Golf-Seventeen at Sawgrass not always sweet for the players

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, May 9 (Reuters) Tiger Woods and Adam Scott describe it as gimmicky. Phil Mickelson believes it is the midway point in golf's most exciting finish.

US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy says it is a cool, fun hole but former British Open winner Mark Calcavecchia feels it has the same effect as a nervous wait for a nasty dental appointment.

It is the infamous par-three 17th at the TPC at Sawgrass, the signature hole on the Stadium Course which will host the Players Championship this week for the 26th time.

Arguably more photographed than any other hole in golf, the 137-yard 17th strikes fear into the heart of every competitor at the tournament regarded by the players as the unofficial fifth major.

Although the smallest hole on the par-72 Stadium layout, it unquestionably boasts the biggest reputation with its tantalising island green that narrows to the right side.

Shot selection is paramount, especially in the wind, and the tournament has often been decided there, a bone of contention for world number one Woods.

''It's a wonderful hole but I don't agree with it being the 17th or 71st hole of a championship because I just think that it is a little gimmicky in that sense,'' he told reporters yesterday.

''I think it's a great eighth hole or another part of the golf course. Today, with the wind blowing as hard as it is, it would have been a hell of a test in the championship.

''It's a challenge and you've got to hit a proper shot,'' added Woods, champion at Sawgrass in 2001. ''There's no getting around it, you have to hit the proper shot to the proper distance.'' Australian Scott, who triumphed here in 2004, agreed the hole was gimmicky but also fair.

''It's part of this event and it's one of the reasons why this event has become what it is,'' he said.

''Playing it is not that much fun but to watch it is probably a lot of fun,'' he added with a smile. ''It's a gimmick to have an island green like that but it serves a purpose here, I think. I think it's still pretty fair. I mean, it's a big green.'' Three-times major winner Mickelson needed six shots off the tee before reaching the 17th green in practice yesterday but believes the hole is perfect as it is.

''I think it adds for the most exciting finish in golf, combined with 16 and 18, and I wouldn't recommend any changes,'' he said.

''Seventeen provides a great chance for a birdie, but also a double bogey or worse. This is one of the few holes that I can think of that has no bail-out, no margin of error, no area for recovery.

''It's an all-or-nothing type shot. Very few holes are like that.

It is one of the most difficult because there's not a cap on how high you can go.'' Australian Ogilvy, who won his first major title in last year's US Open at Winged Foot, has one word to describe the hole.

''Fun,'' he said, before adding: ''It's cool. I'm glad it's here.

You wouldn't design an island hole on every course in the world but it seems to work here.

''It's tricky when it's windy and it's pretty simple when it's not windy. The penalty for missing the green is so immense. You're almost guaranteed a double. There's something about water that does it to people.'' For the players, surviving 17 is like walking a circus tightrope without a net. The slightest of miscalculations, or perhaps even a sudden switch in the breeze, can result in a big number and a ruined scorecard.

''It's like having a three o'clock appointment for a root canal,'' 1989 British Open champion Calcavecchia said.

''You're thinking about it all morning and you feel (bad) all day. You kind of know, sooner or later, you've got to get to it.'' However this week's tournament plays out after tomorrow's opening round, the par-three 17th is likely to feature prominently -- for good and for bad.

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