www.globalgolfpost.com
MAY 14, 2012
So Close, But Yet So Far
The Road to the
Ryder Cup
Presented by:
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | At 9 a.m., the
first official ball of the week at No. 17 was in the
air and heading toward the infamous island green
at TPC Sawgrass, and it was on a great line – for
Sunday’s pin placement.
“Yeah, perfect,” said Greg Chalmers with a
hint of sarcasm. “I pulled it a bit.”
But Chalmers had multiple reasons to be
happy. First and foremost, his pitching wedge ap-
proach to the 17th, measuring 125 yards, found the
green. Second, the Australian earned his “guinea
pig” honors by making an eagle on the par- 5 16th
after sticking a 4-iron to six feet.
That happy feeling however, quickly faded when
Chalmers walked onto the green and took a look at
his long birdie putt – which measured 44 feet and
four inches – that needed to travel up a slope and
back down another to get to the hole, which was
located just four paces from the front of the green.
His first putt stopped on top of the slope, only
needing to travel a foot more to make it a perfect
lag. It took two more putts for Chalmers to get
down, and the lefty exited stage left with a
17TH HOLE WATER REPORT
CLICK HERE for a list of water balls
and the players who hit them at the
2012 Players Championship.
YEAR R1 R2 R3 R4 TOTAL
2012 18 12 4 6 40
2011 12 14 8 6 40
2010 7 8 5 9 29
2009 14 6 4 6 30
2008 20 18 10 16 64
2007 50 21 10 12 93
bogey. But even then, Chalmers wasn’t too upset.
“I’ve been very fortunate to keep it dry there
more often than not. And I think that is the ultimate goal,” said Chalmers. “If I can get it dry and
in the middle of the green, I’m happy.”
Even with a three-putt bogey?
“Either way,” he said, “you walk off with four and
it’s like, ‘Eh, okay’ you know, not a lot of major drama.”
For the past couple of years going first on No. 17
Thursday has been drama-free. Last year’s guinea
pig, Kevin Sutherland, hit it to 15 feet and made par.
The year before that, Alex Prugh calmly hit a 9-iron
to 10 feet and converted the birdie. At the 2008 Play-
ers, Ian Poulter was first on the tee and smoothed a
pitching wedge to 20 feet and he, too, made birdie.
“It’s not really a big deal being the first guy
through (there),” said Chalmers. “But it’s a make or
break kind of hole. I’m glad it’s not 50 yards longer.
I wouldn’t want to do it every week, but I think, for
this event, it’s unique and it gets people talking.”
One thing people were talking about were the
significant changes that were made to the island
green before this year’s Players Championship. The
front and back of the green was rebuilt, and the
slope in the front was decreased about two-and-a-
half percent to allow for more front pin locations.
Andy DeKeuster
September 25-30 | Medinah Country Club
Medinah, Ill., USA
Team USA
Team Qualification Process
Rank Name Points
1 Bubba Watson 4,798.395
2 Phil Mickelson 3,860.297
3 Matt Kuchar 3,576.930
4 Hunter Mahan 3,347.102
5 Keegan Bradley 3,158.327
6 Jason Dufner 2,874.372
7 Rickie Fowler 2,865.459
8 Steve Stricker 2,291.245
9 Tiger Woods 2,210.717
10 Bill Haas 2,172.618
11 Brandt Snedeker 2,145.857
12 Ben Curtis 2,125.605
Team Europe
Team Qualification Process
Rank Name Points
1 Rory McIlroy 2,584,843.51
2 Peter Hanson 1,633,004.93
3 Martin Kaymer 1,587,688.41
4 Justin Rose 1,483,613.23
5 Paul Lawrie 1,387,723.6
6 Gonzalo Fdez-Castaño 1,268,297.96
7 Sergio Garcia 1,219,822.68
8 Lee Westwood 1,203,446.04
9 Alvaro Quiros 1,155,967.13
10 FrancescoMolinari 1,075,357.77
11 Michael Hoey 1,035,043.28
12 Graeme McDowell 1,019,645.84
