Lowry's tee shot on the 124-yard par three pitched about 10 feet beyond the hole and spun back into the cup to spark wild celebrations from the 34-year-old Irishman.

It was just the 10th ace at the famed 'Island Green' hole in the history of The Players at TPC Sawgrass – and first since Ryan Moore in 2019.

The hole is notorious for swallowing up players' tee shots in the water surrounding the green.

During the first two rounds, amid tough, windy weather conditions, No.17 played as the second-toughest hole on the course with a 3.5 scoring average.

Fourteen shots were hit into the water on Sunday alone during the completion of the second round.

After retrieving his ball, Lowry threw it across the water into the crowd, sparking a brief scramble among a handful of spectators.

The lucky fan who emerged with the ball quickly made his way to beside the 18th tee and was able to get Lowry to sign it.

"You play this game, just special things happen sometimes. It's pretty cool to do it there, one of the most iconic holes in golf," Lowry said.

"Yeah, what can I say? It was a special thing to happen, and I'm looking forward to turning on my phone and seeing the messages I've got.

"Not only that, it put me back in the tournament somewhat. So it was amazing."

Lowry, the 2019 Open champion who has also made a hole-in-one on the 16th at Augusta National during the Masters, was five-under when play was halted due to darkness.

"You play this game, just special things happen sometimes. It's pretty cool to do it there, one of the most iconic holes in golf." - Shane Lowry. 

He had four holes of his third round to complete and was four shots off the lead held by India's Anirban Lahiri, who had seven holes remaining.

Golf's richest event is set to finish on Monday evening after several lengthy weather delays over the first few days.