J.J. Spaun lost his ball.

Playing TPC Sawgrass’ famed island-green 17th Monday, he couldn’t see it after its descent. He’d flushed his 8-iron on the 130-yard par-3 during the second of three playoff holes with Rory McIlroy to decide the Players Championship. It was needed. On overtime’s first hole, on the par-5 16th, Spaun parred, while McIlroy birdied to take a one-stroke lead. But Spaun’s response looked promising. Seconds earlier, McIlroy found the green and was about 30 feet away, but Spaun’s ball was tracking toward a spot that would land, then spin back toward the cup.

If you were watching on the grounds, or viewing on Golf Channel, you saw it didn’t. But Spaun was bewildered.

“Where is it?” he said.

He was seemingly told. He seemingly didn’t believe it.

“Where?”

Wet. Over the green. Into the water. Sunk. Like his hopes for a breakthrough win.

Still, he could maybe make bogey. From the drop zone, a spot from 89 yards away, he could finesse a wedge close and hope for a McIlroy three-putt. Notably, the latter happened. But after a lengthy talk with caddie Mark Carens — the second on the hole, following the tee shot — Spaun’s ball dropped short and left of the flag, about 25 feet away, and spun back, finishing on the back-left fringe, against the green’s collar, about 40 feet from the flag. Spaun shook his head. From there, Spaun could only chip — a patch of grass that jutted into the green sat between him and the hole — and that shot finished 10 feet past the hole. Two putts later, he finished with a triple-bogey six, and he was down three heading to the 18th hole.

There, it was mostly ceremonial. McIlroy bogeyed again, Spaun picked up and McIlroy won his second Players and his second tournament this year.

“A nightmare at 17,” announcer Terry Gannon said on the Golf Channel broadcast.

“Total nightmare,” announcer Brad Faxon said.

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:

Article originally appeared on: Golf.com