass 17" by Craig ONeal is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 .

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