Kuchar, MacKenzie find innovative escapes on No. 17 at The Players

The par-3 17th at Sawgrass is said to have an island green, but that’s a geographic misnomer. It’s really a peninsula, with a thin strip of land serving as a walkway to the putting surface.

Every once in a while, tee shots land there, forcing players to get a little creative in hopes of making par. We had two examples yesterday of that ingenuity.

Matt Kuchar’s tee shot landed barely in the grass, leaving him with no stance to hit right-handed. So, after some thought, he decided to try a backhand, hitting the ball backward while turning his back to the hole. It was good enough to get on the putting surface, but led to a bogey that put him outside the cut line.

Will MacKenzie was lucky for his ball to be dry. After it hit the boards separating land and water, it landed deep down the walkway. However, MacKenzie saw a way to the back left hole location: playing his chip shot off the artificial turf walkway. With a well-timed bounce, MacKenzie’s ball scooted onto the green for a simple par putt.

Unfortunately, like Kuchar, MacKenzie missed the cut, but both players made the all-time highlight reel for No. 17.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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