The Most Unforgettable Finishes at TPC Sawgrass

There have been many incredible finishes at The Players Championship but two stick in the mind. One involved Rickie Fowler, regarded at the time as one of the most promising golfers of his generation, while the other belonged to Craig Perks, a New Zealander who, at best could be described as a journeyman.

Rickie Fowler, 2015

Standing on the 13th tee on the final day, Fowler was six shots off the pace and with no chance. But he had other ideas and his finish remains one of the most astonishing ever witnessed.

Knowing that something special was required, he began his charge with a 10-foot putt for birdie at the 13th, followed by a par at the 14th. There was no sign of what was to come.

He followed a birdie at the 15th with a stunning second to a two feet at the 16th which set up an eagle. Now trailing by only one, Fowler's wedge to the 17th pitched eight feet from the pin and rolled even closer, and he picked up his fifth shot in as many holes when his putt found the hole. And still he wasn’t finished.

Fowler hit a 331-yard drive on the final hole and found the middle of the green with his approach, and his putter struck again as the birdie putt dropped to give him the clubhouse lead on 12 under - a target later matched by Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard was eliminated after the subsequent three-hole playoff - the first in the tournament's history - and Fowler then hit another near-perfect wedge to the 17th for the third time on Sunday to pip Kisner to the title.

Craig Perks, 2002

Perks will always be remembered for the most astonishing final three holes The Players Championship has ever seen.

Having spent the second and third rounds near the top of the leaderboard, he was struggling during the fourth round - hardly a surprise given the fact that he had never before looked like winning on the PGA Tour. After 15 holes  Perks had only hit three fairways and on the 15th, his par putt lipped out from a foot to put him one behind the leading group at five under par.

At the par-five 16th, his second shot narrowly missed the water, and Perks took full advantage by chipping in for a remarkable eagle to take a one-shot lead. He followed it by holing a 30-foot putt down the slope for an unlikely birdie at the par-three 17th.

Having missed six fairways to the right, Perks reached for his three-wood on the final hole. It backfired. He hit it way right into the trees and left him with no option but to pitch back to the fairway. His 162-yard third failed to hold the green and he faced a tough up and down to limit the damage to a bogey, but Perks had other ideas, holing out from off the green for the second time in two holes. It was the only PGA Tour title of his career.

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