Fox 17th Hole 'Hole-in-One'... McIlroy Tied for Lead

The Players Championship 1R 14th All-Time Record
Eagle on 16th Hole Also First Back-to-Back Eagles in Tournament History
Schauffele 6th, An Byeonghun 22nd, Kim Siwoo 37th

Ryan Fox (New Zealand) made a hole-in-one on the 'Death Hole.'

Ryan Fox

On the 14th (local time), at the TPC Sawgrass (par 72, 7,275 yards) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA, during the first round of the PGA Tour's "fifth major," The Players Championship (total prize money $25 million), Fox recorded a hole-in-one on the 17th hole (par 3, 124 yards). This was the 14th hole-in-one ever recorded on the 17th hole.

Fox's tee shot flew over the pond, landed behind the green, then spun backward and rolled into the hole. He also made an eagle on the previous 16th hole (par 5), becoming the first player since 1983 to record back-to-back eagles in this tournament. Fox finished the first round with two eagles, two birdies, and three bogeys, shooting 3-under-par 69, tied for 22nd place.

The 17th hole at The Players Championship is short in length. Players can easily reach the green with a pitching wedge, but the island green is notorious for its constantly changing wind direction and strength. Each year, more than 50 balls are lost in the water, earning it the nickname "Death Hole." Last year, 58 golf balls were lost over four days. To date, 926 balls have been lost. Bob Tway (USA) holds the record for the worst disaster, shooting a staggering 12 strokes over par 9 on the third day in 2005.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) surged with a 7-under-par 65 to take the top spot on the leaderboard. Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark (both USA) share the lead, while Nick Taylor (Canada) and Matt Fitzpatrick (England) are tied for 4th place (6-under-par 66), chasing closely. Defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) started solidly, tied for 6th place at 5-under-par 67, two strokes behind the leader.

Byung-Hun An recorded five birdies and two bogeys, finishing tied for 22nd, the best among Korean players. 2017 champion Siwoo Kim and Sungjae Im are tied for 37th place (2-under-par 70). Seonghyeon Kim is tied for 109th (2-over-par 74), and Kyung-Hoon Lee is tied for 126th (3-over-par 75), struggling. Juhyung Kim withdrew after eight holes due to a high fever. Due to sunset, nine players were unable to complete their rounds.

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