So much has been said about the new 17^th hole here at Hoylake and the unique challenge it will pose the players this week. As Cookie Jar’s roving reporter for the day, I headed over there to see how the first 30 players took on the challenge and how they fared.

After seeing Michael Kim’s tweet late last night with the Round 1 Pin Sheet attached, before I had even arrived at Little Eye, I knew that the pin was going to be tucked front right. Just as I arrived at the greenside stand, the greenkeepers were finishing cutting it in that very spot and it looked daunting.

Home boy Matthew Jordan and his group that arrived first at 17, set the tone for how the first 30 would decide to tackle it on Day One. There was certainly a bit of breeze up there, nothing major, but enough to give the players some thinking to do. All three of Jordan, Ramsey and Grace hit the green and they all favoured the left side of the green and deep into the back half of it.

Russell Henley, having a tough day alongside Jazz Janewattananond in the second group, played one pin high-left and holed his 25-footer to clinch the first birdie on the hole. None of the first six players missed the green, and I did for a fleeting moment wonder what all this fuss is about?

Alas, the next three then proceeded to all miss the green, and in some bad spots. Ryan Fox was short right, which left an incredibly hard uphill bump and run. Ben An was in the left hand bunker, which was probably the least of three evils, although he did have an awkward stance. Worst, however, was Lucas Herbert’s miss on the left hand side beyond pin high. His chip shot landed on the back of an unavoidable ridge and shot off into the deep pot the other side. Perhaps he could have opened up the face more with his second, but I think he did well to only walk off of there with a triple 6. That group was a combined +5 on 17.

From the first 30 shots, however, 80% found the putting surface, and of those, 87.5% finished left of the pin. Virtually only Hiroshi Iwata and Henrik Stenson ended right of the flag, but they were both put very close to the hole. As I currently type, 17 has the highest GIR % bar the 5^th and 15^th, both Par 5’s.

Of the six players that missed the green, only two were able to make up and down. Although only an early sample, this for me clearly reinforces the incredibly high tariff that comes with missing the green. Meanwhile, whilst I saw some interesting subtlety to the putting surface, the green was yielding birdies: 5 made in the first 30 attempts. The reward is there to be had if you hit a positive putt.

For a far-better informed, and data-driven perspective on Little Eye, check out this article by the guys at Clippd. It is well worth a read.

Finally, though, just sitting there for a couple of hours in the sun, noting down the strategy of the players was just tremendous fun. At such a late point in the round, I really feel that hole is just going to churn out drama all week long. It’s brilliant. However, you’ll have to get there early. As I came out of the stand in the early afternoon, I noticed the queue extending over 100m. With few people willing to move from their seats, that queue was barely moving…