The countdown to the US Open continues with The Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus, designer of Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin Ohio.
It's an event which always attracts a top-class field and this year's renewal is no exception, despite the unfortunate absence of world number one Rory McIlroy whose schedule simply couldn't accommodate a tournament he's certainly fond of.
Those who are in town will relish the prospect of one of the best manicured events on the schedule. Year-on-year, from the shape of the par-72 course to the quality of the milkshakes in the clubhouse, Nicklaus prides himself on putting on a show. He says that this is his new competition, now that his days of beating his opponents on the golf course are over, and like everything he's done before it's one he attacks.
It's with that in mind that the Golden Bear saw fit to remove six bunkers on the 18th hole last summer, hazards he felt had been rendered redundant by a new back tee that further intensifies the challenge of one of the most demanding finishing holes in golf. Without fail, the course which welcomes back the sport's elite changes each time but what's done is subtle and with the sole intention of making this challenge fairer.
Fair is and always has been the name of the game where Jack is concerned. Nicklaus desires a course which punishes mistakes but rewards quality and, in keeping with his signature as a designer, the challenge intensifies the closer to the hole you get.
Every year, Muirfield Village ranks among the toughest on the PGA Tour in terms of scrambling whereas it's possible to rank outside the top-30 in fairways but still lead the field in greens - Matt Kuchar did so en route to victory in 2013. This is one of the few courses on the PGA Tour where the field could cope without driver, but they won't cope without precision iron play.
A year ago, Hideki Matsuyama confirmed his potential in winning the event on his debut in it. The Japanese star was the first to do so since Roger Maltbie achieved the feat by default in the inaugural edition back in 1976, and even though he'd had the benefit of a look around courtesy of the 2013 Presidents Cup it was an outstanding effort to do so. It should be noted that conditions were softer and easier than is normally the case and there has been rain around over the weekend, so a repeat is possible.
Matsuyama has no real weaknesses in the bag and that's a sentiment you could apply to most champions. Five-time winner Tiger Woods stands out, but his great friends Kuchar and Steve Stricker are as tidy as they come - particularly around the green - and tidy is very much in the nature of Justin Rose, KJ Choi and Carl Pettersson, too.
Clearly, experience is a benefit, power is almost irrelevant and touch is a pre-requisite. The greens at Muirfield Village rival Augusta in terms of speed and given that they're incredibly small targets, it's hard to win this event if you're missing in the wrong places and unable to call upon a razor-sharp short-game.
Put all of this into the melting pot and Jordan Spieth comes out the other side.