The Players Championship 2024 is well and truly underway. The first round at the TPC Sawgrass saw several unique moments from top stars like Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele . However, the top moment of the day went to Ryan Fox who aced the 17th hole and scripted history.
Ryan Fox, the New Zealand international ended up doing something that was never done before at this event and no it is not the hole in one. Over the years, the 17th hole has recorded 14 holes in ones. However no golfer had landed back-to-back eagles on the 16th and 17th hole in the same round.
A golfer is said to have landed an eagle when they finish the hole two strokes behind the par. The 37-year-old had carded an eagle on the par-5 16th hole when he walked over to this hole.
Fox would sent his ball flying across the “Island Green“. His ball lined up perfectly and rolled down while dropping in the hole, leading to huge cheers from the fans behind him.
To make things sweet for him, this feat came after he carded two consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th hole. This saw him go from being equal to 1-over and then fall 3-under for the event within the space of four holes.
Ryan Fox admits getting lucky on the 17th hole for ace
Any time there is a hole-in-one, the golf world goes crazy. Last year, The Players Championship event saw a total of three aces. The one thing common in hole-in-one ones is luck.
Sometimes the ball takes an awkward bounce and rolls by the side. On other occasions the ball either hit the flag of the hole and divert away. Ryan Fox has admitted that luck played a huge part in his ace but he was not complaining about it.
Speaking after the event in the press conference, Fox said as per NBC Sports:
It’s such an iconic hole (No. 17) and it’s an intimidating shot… 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. 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.
Ryan Fox on his hole-in-one.
Fox would end the round by hitting another bogey at the 18th hole and carding one birdie at the 4th hole and eight pars on the first nine holes to put a score of 3-under 69. He is currently tied for 22nd in the event and would be hoping for a similar performance on Friday.
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