Augusta National. The Green Jacket. Amen Corner. The manicured fairways. The blooming azaleas. Unmistakeably, the Masters.
Golf’s first men’s major of the year is upon us, with the world’s finest players making their annual pilgrimage to one of sport’s most iconic venues.
A 95-man field – including 18 former Masters champions – are aiming to sink the victory-clinching putt come Sunday.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy are the favourites, while five-time winner Tiger Woods is missing as he recovers from surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The first tee shot will be hit at 12:40 BST on Thursday – after the ceremonial drives from legendary champions Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson.
Here are the main talking points going into the 89th edition of the Masters…
Will McIlroy finally land the elusive Green Jacket?
McIlroy believes he has never “been in better form” coming into the Masters as he looks to finally land the only major title that has eluded him.
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman is aiming to become only the sixth man to complete the full collection of Masters, US PGA Championship, the Open Championship and US Open titles.
It will be his 11th attempt to follow Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods into the history books.
McIlroy, who has seven top-10 finishes in his previous 16 Masters appearances, has already claimed two tournament wins this season at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass.
He also believes the experience of golfing “heartbreak”- most notably when he capitulated at last year’s US Open – can help him getting over the line at Augusta.
“It’s going through those times, especially in the last few years I’ve had chances to win some of the biggest golf tournaments in the world and it hasn’t quite happened,” he said.
“But life moves on. You dust yourself off and you go again.”