Ryan Fox Accomplishes a Historic First at TPC Sawgrass and ‘Island-Green’ Hole

In a newsworthy opening round of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, New Zealander Ryan Fox knocked in the 14^th ace in the history of the “island-green” 17^th hole at TPC Sawgrass.

But what Fox accomplished on the par-5 16^th has placed him in the history books.

After an eagle-3 on 16, Fox is the only golfer in the 40-plus-year history of these records being kept to finish the 16^th and 17^th holes at Sawgrass in four shots.

Ryan Fox made eagle on 16 and then an ace on 17 at The Players to shoot 69 today. Imagine playing that 2 hole stretch in just 4 shots. Awesome. And his fellow Kiwi made the call 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/CWaj78Ny0q

— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) March 14, 2024

Fox, who shot a 68 in the first round, didn’t expect the heroics after back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15. This is the second year that the Kiwi has played in The Players, so he knew what to expect when walking up to the 17^th after the eagle.

Fox said:

“It’s such an iconic hole [No. 17] and it’s an intimidating shot. I don’t care who you are. You get up there, most of the crowd probably either wants you to make a 1 or hit it in the water, so I’m glad to be on the right side of it, in that respect.”

He challenged the hole with a gap wedge, and the backspin was perfect.

“You know you’ve got a little bit of a backstop there and I was pretty chuffed to look up and see it going down the flag. Obviously, a little bit of luck for it to come down the slope and go back in, but I’m certainly not complaining.”

On Friday, another milestone was reached on one of golf’s most famous holes: The Florida water around the postage-stamp green collected its 1,000th victim.

Beau Hossler’s tee shot found the water on No. 17.

It was the 1000th water ball at the Island Green @THEPLAYERS on record. pic.twitter.com/l1JDcUGY1r

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2024

While Fox’s was the 14^th hole-in-one on No. 17 since Brad Fabel’s first one in 1986, there have now been five aces on the hole in the past three years. Shane Lowry knocked one home in 2022, and last year, Aaron Rai, Hayden Buckley, and Alex Smalley all carded a 1 on the hole.

Cover Image via Fox News