The feeling is this could be one of the all-time great Masters, with top-billing going to Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods
Who knows what the next four days at Augusta National will bring, but we all can be sure that the 2012 Masters is the most anticipated major championship for years. You can read it in the press, you can feel it in the whisper of the crowd and you can see in the faces of the players.
Even the eminently quotable Ian Poulter, who can usually be relied upon to stir the pot on the eve of these great state occasions, took the fifth amendment when asked if Tiger Woods would finish higher than fourth this week (a reference to last year's kerfuffle, when the English golfer airily dismissed the former world No1's chances).
"Not going there," he said with a wry smile before heading off to the practice area. If Poulter won't join in the knockabout fun, then clearly something is afoot.
That something of course is the annual spring ritual known as the Masters. This tournament is a serious affair in any year but the first major championship of 2012 brings with it a degree of excitement that has not been seen since perhaps 1997, when a skinny kid called Tiger Woods arrived here for his first tilt at Augusta National as a professional.
The expectation was huge that year and Woods measured up to it and more, famously winning by a record 12 shots. The American's victory heralded a new age in the sport, one of those moments that will be remembered for more than just the scores on the leaderboard. The page had turned on an era.
This observation brings us to the palpable expectations that surround the 2012 Masters, clogging the air like Augusta pollen. In every year there is long list of potential winners and storylines of promise, but seldom have there been so many players in town with so much hope in their hearts.
Let's start with the overlooked, the likes of Luke Donald who by dint of some cruel alchemy will tee it up on Thursday as perhaps the most underrated world No1 ever. The Englishman speaks softly as ever but has developed a titanium disposition over the past couple of years. The criticism he isn't a "winner" no longer applies. He won the last time he played competitively, at the US PGA Tour's Transitions Championship in Tampa.
He racked up four victories last year, none of which were cheap, and finished joint fourth at Augusta behind the winner, Charl Schwartzel. If this tournament comes down to a simple question of who has the best short game, then the answer is Donald.
The problem – or at least the problem for the world No1 – is that Augusta National presents a broader examination than just chipping and putting. It was designed in the 1930s by Alistair MacKenzie and Bobby Jones to test every facet of a player's game, and its genius is that it still does.
Lee Westwood is perhaps the exact opposite of his countryman Donald – a great player from tee to green who has pronounced difficulties when it comes to putting – and he may also have a problem answering every question on the exam paper. But he has contended here before and if he somehow stumbles across a serviceable putting stroke, he will contend this week.
Is it impossible to imagine either Englishman wearing the Green Jacket on Sunday evening? Of course not. Just as it is also possible to believe the likes of Graeme McDowell, Geoff Ogilvy and Hunter Mahan could win.
The first two have already won major championships. Mahan has not, but he comes here as the form horse after two wins already this year on the US PGA Tour.
All things considered it is borderline rude to consign such fine players to the category of "second tier", but until events prove otherwise they will be seen as outstanding members of the chorus line, adjuncts to the main attraction known as the "Tiger and Rory Show".
Westwood has already made clear his contempt for Sports Illustrated's shorthand prediction of what the week will hold – "Some people might have something to say about that," he said the other day – and Phil Mickelson has said the same, though not in so many words.
The American left-hander has won here three times and has put together a record at Augusta that is almost equal to that of Woods He is playing well and will take extra motivation from knowing that one more victory will see him equal his long-time rival.
Yet for all that, Mickelson must take a back seat. There is something bigger going on this week at Augusta National. The Tiger and Rory Show? Not really. It is bigger than that. It is a contest between old and new, between the past and the future.
Think of it in terms of boxing history, that moment when Sonny Liston stepped into the ring with the young Cassius Clay. Woods is cast as the former – the indomitable and unbeatable champion. McIlroy is the latter – fleet of foot and blessed with more raw talent than a man can spend.
Are they the best two players in the world? Publicly the likes of Donald and Mickelson will never agree. But in their heart of hearts they must know the truth – pound for pound, on their day, Woods and McIlroy are the best.
If, as many expect, the two principal players are at their best over the next four days then watch out. It is one thing when the two best players in the world collide and they are playing their very best golf, but when two eras collide we are transported into another world of sporting ecstasy.
How will this one turn out?
Only a fool would place their reputation on the line and make a prediction. So here goes. On Sunday evening Rory McIlroy will leave town with a new item of clothing in his suitcase – the Green Jacket.