The tee shot onto the fabled island green at TPC Sawgrass is one of the scariest shots in the world, and PGA Tour golfers typically drop a few dozen balls in the water each year at The Players Championship.
On Friday afternoon, Tiger Woods watched two of his shots find the hazard back-to-back, leading to a disastrous quadruple-bogey that derailed what had been a thrilling round.
After carding a 70 on Thursday to start the tournament, Woods began on the 10th hole Friday morning and vaulted up the leaderboard with three birdies over his first six holes. He came to the tee at the 17th at 5-under par, just a few shots out of the lead – but a brutal bounce on the green caused his first attempt to trickle off the back edge.
Woods then moved to the drop area and powered his short approach through the green and into the water a second time. He finally found the surface with his fifth shot and two putted for an ugly seven.
The good news for Woods? He rebounded by playing the front nine at 2-under par, getting himself back to 3-under for the tournament and safely inside the cut line. If Woods had only managed a par at 17, he’d be heading into the weekend inside the top-10, but he can still salvage a solid finish by Sunday.
