[The Players Highlights] An Byeonghun, Nightmare at the 17th Hole "4 Water Hazards Leading to an Octuple Bogey~"

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] ○…An Byeonghun (30, CJ Logistics·photo) collapsed with an "octuple bogey."

On the 17th hole (par 3) of the first day of The Players Championship (total prize money $15 million), held at Sawgrass TPC (par 72, 7,189 yards) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA, on the 12th (Korean time), he suffered the misfortune of hitting the water four times and finished the hole in 11 strokes. It was an octuple bogey, losing 8 strokes. The hole is only 137 yards long, so it is possible to attack with a pitching wedge, but the island green is the problem. It is a hole with tremendous psychological pressure.

If the shot is even slightly off, the ball flies into the water and deals a fatal blow. That is why it is notorious as the "death hole." That day, it was set at 143 yards. After An Byeonghun's tee shot landed in the water, he sent the ball into the water three more times from the drop zone. Some balls bounced several times on the green before falling into the water, and some balls seemed to settle but slipped down into the water. Eventually, he got on the green in 9 strokes and finished the 17th hole with two putts, struggling.

According to the US Golf Channel, An Byeonghun's 11 strokes are the second-highest number of strokes ever recorded on this hole. He narrowly avoided the dishonor of the highest number of strokes by one stroke from Bob Tway (USA) who scored 12 strokes in 2005. An Byeonghun posted on social media, "Everyone has bad days in life, and you have to learn from them," adding, "Still, the tee shot on the 17th hole was terrible." On the first day, he recorded 2 birdies, 3 bogeys, 1 double bogey, and 1 octuple bogey, losing 11 strokes. He is tied for 150th place.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.