The Masters gets under way on Thursday and the big question at this point is whether or not Tiger Woods is going to play following the serious injuries he suffered to his lower right leg in a single-vehicle car crash 14 months ago.
He was practising again at Augusta National yesterday for the second day in a row and the third time in the last week and he's due to give a press conference this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Ireland's Seamus Power finds himself at 35 years of age, after more than 10 years as a professional, playing in his first Masters and indeed, first major championship.
The Waterford man admitted to being a little overawed when he spoke to RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen yesterday in Augusta after a practice round.
"It's so far beyond even what I thought it would be," he said of the fabled course. "Even as a spectator walking in here, there’s a different feeling. It’s so special. You feel you are in golfing Mecca.
"I played a practice round yesterday. There were not many people around on the first tee, and I was more nervous than I have been for a lot of shots under pressure in tournaments. I’m just so happy to be part of it.
"(The challenge is ) going to be around the greens I think. I’m long enough, from what I have seen so far, to be able to play the course, but it’s the precision into the greens, precision to put it in a place where you might be able to get up and down.
"If you are out of position, get it back on the spot where at least you can maybe give yourself a chance for par or bogey, don’t turn one mistake into a big number. It’s going to get tough, it’s going to firm up and birdies will be hard to come by, so you don’t want to be making too many big numbers and make it a tough hill to climb back."
"I think I came to terms with who I was as a golfer"
Power's star has soared in the last year, his world ranking rising by more than 400 places in the last 12 months to 41st in the world.
"It's fantastic. It’s completely flipped the view on my career so far," he said. "I’m happy on and off the course. That goes a long way. I feel good with my game. I’ve had good results, I’ve been able to get in here (Augusta). It’s my first major so I’m just excited about the whole thing.
"Nothing in particular (changed). I think I came to terms with who I was as a golfer. I spent years trying to do things that were difficult for me and I felt I needed to do them. I know what my limitations are. I know what I can do and I just play golf from there."
Mixing it with the world's elite has given Power confidence that he belongs in their company. He beat fourth seed Patrick Cantlay, Im Sung-jae (21) and Tyrrell Hatton (13) at the WGC Match Play a fortnight ago, only losing to eventual winner and now world number one Scottie Scheffler.
"That's one of the better things with the win (last year's Barbasol Championship), my improved draw in tournaments," he said. "I have got to play with more of the top name guys.
"Say Dustin Johnson for example, you just assume he hits every shot perfectly and that’s what he does every day, then you play with him and you see he misses shots like everyone else. I played Scottie Scheffler. I know he beat me, but he missed some shots here and there.
"You kind of realise that everyone is playing golf, trying to get the ball in the hole as fast as they can. You just learn little things from those top guys. It’s nice to have played with and against them. It does give you confidence knowing they are the guys you are going to compete with this week and beat over 72 holes."
So what are his ambitions for the Masters?
"To me, you are going to approach any tournament the same way, you are going to try and set up your game plan," he said.
"You are going to try and set up your mentality, try and get yourself into contention for Sunday afternoon to try and win the tournament. I know it's a long shot for someone like me, but it’s a 90-man field.
"I really like the golf course. I always thought it would suit my game and from what I have seen so far, I think it still does. We’ll see, but expectations are high. There is no point in being in the tournament otherwise. I’m going to prepare as well as I can over the next few days and go from there."
