Hole of the Week: No. 15 at TPC River Highlands

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Credit: Getty Images/Michael Cohen

The shortest par-4 on the PGA Tour doesn’t mean it’s the easiest, as the past six editions have seen nearly as many double bogeys and worse (53) as there have been eagles (56).

Credit: Getty Images/Michael Cohen

“I think what’s so great about the hole is that it basically almost forces you to go for it, if that makes sense,” Jim Furyk said last year. “There’s really no other really good option.”

A lake stands guard left of the 15th green and a small bunker lurks on the front right. Where the difficulty lies, though, is in a green that has four distinct quadrants. A wedge from layup distance to the proper quadrant is no less a challenge than taking aim for the green.

With almost 40 percent of the plays last year resulting in birdie or eagle, even a par can leave a player feeling he’s lost ground. Case in point: Daniel Berger, who played the hole in just 1-under par for the week. He wound up on the wrong end of a playoff with Jordan Spieth (three birdies).

Perhaps the most dramatic highlight at No.15 took place in the 1995 edition, when Greg Norman’s Sunday chip-in for eagle and Fuzzy Zoeller’s bogey created a three-shot swing that put the Aussie in front to stay.

BY THE NUMBERS

No.15, TPC River Highlands
Par 4, 296 yards
2017 average: 3.74 (2nd easiest)
2017 Travelers Championship: 9 eagles, 177 birdies, 215 pars, 59 bogeys, 7 double bogeys, 1 higher

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