Drivable par-4 eighth hole at Tour Championship proves popular with players

ATLANTA — Ben An made history on Friday at the Tour Championship, but the feat won’t get him anything. Not even a piece of crystal or a glass bowl.

On a hot, windless second-round morning, An became the first man to drive the eighth hole at East Lake Golf Club.

Officials moved the tee up by 50 yards in the second round to tempt players to take the risk and chase the reward. With the hole measuring 335 yards — and playing about 312 — An striped a driver that rolled onto the green, almost pin high.

It was a consistent theme. No one in the 30-man field thought about intentionally laying up.

“It all depends on where the flag is and whether there’s any trouble around the green,” An said. “If it was where it was yesterday, then we probably would have laid up, but today we had a good number.”

The first-round hole location was on the right side, eight feet behind the greenside bunker. Friday’s flag was still on the right side but pushed farther back, to 19 feet, giving the risk-takers more wiggle room.

Five drove the green, but none converted their eagle putt. The closest was ex-Georgia Bulldog Russell Henley, whose tee shot finished 29 feet and 10 inches away from the hole location. An’s drive finished 30 feet, five inches and defending champion Viktor Hovland wound up 32 feet, two inches away.

“It was a good number,” An said. “(My caddie) told me it was 312 and maybe I might have gone a little long if I hit it full, so I took some off.”

The numbers weren’t crazy compared to the first round, when the hole played 383 yards. There were 18 birdies on Friday compared to seven on Thursday. There were 10 pars and two bogeys.

The idea of having a drivable par-4 was popular among players. Tony Finau was one of eight competitors who drove in the right greenside bunker and he still made birdie. Finau gave it his hearty approval.

“I think making it drivable is pretty cool,” Finau said. “You’ve got the water up the left side. It could end up being pretty iconic as the golf course kind of settles. We haven’t had a drivable hole here in the past, so being able to add one on No. 8, I think was a smart move.”