Among golf's major championships, The Open stands alone.
Among The Open's regular rota of host courses, the Old Course at St Andrews is the pinnacle.
Among Open Championships held at the Old Course, this one — the 150th playing of this great tournament — holds even greater significance.
It comes at a time when men's professional golf has been split down the middle, and fans have been forced to contemplate what it is that drew them to the sport in the first place.
History and modernity are set to clash at "the home of golf" this week, and the result could be a championship for the ages.
What is special about the Old Course?
It is on these grounds, on the links of the Scottish town of St Andrews, where golf was first played in the 15th century.
Since the great Old Tom Morris completed his work in the late 19th century, the Old Course has remained remarkably unchanged. It nestles snugly inside St Andrews itself, flanked by pubs and hotels on one side and St Andrews Bay on the other.
The course draws golfers from all over the world, some of whom will sleep the night outside The Old Pavilion in the hope of snatching up one of the few remaining tee times for that day.
But anyone can walk the course. On Sundays, the course is closed for golfers and open for anything else — you can walk the dog up the 18th fairway or have a picnic next to the Swilcan Bridge.
Is the Old Course tough to play?
That entirely depends on the conditions.
The most incredibly thing about the course, and the thing that has seen it remain arguably the best in the world for centuries, is that it becomes completely different with every change in the weather.
If the wind is howling in the wrong direction, it can prove one of the longest and most difficult courses in the game. If the wind swings around the other way, you'll see the pros of today driving greens and making birdies for fun.
It can change within a week, a day, or an hour. After playing it for the first time, Tiger Woods said he didn't fully get the hype surrounding the Old Course.
A few goes around later — including a resounding win there at the 2000 Open — he was enamoured.
The secret? "You have to open up your mind to it," he said.
What is this current controversy in golf then?
The split in golf has been brought about by the emergence of LIV Golf, a breakaway tour of sorts that has lured players away from the PGA Tour with outrageous amounts of money.
Greg Norman is the head of LIV Golf, and the money is coming from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund — the sovereign wealth fund of the country, which has been accused of using its ties to sport in part to distract and override its many human rights abuses.
The result has been a massive split through golf. Some players have taken the money, largely ignoring where it came from, and played in LIV's first two events. Others have opted to stay, and have been critical of those who have cashed out.
There have been bans issued to LIV players from traditional tours — though all are eligible to play at The Open if they had qualified — and Norman himself was left off the invite list for the R&A's 150th anniversary celebrations, despite being a two-time winner of The Open.
All of which creates a unique context for a tournament at the most historic place in the game, and will go some way to answering the question of what really matters in golf and sport: is it money and prestige, or history and legacy?
Who is going to win The Open?
It's difficult to predict a winner because so much will be dependent on the weather and how the course plays, but it is fair to say players with experience in links-style golf have an automatic advantage.
Of the European contingent most likely to mount a charge, you can look at US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick, 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry, and world numbers two and three Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.
Above all, this course and tournament will reward creativity, bringing players like Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and our own Cameron Smith into the conversation. If you look at the most recent form, Xander Schauffele just won the Scottish Open and is surely due a major by now.
But perhaps the main man to watch will be none other than Tiger Woods. If ever he is going to add to his 15 majors, it will be this week.
It's an easier walk on his fragile legs, he knows the place like the back of his hand and the emphasis on iron-play and mental fortitude plays to his strengths.
It feels like the stage is set for something special this week. Maybe Tiger will be the man to deliver it, yet again.
