Triumph or terror: Looking at the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass

At just 137 yards in length, the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass requires no more than a wedge or 9-iron for players on the PGA Tour to find the green.

Given that those are among the most accurate clubs in the bag, the hole really shouldn't present much trouble for the best golfers in the world, but the annual playing of The Players Championship offers evidence to the contrary.

Year in and year out, the 17th hole offers as much drama as any other on the entire PGA Tour calendar, with the tournament often coming down to the penultimate hole on the challenging course.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Fast facts

• The original plan for the hole was to only be partially surrounded by a lake, but a crater that was created during construction around the green led Pete Dye's wife, Alice, to suggest the surrounding body of water.
• The water depth is only four feet but claims around 120,000 balls each year.
• 69 balls found the water on No. 17 during last year's event.
• The highest score ever recorded was Bob Tway's 12 during the 2005 Players Championship.
• There have been eight aces made on No. 17 with Sergio Garcia's 2017 hole-in-one the last to occur.

3 memorable moments

Tiger Woods, 2001

Tiger Woods, who has won the event twice and is back in the field for the first time since 2015, has certainly enhanced the dramatic reputation of the 17th hole throughout his career. His, "better than most," triple-breaking 60-foot putt from the 2001 event is arguably the best in his storied career and is certainly the most memorable shot played at the hole in recent memory.

Sergio Garcia, 2013

Sergio Garcia has provided a number of moments to the tournament's storied history, including a win in 2008. The two that stand out the most, however, are his hole-in-one on the 17th last year and his meltdown on the same hole in 2013 to see him lose the event to Woods. The Spaniard found the water on back-to-back shots on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7.

Rickie Fowler, 2015

Rickie Fowler's electric closing stretch in 2015 saw the talented American shoot 6-under over his last six holes to force a playoff. He made sure the trophy would be his with a brilliant tee shot to claim the biggest win of his career.