Sunday At The Players

Henrik Stenson overcame heat, humidity and greens yellower than an R&A member’s teeth to capture the 2009 Players Championship. Crispy, firm and “icy quick” in the words of runner-up Ian Poulter, the relentless Pete Dye design’s mini-verde bermuda surfaces may have looked dreadful in HD but played better than the PGA Tour ever could have dreamed since committing to a hoped-for fast and firm warm season base three years ago.

“Pretty incredible,” said Tiger Woods of Stenson’s bogey-free 66 that included 13 of 14 fairways, all but one hit with his trusty three wood. A birdie at the ninth put Stenson ahead and he soon pulled away in Mine That Bird fashion with birdies at 11, 13, 15 and 16.  Yet even with a four-shot lead the island green 17th loomed like the giant barrier that so many told us strips the course of any world class integrity. However it's late-in-the-round placement is the very thing that makes The Players so intriguing. Champion Stenson approaches the 18th green en route to victory. (Click to enlarge)

Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee was the most visible opponent, calling it gimmicky. The Florida Times-Union's Garry Smits inquired with the tour about Chamblee's record there during his playing career and found that he played the hole 26 times in nine starts in The Players, and averaged 3.46 with six water balls.

Lorne Rubenstein talked to former Dye protege Tom Doak about the moaning.

"As Mr. Dye once described it to me, it's a 130-yard hole with an 8,000-square-foot green -- a target a tour pro would hit 98 percent of the time, if he wasn't scared of it."

Tiger Woods struggled Sunday, posting a 73 that included a bogey from the fairway bunker on No. 7 (click to enlarge)It's actually just a shade over 4,000 square feet and by no means is an inviting target. The contours appear to have grown too severe for modern green speeds, yet the hole played to a reasonable 3.025 average, yielding 80 birdies compared to 43 bogies, 13 doubles and 6 triples. 83% of shots hit the green in regulation this week.

The folks it seems to be harassing most are the $375 paying customers. As Robert Lohrer noted on his blog, the number of balls retrieved annually and floated this week was 155,000. A Golf Journal (R.I.P) story from 1998 reported that divers dredge up 120,000 balls, "so, if we take these numbers at face value, the only conclusion -- as the number of rounds is the same in both reports -- is that, collectively, as golfers, we're getting worse."

Asked after the round about the 17th tee conversation, Stenson said he was trying for a "r pitching wedge at the middle tower" by aiming just left of the bunker in hopes of getting it on top.The fifth hole scene on Sunday (click on image to enlarge)

He didn't quite pull that off, finishing on the front tier where he two-putted from in stoic fashion.

Having survived that test, he striped his tee shot and coasted to a victory that paid $1.7 million and garnered a whopping 0 FedEx Cup points thanks to his non-PGA Tour member status.

T3 finisher John Mallinger takes the walk toward the 17th green (click to enlarge)Still, the 17th was the crowd favorite, particularly among the coveted 3-12 demo. They were hounding players as they walked down the railroad tie raised ramp. Vets like Kenny Perry and Woody Austin complied but handing their balls to new fans for life, Kevin Na acted like they didn't exist and John Mallinger shined his pearly whites while dishing out high-fives.

Ben Curtis, who hit his tee shot in the water and posted a double bogey 5, entered the fluorescent-lit tunnel on his way to the 18th tee when a young girl yelled out from above.

"Can I have a ball please?"

"I only have two left," Curtis grumbled back.

Her dad offered this consolation: "He still has to play number 18 and there's lots of water."

Okay, so maybe the 17th isn't the only terrifying hole at the other-worldly TPC Sawgrass.