Notorious 17th will get paparazzi treatment

0 Comments | USA TODAY, March, 2005 | by Michael Hiestand

Variables can make TV sports tricky.

Until broadcasters can actually script tournaments, which presumably would cost them a lot in rights fees, their ratings can be held hostage by whether they happen to get dramatic action, preferably from dueling superstars.

Except, that is, when inanimate objects -- guaranteed to show up -- can be turned into TV stars. And NBC has one in the spotlight in The Players Championship: the 17th hole, on its own little isle at Sawgrass.

The hole, since it famously entraps golf's elite, is largely sadistic. NBC Sports executive producer Tom Roy knows a good thing when he sees it. Pain, for viewers, can be pleasure.

"This hole causes more angst than any hole the players will face all year long," Roy says. "Any mistake, in...