How many holes-in-one have there been at The Players? Every golfer who’s made an ace at TPC Sawgrass
Last updated:
Who has made every hole-in-one in The Players at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
Ryan Fox became the latest player to make an ace at The Players Championship when he holed his tee shot at the famous par-3 17th during the opening round of the 2024 tournament. It came 28 years after Brad Fabel secured the first ace on Sawgrass’ famous hole at the tournament in 1986.
But New Zealander Fox’s ace made history as he became the first player to eagle both the par-5 16th and par-3 17th in the same round at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
We’ll need two more aces on the penultimate hole if the 50th Players is to match the 17th’s record year in 2023 when Hayden Buckley, Aaron Rai, and Alex Smalley all achieved the magic moment.
While the famous island green grabs the headlines and is the hole where every golfer wants to achieve a hole-in-one, it doesn’t count for any more than an ace on any of the other par 3s on the Stadium Course. There are four short holes – 3rd, 8th, 13th, and 17th – and they’ve all had their fair share of ‘1s’ marked on the card down the years.
Making an ace in The Players doesn’t earn you any money, but it does help you jump up the leaderboard at an event with the biggest purse on the PGA Tour.
Let’s run through the 38 players who’ve achieved the dream at TPC Sawgrass.
Who has had a Players Championship hole-in-one?
3rd hole (177 yards)
– Jim Gallagher (1986)
– Russ Cochran (1994)
– Chris DiMarco (2001)
– Seamus Power (2019)
8th hole (237 yards)
– Gary Hallberg (1994)
– Mark Brooks (1997)
– Bob Friend (1999)
– Naomichi Ozaki (2000)
– Ted Tryba (2000)
– Michael Thompson (2013)
– Brendon Todd (2021)
– Viktor Hovland (2022)
13th hole (181 yards)
– Chip Beck (1992)
– Phil Mickelson (1995)
– Jay Don Blake (1996)
– Craig Stadler – (2002)
– Jose Maria Olazabal (2004)
– Justin Leonard (2006)
– Jesper Parnevik (2006)
– Henrik Stenson (2006)
– Fred Couples (2006)
– Robert Garrigus (2008)
– Chris Stroud (2013)
– Sungjae Im (2019)
Who has made a hole-in-one on the 17th (137 yards) at Sawgrass?
– Brad Fabel (1986)
– Brian Claar (1991)
– Fred Couples (1997)
– Joey Sindelar (1999)
– Paul Azinger (2000)
– Miguel Angel Jimenez (2002)
– Willy Wilcox (2016)
– Sergio Garcia (2017)
– Ryan Moore (2019)
– Shane Lowry (2022)
– Hayden Buckley (2023)
– Aaron Rai (2023)
– Alex Smalley (2023)
– Ryan Fox (2024)
And the ace that wasn’t…
In 1999 Fred Couples holed out from the tee on the 17th to become the first man in The Players to do so on two separate occasions. But, unfortunately for the former World No.1 and Major champion, he couldn’t mark a ‘1’ on his card because it was his second ball. The smooth-swinging American had found the water with his first attempt and decided to hit again from the tee. An impressive par none-the-less and a great story for the grandkids.
SUBSCRIBE TO TODAY’S GOLFER: Print and Digital access, discounts and rewards!
About the Author
Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.
He’s passionate about the equipment used by professional golfers and is also a font of knowledge regarding golf balls, golf trolleys, and golf bags, testing thousands down the years.
You can email Rob or get in touch with him on X.
-
Ryan Fox celebrates his historic hole-in-one on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass in the 2024 Players Championship.
