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Players Championship fourth-round highlights from the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, which carried over to the tournament's ninth Monday finish in history, where Rory McIlroy beat J.J. Spaun in the three aggregate holes at 1-over.
Keegan Bradley made the 40th hole-in-one in Players Championship history and the only one of the week at the Stadium Course when he used an 8-iron against a stiff wind to jar his tee shot at the 153-yard, par-3 13th hole. It was the 13th ace at No. 13 but only the second in the final round.
No. 18, par-472 yards
The closing hole played an average of 4.306 in the final round and 4.258 overall, second in difficulty in both respects to the par-4 14th. Both playoff participants could have settled it on Sunday had they made birdie putts but McIlroy, who birdied the 18th the first three days, did well to two-putt for par from 73 feet and J.J. Spaun left a 30-foot attempt in the heart of the cup.
The 18th was tied for first in hardest green to hit, with the field getting home in two shots only 45 percent of the time. It was also the third-hardest hole to scramble, with only 51 percent of the players getting up-and-down for par after missing the green.
13: Combined PGA Tour titles from eight of the top-nine players on the final Players Championship leaderboard, aside from McIlroy. He has more than double that number.
"It's amazing ... super happy, super proud to win this event for a second time. I go back to 2009 when I first got out on this golf course and it was love at first sight. To win for a second time was awesome."
— Rory McIlroy
The par-3 17th hole played to an average of 3.25 shots in the final round, making it the third-most difficult on the course. There were only six birdies but one was a big help to Bud Cauley, who went from a tie for eighth to a tie for sixth. The birdie lifted him from a potential two-way tie with Robert MacIntyre for eighth to a three-way tie for sixth, so it was a $77,500 putt.
Cauley birdied No. 17 three times during the week.
For the week, the hole averaged 3.111, sixth in difficult on the course and the second-toughest par-3, behind No. 8 (3.216, third hardest).
Nine balls were hit into the water during the final round in regulation, the most of any hole on the course. There are 39 water balls for the week, the same number as last year, tying for the fewest in one tournament since 36 balls found the water in 2016.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Players final-round highlights: Keegan Bradley makes tournament's first ace
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Shot of the day
Keegan Bradley made the 40th hole-in-one in Players Championship history and the only one of the week at the Stadium Course when he used an 8-iron against a stiff wind to jar his tee shot at the 153-yard, par-3 13th hole. It was the 13th ace at No. 13 but only the second in the final round.
Hole of the day
No. 18, par-472 yards
The closing hole played an average of 4.306 in the final round and 4.258 overall, second in difficulty in both respects to the par-4 14th. Both playoff participants could have settled it on Sunday had they made birdie putts but McIlroy, who birdied the 18th the first three days, did well to two-putt for par from 73 feet and J.J. Spaun left a 30-foot attempt in the heart of the cup.
The 18th was tied for first in hardest green to hit, with the field getting home in two shots only 45 percent of the time. It was also the third-hardest hole to scramble, with only 51 percent of the players getting up-and-down for par after missing the green.
Stat of the day
13: Combined PGA Tour titles from eight of the top-nine players on the final Players Championship leaderboard, aside from McIlroy. He has more than double that number.
Quote of the day
"It's amazing ... super happy, super proud to win this event for a second time. I go back to 2009 when I first got out on this golf course and it was love at first sight. To win for a second time was awesome."
— Rory McIlroy
Island time: How No. 17 played
The par-3 17th hole played to an average of 3.25 shots in the final round, making it the third-most difficult on the course. There were only six birdies but one was a big help to Bud Cauley, who went from a tie for eighth to a tie for sixth. The birdie lifted him from a potential two-way tie with Robert MacIntyre for eighth to a three-way tie for sixth, so it was a $77,500 putt.
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Cauley birdied No. 17 three times during the week.
For the week, the hole averaged 3.111, sixth in difficult on the course and the second-toughest par-3, behind No. 8 (3.216, third hardest).
Nine balls were hit into the water during the final round in regulation, the most of any hole on the course. There are 39 water balls for the week, the same number as last year, tying for the fewest in one tournament since 36 balls found the water in 2016.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Players final-round highlights: Keegan Bradley makes tournament's first ace
Continue reading...
