THE PLAYERS: TPC Sawgrass 17th hole day 4 highlights

The 2017 PLAYERS Championship is in the books. Here’s a look at the final day happenings at TPC Sawgrass’ iconic 17th hole

THE PLAYERS Championship is over but the memories linger on! If not for the tournament itself, the 17th at TPC Sawgrass provided its usual fireworks this week. We saw almost double the amount of water balls as 2016, contrasted by Sergio García’s ace on Thursday.

Sunday contributed 12 of 69 total wet tee shots and, no, JB Holmes didn’t hit all 12. It sure seemed like it, though.

What’s fascinating is his 8 on the scorecard after two water balls equaled playing partner Kyle Stanley’s score on 17 for the week.

Stats like that are what prompt some to declare THE PLAYERS and its penultimate hole hokey, but as a one-off shot it provides some wackiness unknown to the Tour most weeks.

Here are some other notable moments from Sunday and the week as a whole:

How the Winner Played It

Si-Woo Kim is just 21 years old but he had the resolve of a steely vet Sunday. Working on a three-under-par round and a two-stroke lead, Kim hit a safe shot to 47 feet for his eighth of nine pars on the back nine.

The unflappable South Korean played the 17th hole in even par this week with a birdie, bogey and no errant tee shots.

It’s as simple as that, right? Play the par-3s in even par and make your moves elsewhere. Piece of cake.

Friendly Bounce

Yuta Ikeda knows how to spin his golf ball, we learned that much Sunday. His tee shot bounced off the back of the railroad ties, but still had enough sauce to retreat safely onto the green.

That stroke of luck preceded a rare birdie on the par-4 18th to fatten Ikeda’s wallet on his way out the door in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Dropping a Bomb

The 17th was boom or bust for Blayne Barber, who did well to finish tied for 16th in his PLAYERS debut. To be specific, it was bust then boom.

Barber made a three-putt bogey in round one and found water en route to a double in round two. Everyone who plays the 17th hole enough will take their lumps there at some point.

It’s how you respond to those lumps, and Barber did so in spades. On Saturday, he came 16 inches away from an ace.

On Sunday he had just a little more than 16 inches for another birdie. It was 532 inches to be exact, which he traversed masterfully to salvage a +1 week at the 17th.

The Week in Review

As mentioned before, 69 balls found the water this week compared to just 38 in 2016.

The 17th played as the fourth-toughest on the course and second among par-3s at +.231 over par, only behind No. 8 (+.314).

Seventy-one golfers took on the 17th on Sunday. Here’s what it would look like if they all hit at once (wouldn’t that be something?):

While the back nine on Sunday lacked the thrills we’re used to seeing at THE PLAYERS, the 17th provided great entertainment once again.

Next: Who is Si-Woo Kim? THE PLAYERS Champion, That's Who

Did you have a wager on the 17th? ProGolfNow’s Elizabeth Bethel missed her prediction by a country mile!