Ryan Fox makes an ace at iconic island green hole at TPC Sawgrass
In his first appearance at the PLAYERS Championship, Ryan Fox has carded consecutive eagles including a hole-in-one at the iconic island green hole.
Ryan Fox stiffed his 180-yard approach shot to the par-5 16th hole at TPC Sawgrass, resulting in an a tap-in eagle. So the 37-year-old New Zealander, in his first PLAYERS Championship appearance was feeling pretty good as he lined up his tee shot at the iconic, island green, par-3 17th hole.
And the good vibes continued. Fox hit a 124-yard gap wedge past the flagstick and saw it spin back into the hole.
The PGA Tour reported that it meant Fox became the first player go eagle-eagle on the 16th and 17th holes since records began in the early 80s:
Fox claimed a piece of history, all his own, by becoming the first to go eagle-eagle on holes 16 and 17 in THE PLAYERS since records have been kept (1983-present). Moments earlier he had hit his 180-yard second shot to 2 feet, 4 inches from the pin at the par-5 16th.
In going eagle-eagle, Fox went from 1 over to 3 under in a span of about 20 minutes.
“I mean, it’s such an iconic hole, and it’s an intimidating shot,” Fox said of his ace on 17. “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.”
