Golfers enjoy more inviting view of Eisenhower Tree-less 17

No. 17 looked different this year, but it played pretty much the same.

Thursday marked the first Mas­ters Tournament round since the Eisenhower Tree was removed after it was irreparably damaged in a February ice storm. The loss provided a more inviting view of the fairway for golfers but little change in scoring.

In the first round, the field averaged 4.186 strokes on the hole. The pin was in the same spot in the first round in 2013 and 2011, when players averaged 4.269 and 4.182.

“I hit a really nice drive down 17, and my caddie said to me, well, you were never able to do that when the Eisen­hower Tree was there,” Graeme McDowell said Thursday. “To say I enjoy it slightly more now is an understatement.”

He birdied the hole, one of eight to do so Thurs­day.

Though players hit the fairway 81 percent of the time – the second-best percentage of any hole – the challenge was following the tee shot with a strong second. Of the 10 par-4 holes, No. 17 was the fourth-hardest green to hit. Players hit the green in regulation only 45 percent of the time, with some mistakes going too far up or off the green.

“It’s not an easy hole by any means, because it’s still long,” said Mark O’Meara, who parred the hole. “It’s really a golf course that’s a second-shot-precise golf course.”

Without the 65-foot tree, which was 210 yards from the tee, the hole seems less foreboding, some players said.

“It looks less intimidating, for sure,” said Steve Stricker, who parred No. 17. “You got a pretty big, wide fairway there now. But those trees can come in play a little bit, but it’s definitely more appealing to our eye with that wide a fairway.”