Image credit: ClutchPoints

PGA Tour veteran hurls club into water in wild meltdown at Players Championship

Originally posted on ClutchPoints | By Peter Sampson | Last updated 3/14/24

Adam Hadwin had fought hard to get his opening round back to level par on Thursday at The Players Championship, with birdies on three of his first seven holes on the back nine.

But then TPC Sawgrass fought back.

First, a tee ball into the water and double bogey by Hadwin at the par-3 17.

Second, a close call off the tee at No. 18 that influenced another water ball from Hadwin, whose chippy iron shot from 167 yards landed hard and bounded through the green and into the lake.

The latter mistake at the Players Championship infuriated the usually calm Hadwin, who took his club and swung it like a baseball bat, releasing midway through the swing and launching the club into the lake, via Golf Channel:

Adam Hadwin discards his club in the lake after finding water on 18.

: Golf Channel & @peacock | #THEPLAYERS pic.twitter.com/biJ4JMvUaP

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 14, 2024

Not everyone had as bad a day at the Players Championship as Hadwin.

Ryan Fox bogeyed 14 and 15 and lost momentum heading into the next three holes of his opening round. What followed for Fox was nothing short of amazing.

Fox recorded an eagle on the par-5 16th then managed to bury his tee shot on 17 for a hole-in-one, an incredible two-hole feat that you just don’t see every day. The back-to-back eagles are the first in Players Championship history. The hole-in-one on 17 marks the third consecutive year TPC Sawgrass saw such a shot at the Players Championship. It’s also the eighth hole-in-one since 2016.

The Players Championship is a big tournament for many golfers and a big deal to golf fans. It’s often described as the fifth major on the PGA Tour calendar and it certainly attracts that kind of attention.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: