Golf Showdown At The 17th At TPC Sawgrass: The Right Decision?

After playing to a tie at the end of 72 holes of golf during the 35th Players Championship, Sergio Garcia and Paul Goydos started their playoff on the “infamous” 17th island green hole. There apparently was a lot discussion earlier in the week about that hole and pleas to put the emphasis on the rest of the course by a lot within the “inner circle” of the PGA Tour. Was it the right decision to start the playoff on number 17?

A lot of golf fans do prefer the tradition of starting a playoff on the 18th or “finishing” hole. But in this case the PGA went back to 17 and the result was a dramatic golf victory for Sergio. Goydos, as many of you know, hit a golf shot that the wind brought back just enough to end up in the water almost guaranteeing Sergio a win if he just hits the green.
I, for one, was glad to see the PGA make the decision that they did. If you remember my post from a week or so back about the the difficulty of golf courses on the tour, you already understand my mindset. To me it was obvious to start on the 17th. This is a tournament that many want to have made into the 5th “Major”. And it’s a playoff for goodness sake.
Let’s put the pros in a pressure situation and let the best golfer win! And that’s what they did. And to his credit, Sergio didn’t play it safe. He went right at the flag and probably hit the best golf shot of the week on that hole. He won in style and deserved the victory.
As I said a week or so back, I’d like to see more of this kind of difficulty on the professional golf circuit. And I think that most amateur golfers and golf fans would also like to see it. I also haven’t heard one word of complaint from Goydos either (he is a class act by the way).
So kudos to the PGA Tour for a good decision. And let’s hope that they more of these in the future and get professional golf back to a level of challenge that makes it more interesting to the golfers and the fans.