Fans make long-distance trips to experience No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass

Getty Images

Fans line up behind the 137-yard 17th at the Stadium Course on Thursday.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass has certainly brought out the best from the golfers in THE PLAYERS through the years. And it continues to bring out the best in fans.

Andrew French, a Philadelphia resident who works in the golf apparel industry, has been coming to THE PLAYERS for almost 15 years, and knows all the tricks of the trade.

Through years of experience, French has learned that the gates at THE PLAYERS open one hour before the first tee time. On Thursday, he arrived just after dawn to a course occupied only with maintenance crews, volunteers, and a few other diehard fans. Armed with his fold-up chair, French knew he had gotten what he wanted and secured his favorite spot behind the 17th tee box.

Like a teenager sleeping in front of the arena in hopes of getting tickets to the rock concert, he was in.

"It's the only way to get to position A," said French. "We even had time to leave the course and go eat breakfast."

French has secured that same spot so many times that he is now on a first-name basis with an NBC producer, whose primary responsibility is to alert the broadcast team what club the golfer is using that particular day.

"I usually know before the viewers," French said.

One of his most unforgettable memories came in 1998 when Len Mattiace's shot carried the 17th green and fell into the water, with the local golfer eventually settling for an 8 on the hole and losing his chance to win THE PLAYERS Championship.

As many balls as French has seen find the water over the years, he never thought he would see the 12 that Bob Tway put up in 2005. He wishes he didn't, but he did.

The Faisons from southern Georgia have also been fixtures at the 17th hole for nearly 15 years, arriving early morning each year and setting up their camp on the left side behind the tee box. Their tradition is a little different than most. The elder statesman of the group, 71-year-old Jack Faison Jr., along with sons Jack Faison III, Joey Faison and friend Danny Dunn hold a friendly wager guessing which golfer in the group hits closest to the pin. By late afternoon, after about eight hours on the course, Dunn had won Thursday's contest and left $32 richer.

David Cameron of Atlanta is also on his maiden voyage at THE PLAYERS. He immediately adopted the 17th hole. If nothing else spectacular happens on the famed-island hole during the tournament, he already has a favorite memory -- fans singing "Happy Birthday" to 21-year-old Rory Mcilroy as he walked up to the green during Wednesday's practice round.

Then there's the first-time visitors Tom and Susan Thibeault, who drove 18 hours from Littleton, Massachusetts to arrive on opening day of THE PLAYERS without even the benefit of a full night's sleep.

"We left around 6:30 p.m, Tuesday night and arrived about 1:30 a.m. Thursday morning," said Tom, a six-time visitor at The Masters and a retired golf professional. "We drove in shifts. She (Susan) took over when I was about to run off the road. Otherwise, it was a nice trip."

The only disappointment was the fact that one of their favorite golfers, Fred Couples, withdrew from the field due to back problems.

The Thibeaults, like a magnet, were immediately drawn to the 17th. "I watched Fred hit a hole-in-one on television a number of years ago," said Susan.

They didn't see any aces on Thursday, but saw the day's best shot at the 17th close-up when Scott Verplank put his tee shot 18 inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie.

Fans will be looking for more birdies on No. 17 throughout the week as well as more balls in the water. They just want to be entertained and the best seats in the house always go first.