Caddie Stories: Mark Urbanek on the time he threw a ball from tee to green on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass
By T.J. Auclair · March 7, 2022
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published in March 2019.
Every Wednesday of Players Championship week, the caddies get to take their crack at the famous par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass.
The Annual Caddie Competition, which benefits the Bruce Edwards Foundation (Edwards was the longtime caddie of Tom Watson, who died after a battle with ALS), is a light, fun way for caddies to have a chance to take on one of the most iconic holes in golf.
Make no mistake: Bragging rights are on the line.
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But after what happened in 2017, it’s likely no caddie will ever have the kind of bragging rights that deservedly belong to James Hahn’s former bagman, Mark Urbanek.
No, Urbanek didn’t have an ace, or even a near ace. Instead, he showed off his cannon of a right arm and chucked a golf ball from the tee box, over the water, to within 10 feet of the cup.
Watch the video above where Urbanek explains how it all went down.
