THE PLAYERS Championship: 5 bold predictions

2nd Bold Prediction: With fewer than 30 balls in the water at the 17th, 2017 will be a low year in the history of Pete Dye’s devilish Island Green.

The 17th hole Island Green at TPC Sawgrass has quite a reputation but in reality it’s not quite the water trap that it appears. After all, we’re talking about a 137 yard tee shot that’s pretty much all carry, something most of us can pull off without breaking a sweat.

And we’re talking about some of the best golfers in the world, guys who’ve practiced this shot thousands of time, who can execute it with their eyes closed, maybe with a sand wedge. But that water surround the 17th green at TPC Sawgrass has claimed something just short of 600 balls by PLAYERS competitors since 2003.

While most guys manage to navigate the 17th hole unscathed, Aaron Baddeley has gone in the water on 13 different occasions and there’s that astonishing quadruple-bogey on Brooks Koepka’s card at the 2015 PLAYERS.

The 17th hole raises some questions about the interplay between the technical and mental games.

I’m not looking for the 2007 record of 93 balls in the water on the 17th to be broken this year. To the contrary. With good weather and a very strong field in terms of experience, this will be a low year. The 17th hole isn’t going to figure heavily in the final outcome.