They honoured Pete Dye this week by announcing that the famous course architect who designed the Stadium Course at the Tournament Players Club in Sawgrass had been elected to golf's Hall of Fame. Never mind for a moment any question whether or not he should have been because a good many course architects have not. Alfred Tillinghast is one and Harold Colt is another.

Instead, consider what the players were thinking about Dye as they tackled the fearsome last three holes in The Players Championship and, more particularly, the 17th.

When the Stadium Course was opened in 1982, it was like nothing anyone had ever seen. It had extensive mounding, water on most holes, bunkers faced with railway sleepers and lots of run-off areas around the greens. Its degree of difficulty was such that Dye was christened Marquis de Sod. It has maintained its position as one of the hardest courses on the PGA Tour in the United States. The average score by a field of the world's best golfers on the first day in 2000 was 76.1 and on the first day this year not one player managed a round without at least one bogey.

Since the course opened, the last three holes have been considered by Americans to be the most fearsome finish in golf, although one may well ask: what about Carnoustie or the closing holes at Royal Lytham? If anyone thinks that they are a picnic, they do not know their golf courses. The holes comprise a par five of 520 yards that offers a high risk and high reward, a 137-yard par three to a green almost encircled by water and a par four of 462 yards that has water on its left from tee to green.

Of the three holes, the one that gets more than its share of criticism and generates more than its share of excitement is the 17th. “It's crazy,” Butch Harmon, the coach, said. “If the green was surrounded by sand, I guarantee the guys would have no difficulty in hitting the green. It's the effect the water has on their minds.”

Nineteen balls landed in the water from this tee during Thursday's first round compared with 46 during the opening round last year. Matt Kuchar hit his first shot into the water, made the long walk to the drop zone in front of the spectators while feeling like a man on his way to the gallows and promptly hit his next shot into the water, too.

The 16th averaged 4.5 against a par of five on Thursday, the 17th 3.1 and the 18th 4.3. One was under par, two were over par. Ernie Els, who had played the previous ten rounds in over-par scores, arrived at the 17th two under par. The world No4, who has recently started working with Harmon, was in contention for the first time since winning the Honda Classic in early March. A quarter of an hour later he walked to the 18th tee having run up a six, the second highest score on the hole of the day, and in something of a blind fury smashed a three-wood down the 18th and holed a birdie putt to finish on level par.

Then he let rip, saying that he thought that the 17th should be blown up. “It's not an appropriate hole for a championship like this,” he said. Then he took a deep breath, half-apologised, admitting that he had “chunked” his shot with a wedge, but still said that he did not like the hole.

“Anybody will be wanting to blow up 17 after making a six,” the South African said. “It was tough out there and I had played so well all day. That makes it tough to take. I am not the only one who has done something like that and I won't be the last, but that doesn't make it any easier.”