Tiger Woods called the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass "gimmicky" last year, and with him on the DL for another few weeks, others have stepped up the criticism of the course -- and the hole in particular -- in his absence.
Ernie Els, who, despite winning earlier this year, is still searching for his game, piped up earlier this week after carding a tidy triple-bogey 6 on the island par 3 on Thursday.
"I think they should blow it up. You can't have a major championship ..." the South African said, catching himself before he said something he might regret later.It's easy to point out that the spacious green in question is less than 150 yards from the tee box, and he is, you know, a professional. Of course, the green has two levels, and the wind can make it almost impossible to zero in on a yardage, which probably has a lot to do with Els' grousing.
"Everything you've worked on for 4 1/2 hours is gone in one hole. I was so angry. I felt if I got in the house at 2-under, that would have been a great score."
To his credit, Els managed to finish the round with all 14 clubs. Charley Hoffman, one day later, did not. Hoffman was putting for bogey on No. 13, already 7-over, and promptly missed the two-footer. After calmly tapping in for double, he calmly fired his putter in the drink. And for five holes, he used his sand wedge and rescue club as his emergency putter. At least he had a plan.
Hat tip: Waggle Room
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. I find it amazing that Els or any other Pro golfer would whine about this hole. Why aren't they whining about a 230+ par 3 hole? The great thing is that, and ONLY that, is that the water plays with their mind. If there was grass all the way up to the green, they'd all say what an easy hole it is.
You have to hit the right shot...stop whining when you don't.
Posted at 3:39PM on May 12th 2008 by Fred Garcia