SAMMAMISH — The majestic Douglas fir, red cedar and hemlock trees that line the narrow fairways at Sahalee Country Club are a big part of what makes the golf course so scenic. They are also a big part of the reason why the course is so difficult. There is a distinctive sound when a golf ball hits a tree, and it’s a sound that will be heard often over the next four days of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee, beginning with Thursday’s first round.

Avoiding the trees — and hoping for a fortuitous bounce when they don’t — will be a huge priority for all 156 players in the field. Nelly Korda, the top-ranked woman in the world, did not play in the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when it was played at Sahalee. She got her first look at the course this week.

More “Gosh, it’s such a beautiful place,’ said Korda, who got a scouting report from her sister Jessica, who was part of the field in 2016. “She just told me you really have to hit your shots out here, especially your tee shots. .

.. If you hit it a little off line here off the tee, you have a bunch of trees in your way, so you’re pitching out the majority of the time.

” Brooke Henderson and Lydia Ko finished on top of the leaderboard in 2016 with scores of 6-under 278, setting up a playoff that Henderson won. They were two of only seven players who were under par that week. Henderson, who was made an honorary member of Sahalee earlier this week, negotiated the challenge the trees bring as w.