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How I would play #17 at The Players Championship

Published

2 months ago

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The Stage

TPC Sawgrass takes center stage for the 53rd playing of The Players Championship. Contestants fine-tune their equipment and game plan for the week for an adrenaline-charged week of competition. This tournament boasts one of the most lucrative purses in the game, a wealth of key exemptions into more events, and the right to The Players Championship trophy. Course conditions are impeccable, and the weather is shaping up great in Ponte Vedra.

Seeing all of this come together with the excitement of the week gets the wheels turning. What would I do on the course if I got to play in the tournament? How would I prepare one of the most famous holes in golf, the par-3 17th hole? 

The Plan 

Looking at this course in a tournament setting in the StrackaLine book, you know this course is about proper course management. You can hit driver, just not everywhere; you can fire at the flag, just not every time. I haven’t played TPC Sawgrass yet, but by the looks of the yardage book and television, I can see there are places to make your move and other spots on the course to play with caution. A shot to the middle of the green and leaving a routine two-putt for par is good play. TPC Sawgrass has a reputation to uphold. The Pete Dye design is visually intimidating but packs a punch for a penalty shot as well.

The History

The course is historically one of the challenging courses on the PGA Tour. Last year, The Players Championship ranked 13th most difficult out of the 49 different venues in the 2025 season. The first year TPC Sawgrass hosted The Players Championship was in 1982 where Jerry Pate took home the title at 8 under par. Since 2016, winning scores have ranged from ten to twenty under par. 

With the scoring history of this event and coming into a short par 3 with trouble looming everywhere, what are my foundational principles for my game plan? It starts at the beginning of the round, for this scenario, let’s say it is firm and fast conditions for the course. The mindset and game plan is to play to a large part of the greens and take the big number out of play. Easy to say, but in the course of a round of a championship layout, a shot to the middle of the green can actually be troublesome with the potential slopes in the green. That’s what we see here with the 17th green at Sawgrass.

The Strategy 

First things first, walking off the green of the par five 16th hole, hopefully with a birdie, and examining the scene of 17. The stadium-like setting, the fans, adrenaline, and awareness would be elevated. The backbone of the game plan still the main focus. Repeating in your mind your swing thoughts for the round. I would discuss with my caddie the target. Looking at a logo or something on the grandstands that would not be in line with the flag. Given this situation, I’m looking for a “safe” target on the putting surface. With that in mind, I have in mind my tendency when I slightly miss a tee shot. Let’s say if I have a tendency to hit a cut shot, I would know my stock shot is safe, and if the ball overcuts or a gust of wind hits the shot, I’m not missing my target by very much.

Club selection depends on the wind and the firmness of the greens. The club choice will range from gap wedge to 9-iron traditionally. On the scorecard, the 17th measures 141 yards. It varies each day as day one was 146 yards, day two 128 yards, day three 147 yards, and the final day at 130 yards. Last year at the tournament, we saw swirling winds of up to 20 miles an hour, making the 17th more devilish than usual. Especially in the third round, where the hole yielded 5 birdies, 44 pars, 15 bogeys, and 8 doubles. 

The final day playing approximately 130 yards on Sunday is one for me that is not an exact full swing of a wedge. Given the right scenario, it could be, but layer this with swirling winds, the final round, and water looming, there has to be a distinct game-time decision. With adrenaline, do I take more club and hit one lower, potentially running the risk of the ball skipping on the first bounce? Or do I take the wedge that I can hit higher, banking on covering the target, which is the left edge of the bunker? In a situation where the adrenaline is up and keeping the rhythm with my swing, taking a more full shot with loft, ensuring covering the bunker is ideal for this scenario. Erring on the side of a full swing is a good way to eliminate a pull or deceleration of the downswing when, subconsciously, you know you have too much club when there is water behind the green.

The Execution

In this case, we are going for the final round pin. I’m looking at the middle of the green, just at the left edge of the sand trap, or even just left of that, with a shot just falling to the right in mind. If I happen to hit a little draw, it is also starting on target and will be in the middle of the green. If the ball falls to the right with a little cut, it can take the slope and be released towards the hole. If the ball stays up on the left side of the green, I put the ball down the slope and coax it for a safe two-putt. With this shot at this point of the round, par is a great score, and making a birdie is gaining one. Especially with the difficult 18th hole to follow, a great tee shot is premium. 

Banking on experience with the process to hit each shot as its own entity and focus on the now, that’s all I can control. But such a setting and a championship on the line, it is all tested to max capacity with a chance to etch your name in the Tour’s history. It’s going to be thrilling to see what unfolds this Sunday at The Players Championship.

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. mg

    Mar 12, 2026 at 6:42 am

    ugliest par 3 in the world. what a joke.

    Reply Report comment

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

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May 12, 2026

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Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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