It may have been a long time coming but the wait is finally over. After a gap of 12 months and 16 days, the world of golf finally has another major championship to get excited about.
Not since Shane Lowry finished off his round at Royal Portrush in July of last year, to secure victory in The Open Championship by a whopping six strokes, has anyone enjoyed the thrill of lifting a major trophy.
Because of the deadly virus Covid-19, this week's PGA Championship in California is remarkably the opening major of 2020, and the first to be held in the United States for almost 14 months.
This week's course, TPC Harding Park, is no stranger to top tier golf having hosted two World Golf Championship events since the turn of the millennium.
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In 2005, it was the venue for the American Express Championship won by Tiger Woods who beat John Daly in a play-off.
Ten years later the world's top players returned to contest the Cadillac Matchplay event, in which Rory McIlroy emerged triumphant following his 4&2 victory over Gary Woodland in the final. Both Woods and McIlroy were the world No 1s at the time.
In between these two events, the San Francisco layout hosted the four-day Presidents Cup match in 2009, when the United States beat an International dozen 19¹⁄₂-14¹⁄₂.
Approximately one-third of this week's field have competed here before.
Course background
TPC Harding Park goes back almost 100 years, opening its doors in 1925 and named after former American President Warren Harding who had died in San Francisco just two years earlier.
The course itself is surrounded on three sides by Lake Merced, and situated not far from California's Pacific coast.
During the 1960s it was a regular stop on the PGA Tour schedule but later fell into disrepair and was even used as a car park when the 1998 US Open was staged at nearby Olympic Club.
But the course was revamped and restored to former glories in 2004, and six years later became part of the PGA Tour's network of TPC clubs.
Final touches
Laid out on a gently rolling peninsula, TPC Harding Park is a tree-lined municipal course with well-contoured putting surfaces.
Great strides have taken place during the past 12 months to try and toughen up the course ahead of its first major test.
And according to American publication Golf Magazine: "Fairways have been pinched in by some 60 per-cent of their normal width, and the rough now nearly reaches your ankles.
"Miss the short grass by a foot and you almost need to step on your ball to find it. Fairways now skirt closer to fairway bunkers and other hazards, while dog-legs bend at more beguiling angles."
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More than a year ago, local officials explained how their aim was to reduce fairway widths to between 22 and 30 yards, and grow thick rough to a height of 3½ to 4 inches.
The focus was on creating a venue which puts a premium on hitting fairways.
Despite being surrounded on three sides by a lake, water is not a major issue at TPC Harding Park - surprisingly.
It may come into play down the closing stretch but, for this to happen, a golfer will need to clear a number of other hazards just to reach it.
Possibly the only time it would become a threat is on the final tee, if a right-hander happened to produce a calamitous hook.
Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive