THE PLAYERS Championship: 5 bold predictions
3rd Bold Prediction: Jon Rahm will take the bait and eagle the 12th at some point during THE PLAYERS.
The par-4 12th at TPC Sawgrass has historically been a walk in the park. It’s a short little thing – a little over 350 yards – with a green protected by bunkers, but an easy par for the pros. That’s changed now.
With recent renovations the 12th has been converted into a drivable par-4. Tee shots will range from a short 275 yards to an easy 320, depending on tee and pin placement for each round. But nothing should be that easy, so there’s a new fairway bunker on the right and an alluring water hazard running down the left side of the fairway. Oh my!
Defending champion Jason Day summed up the risk-reward equation the field will face when they tee it up on the 12th:
"The biggest thing is that left-hand side. You’ve got to be pretty accurate. If you lay back but you’re too far up here [he pointed to the right side of the fairway], then you’ve got a [wedge] over the mounds and you can possibly go into the water. A lot of thinking – which is what they probably wanted, especially when you’re standing on the tee on Sunday."
If they make it, going for the green will set up some putts for eagle. If they miss it, there’s trouble lurking just about everywhere. It’s going to be interesting to see who will take the bait and who will play it safe.