For many in the 64-man field at the Accenture Match Play championship this will be the one week of the year where they compete in match play golf.
For half of the 64 men in attendance, their involvement in the event will be at an end after day one.
Some thrive on it, others collapse under the pressure, but Graeme McDowell, who reached the quarter-finals last year, is a huge supporter of the format.
The Northern Irishman said: “There’s something quite special about the mano-a-mano value of match play golf.
“It’s a great format. It’s very reactionary.”
McDowell’s love of the game undoubtedly comes from playing in the Ryder Cup.
The biennial match between Europe and the United States has been good to Justin Rose too.
It was the Englishman who provided an unlikely singles point against Phil Mickelson which was pivotal in Europe’s Miracle at Medinah in 2012.
Rose was one down with two holes remaining, but holed a 35-foot birdie putt at 17 and birdied the last to sneak a victory.
Rose said: “There’s always a big putt in match play. I’ll face putts and face emotions that are almost like the back nine of a Sunday in a regular tour- nament or even a major.
“You face it from round one.”
It’s not just the Europeans who enjoy match play though.
Matt Kuchar is among the best in the game. He won the 1997 US Amateur and has a 15-3 record in this event, advancing to at least the quarter-finals in each of the past three years.
His strategy is the same in stroke play and match play. He won last year’s tournament for his first WGC title.
He said: “It’s rare that the occasion pops up where I deviate from how I would play a stroke play event.
“I think you have to try to hit the best shot for the situation, just like you would in stroke play.
“There are pins that aren’t ever worth going for. You may occasionally have to change a strategy or maybe be more aggressive if you know that the opponent is in with a tap in birdie. But for the most part, my strategy stays the same.”
Hunter Mahan, the 2012 champion, is aggressive from the first tee.
He is 11-1 in the past two years of the event after losing to Kuchar in last year’s final and winning in 2012.
Mahan’s match play success extends to his amateur days, when he won the 1998 US Junior Amateur and was runner-up to Ricky Barnes in the 2002 US Amateur.
But no matter how one approaches this unique format, one thing is almost certain. As Rory McIlroy explains: “Sooner or later you’re going to have to react to what your opponent does.”