AUGUSTA - Scottie Scheffler will launch his bid to become just the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters on Thursday when the 87th edition of the tournament gets under way at Augusta National.
The American world number one is the bookmaker's favorite to slip into the famous green jacket when the four rounds are complete on Sunday evening.
The build-up has been dominated by the presence, for the first time at the Masters, of players from the breakaway, Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour and that focus is unlikely to fade.
Players who took lucrative multi-million dollar deals to sign with LIV are expected to learn on Thursday the outcome of a London arbitration panel ruling on whether the DP World Tour was within its right to fine and suspend European players for taking part in LIV events, as the US PGA Tour has done.
The rancor, however, has been put aside on the practice range and players from both camps have avoided some of the barbed comments that have accompanied the disputes.
But with so much attention on the divisions, the sport is in desperate need of a feel-good story or a moment of golfing drama or brilliance on Sunday.
Scheffler's consistency over the past 14 months, which has seen him win six PGA Tour titles, makes him the man to beat.
The 26-year-old won the Players Championship in March and he warmed-up for the Masters with a hole-in-one during the traditional par-three contest on Wednesday.
Only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods have achieved successive victories in the Masters and Scheffler is trying not to think too much about a rare repeat.
"Everybody starts even par. Just because you're defending doesn't mean you get to start at 1-under," he said. "I'll be approaching it just like I do a lot of other tournaments."