PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. _ The 17th hole island green at TPC Sawgrass claimed another victim Friday during the second round of The Players Championship.
This time, it snared the biggest catch of all: Tiger Woods.
Woods made a mess of TPC's signature hole to go from in contention to flirting with the cutline.
A day after he scratched out a 2-under par 70, Woods arrived at the 17th hole 3-under par on his round and 5-under overall _ two shots behind the leaders.
Playing first in his group, Woods took dead aim at the back right pin 146 yards away and tugged his tee shot left. After the ball landed, it rolled off the back of the green complex into the water, leading Woods to let loose with an expletive as he reached caddie Joe LaCava standing next to his player's bag.
Woods' next shot from the drop area 91 yards from the hole traveled over the flagstick and did not stop once the ball landed _ despite the spin Woods' put on it _ to end up in the drink once again.
A missed putt just outside 20 feet for triple-bogey left Woods with a career-worst 7 on a hole that has proved the undoing of many golfers at The Players.
Woods' previous worst score on the hole was a double-bogey 5, carded four times during 17 previous appearances (and 68 rounds) including the final round in 2018. Each time, Woods found the water surrounding the designer Pete Dye's iconic hole one time.
Woods arrived this week looking to become the first golfer to win three times on Dye's Stadium Course. His solid start Friday quickly put him in the mix.
Woods' made consecutive birdies on the drivable par-4 12th hole and tricky par-3 13th hole, where his tee shot flirted with the water left of the green but settled just inside 14 to lead to a birdie.
Woods also birdied the par-5 16th hole, moving him to 1-under on the two par-5s Thursday a day after he finished even par on the course' four-longest holes.
Woods made par on 18 to finish his round 3-under for the tournament.
The worst score by a Players winner at the 17th was a triple-bogey 6 in 2000 by Hal Sutton, who beat Woods by a shot.
But Woods certainly has benefitted from the struggles of his competitors the hole. In 2013, Sergio Garcia was tied with Woods for the lead when he arrived to the 17th hole. Garcia hit two balls into the water while Woods _ a group ahead _ parred the 18th hole to win the tournament.
