WATCH: Hayden Buckley successfully lands a hole-in-one on the famous 17th par-3 hole at the 2023 Players Championship
Not even a quarter of the way into the first round of the 2023 Players Championship, and one player hit a single hole on the famous par-3 hole on the 17th. Hayden Buckley passed the test. challenge at TPC Sawgrass early Thursday.
Making good use of the slope behind the forward pinning position on the green island, Buckley’s 125-yard tee shot back from the top of the ridge to the bottom of the cup. His ace was the 40th in the event’s history and only the 11th to come on the famous island hole.
Buckley joins Shane Lowry, Ryan Moore, Sergio Garcia and Willy Wilcox as the golfers who have hit the holes in the last seven years. For Buckley, it marks the second trump card of his PGA Tour career and the second in the past three years after losing one in the first round of the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open.
From a broader perspective, his trump card put him in a competitive position in the early stages of the PGA Tour’s flagship event. Reaching 17th with a 1-under for the day, Buckley hit 3 under with his ace and took the first leg with a 4-under lead after scoring a birdie on the 18th (he started at position after nine).
With a front pin on the 17th hole, don’t be surprised if others join Buckley for an ace on Thursday. The player planted the flag early and often, so another hole could be in the card.
