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Players Championship 2017: Zac Blair just had his own "Tin Cup" moment on No. 17
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Coming off a birdie on No. 16, Zac Blair seemed headed toward sticking around for the weekend at the Players. Moments later, he'd become the latest victim of TPC Sawgrass' 17th hole -- creating a scene that appeared plucked straight out of Tin Cup.
Blair found the water short on his first shot. Eschewing the drop area, he re-teed and bounced his second attempt (his third shot) into the water behind the green. And then he did it again.
Blair's fourth attempt (his seventh shot) from the tee -- playing 147 yards on Friday -- found the back of the green. OK, so if he were really replicating Tin Cup's meltdown he would have done it on a par 5 and he would have holed one from deep (I've never quite understood how Kevin Costner backed up a 3-wood like that). In any event, Blair two-putted for a nine, essentially ending his week despite having 10 holes to play.
But Blair's misery had company. Playing partners Blayne Barber and Tyrone Van Aswegan also rinsed their tee shots giving the group a total of FIVE balls in the water on the famed par 3. Watch them all here:
Unlike Blair, those two hit from the drop area and they salvaged a combined score equal to Blair's. But what's the fun in that? Blair's refusal to hit the easier shot wound up giving him the highest score of the week on the hole (Bob Tway still holds the record for highest score on the hole with a 12 in 2005), but like Roy McAvoy, he also walked away with a lot more fans.