THE PLAYERS Championship

Just over two decades ago, few would have seen an oasis-in-hiding in what was, at the time, an alligator and mosquito infested marsh. But, thanks to the PGA TOUR, the now legendary TPC Sawgrass venue in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, home to THE PLAYERS Stadium Course, has become a golfers’ paradise known as the home of THE PLAYERS and the famed 17th hole - one of the most famous and photographed golf holes in the world.

In the lakes and ponds throughout the golf course, alligators still lurk about and are often spotted by the television cameras during THE PLAYERS. One favourite habitat is the large lake separating the 9th and the 18th hole, a 462-yard par 4, dogleg left, skirted by thick rough on the right and by a long pond on the left that stretches all the way to the green. Carefully guarded by mounds and hollows, the 72nd hole of THE PLAYERS is often the make-or-break point with players, depending on the state of their nerves or their leaderboard position. Some show a Champion’s confidence on this hole. However, before the 18th comes into play, would-be Champions must first survive the 16th and 17th holes – the beginning acts in this three-hole closing saga.

The par 5 16th hole measures 523 yards and to place the ideal tee-shot here, a fairway wood might be the best choice. Those going for the green in two face a long approach shot to an elliptical green, bordered on the right by a pond. As the pin positioning on the final day is most often in the distance on the right, it's not hard to imagine the crowd piling up to see participants attempt to conquer its wiles by clipping the corner of the pond in hopes of landing close to the pin – usually a mandatory shot if one wants to win THE PLAYERS.

After braving 16, the participants then make the short walk to the par 3 17th tee, which is a 137-yard shot in name only. This hole looms all day on the players’ minds and can often determine the outcome of the Championship. As Pete Dye rightly says, "When you make the best player in the world stop and think, you can beat him." It is said by some that THE PLAYERS comes down to three shots: the second on 16, the tee shot at 17 and the tee shot at 18.