Golf star hits THREE drives into the water in a row in all-time meltdown on brutal hole

The Island Green, the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass in Florida, home to this week’s Players Championship, is one of the most iconic holes in golf.

But even if you avoid the water and get through that test unscathed – no mean feat to be sure – the next hole is arguably even tougher. The final hole of the Stadium Course is a 469-yard par four, doglegging around the lake.

An aggressive line off the tee risks finding the water on the left. Too far right, however, and there’s plenty of trees and rough to contend with.

In fact, the 18th was the second toughest hole on the PGA Tour in 2021/22 based on average-to-par score.

Aussie Lucas Herbert fell victim to its brutality in a tough opening round, hitting the water with his first tee shot, before finding the rough on the right in his second attempt before firing his next into a tree branch. He finished with a three-over seven – part of a horror 10-over 82 that left him 144th and dead last after the first day.

But even his seven didn’t come close to the day’s worst effort on the 18th hole.

American Aaron Wise, ranked 46th in the world and with almost $12m USD in career earnings at just 26 years old, can consider himself a more than handy golfer.

But he hit THREE tee shots straight into the water on the 18th, before overcompensating by hitting his fourth attempt into the rough and the trees.

He finished with a six over par 10, the second-worst score in the history of the tricky hole. He closed his round with an eight-over 80, one of three players on that mark.

Andre Stolz in 2005 somehow managed to card a 11 in the second round, while Anirban Lahiri was the other man to score a 10 (second round, 2017).