Arnold Palmer receives special gift at Masters

Arnold Palmer got a little misty over a souvenir he received at the Masters.

It was a chunk of dead wood.

Augusta National officials gave him a remnant from the Eisenhower Tree, a longtime landmark on the 17th hole that had to be removed last year after suffering damage from an ice storm.

Palmer called the Tuesday night presentation “pretty emotional.”

“That just made me sort of reminisce a little bit about the years and how the Masters has changed and how the young people should really take a look at themselves, as well as the golf tournament and the Masters tournament and realize how fortunate they are,” he told the Golf Channel.

The loblolly pine got its name because the former president, an avid golfer, tangled with it so often when he played Augusta that he asked that it be cut down.

A shoulder injury prevented Palmer from playing in the tournament’s annual par-3 contest on Wednesday. He was asked if he plans to join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player before Thursday’s first round to hit a tee shot in his customary role of honorary starter.

“You’re damned right I’m going to,” he said.