Eight years ago I was at the Tournament Players Club in Ponte Vedra Beach at night.
Underdogs
It will, however, gain increasing awareness over the first few days and, by Sunday afternoon, will be at a healthy 8 or 9. It may even threaten a 10 if Tiger is stalking the back nine with intent (although, given his surprisingly poor record on this Pete and Alice Dye-created monster, that isn't hugely likely).
What is more likely is that this year will continue to underline the growing strength in depth of world golf, where the winner could just as well be Derek Ernst, Russell Henley or John Merrick as Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott or Woods.
Indeed, the last four winners of the TPC at Sawgrass, Henrik Stenson, Tim Clark, KJ Choi and Matt Kuchar, are more Supporting Cast than Headline Material, further suggesting Sunday night's winner is unlikely to feature anyone currently in the top 10.
That doesn't cheapen the tournament, of course, but it does serve to further dampen the standing of those sporting pundits who insist that golf starts with a T (for Tiger) and ends with a W (for, oh, come on, you don't need me to spell it out, do you?).
There has been a distinct lowering of the strident tone that was so noticeable before The Masters, when the talking heads rushed to anoint the world No 1 with his 19th and 20th Majors before he had, you know, won No 15 - and which so clearly eluded him in Georgia last month, to the point that some dared to predict he will remain stuck on 14 (there's nothing like media balance is there? And that was nothing like it).
The reality, as ever, lies somewhere in between; slightly to the right of the marker that says 'Competition tougher than ever' and some way to the left of that which reads 'Not the competitor he was before.'
And, while The Players Championship is definitely not in the Major conversation, it is certainly a signpost on the way, with the 17th hole lying in wait to test the final-round nerve of whoever is leading at that stage.
Which brings me back to memories of 2005 and a Super Bowl media event in the chilly February night air, with several hundred eager golf wannabes swishing away in reckless abandon as Daly and the Blowfish pounded out another number. And the steady stream of balls disappearing into the depths.
New England was the ultimate winner that week, edging out Philadelphia 24-21, which makes me wonder if another Bostonian might rise to the top this weekend.
Journeyman James Driscoll has yet to win a Tour event and his ranking of 101 suggests he would be unlikely to break that duck at Ponte Vedra Beach. But his 'Birdies for Boston' fund-raising campaign, pledging $1,000 per birdie to victims of the bombings in his home city last month, has made him a popular figure.
And that would definitely give Hootie something else to sing about.
