By Bob Harig
Special to ESPN Golf Online
Thursday, March 23

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Looking pretty much like he has for the past several months, Tiger Woods strode confidently to the 17th tee on Thursday at the TPC-Sawgrass Stadium Course, another birdie on his scorecard, his name again atop the leaderboard.

	Woods watched his share of the lead vanish into the water at No. 17.

This is familiar territory for Woods, the winner of last week's Bay Hill Invitational, the winner three times in six PGA Tour events this year, the runaway money leader with more than $2.5 million.

But soon, the feeling was not so familiar.

Woods launched his 9-iron approach at the 134-yard hole, played for a slight draw, and saw it get caught up in the wind. The ball stopped like it hit a wall and plummeted to the water, like so many before and after.

Even Woods was not immune to disaster at the 17th.

The ensuing double-bogey dropped Woods out of the lead, and he settled for a 1-under 71 to trail leader Hal Sutton by two shots.

"It is no big deal making that double, because under these conditions, if you could have told me I could shoot something in the red, I would have taken it," Woods said. "Right now that is exactly where I'm at."

Nonetheless, Woods offers proof of how frustrating the 17th can play. David Frost couldn't believe the number of divots he saw at the drop area, where players typically hit from after the ball finds the water at No. 17. The 41 balls in the water nearly equaled in one day the 45 for all of last year's tournament.

"It's always nerve-wracking," said 1995 Players champion Lee Janzen, who parred the hole Thursday. "I get up there and I try not to even look at the green until it is time to hit."

This hole is one of the more feared and enjoyed of any in the world. Resort guests pay $200-plus green fees here and can't wait to get to the 17th, even if it means unloading a sleeve of balls into the water.

And there is a pretty good bet that will happen. According to PGA Tour officials, some 120,000 balls are retrieved from the pond that surrounds the green each year. With 40,000 rounds being played on the course, that's an average of three balls per player.

"You know, 17 is not that hard a hole, but when you get conditions like we had, where the wind is gusting up, things like that, I mean, you don't have control over what that ball does," Sutton said. "That is a hole where you like to have all the control and you don't when the wind is blowing like that."

Sutton said he is never quite sure of his ball is going to stay on the green. That's why he watches it all the way.

"I have seen a lot of good shots hit the top part of that green and go over in the water," he said. "So I don't quit looking."

The key, of course, is to get to the hole and not have to worry about hitting it in the water.

"I had a little bit of a cushion, and that's nice when you play in these kind of conditions," Woods said. "When the conditions are this severe, you want any kind of cushion you can get. I was able to get it to 3-under par. I was fine then. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to end up there, but it was still a good round."