There are eight European Tour Members making their debuts this week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational but they are bringing plenty of winning pedigree to Firestone Country Club.
The debutants have 11 European Tour victories between them, with Alexander Björk, Paul Dunne, Li Haotong, Wade Ormsby, Shubhankar Sharma, Cameron Smith and Brandon Stone all being reigning champions.
Björk and Kodai Ichihara are also making their World Golf Championships debuts and while the eight players may be teeing it up in Akron for the first time, they have all been watching the action from afar down the years.
Many of their memories come back to Tiger Woods, with the eight-time winner returning to the scene of his last win in 2013 this week and giving the third WGC event of the season even more buzz than usual.
Here, we speak to some of the first-timers about their memories of the event and their expectations for the week.
Alexander Björk
The Swede won his first European tour title at this season's Volvo China Open and revealed his most powerful memory at Akron is Woods' famous approach to two feet in almost total darkness on the last en route to his second win in 2000.
"I'm very excited. It's my first time here, I got here yesterday and played the course this morning and everything looks really good. The course is in great shape so I'm really excited. I thought I had more memories of the course but I was mixing it up with another course! I remember Tiger, his shot in the dark on 18, I think that's the strongest memory but I've been watching the tournament a lot and also been playing it on Tiger Woods on the PlayStation so I should know the course quite well."
Paul Dunne
Dunne is the reigning British Masters supported by Sky Sports champion - as well as winning the GolfSixes alongside Gavin Moynihan - and is looking to take some inspiration from 2015 champion and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry.
"Ever since I got my first win back at the British Masters I knew I was exempt for this tournament and I've been looking forward to it since then. It's nice to get a first look at the course, I've seen a lot of it on TV over the years and it's great to be part of the field. Everyone has watched Tiger win here eight times. I remember Shane Lowry winning in 2015 when he hit it right through that tree on the last to win, I'm sure he's kissed that tree a few times since then. I've watched this so many times over the years, I feel like I know the course already so it's nice to play it. I've become friends with Shane now so it was cool to see him win."
Li Haotong
China's Li claimed his second European Tour win at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic earlier this season and is playing his eighth WGC event.
"It's a big honour to be in the field and I'm enjoying it so far. I have a lot of memories from watching Tiger a lot of times. My game has been solid the last couple of months. I'm just waiting to put everything together and hopefully it is the time this week. I played 18 holes on Tuesday morning, it's in very good condition. The tee-shot is the most important thing here. Hopefully I can finish in the top ten."
Wade Ormsby
Ormsby claimed his first European Tour win at the season-opening UBS Hong Kong Open and the Australian soon followed that with a tie for 50th in his WGC debut in Mexico.
"It's an amazing place, it's pretty cool when you drive in and you see the famous water-tank. There's some awesome history around here and what Tiger has done makes it even more special that he is here this week. I've watched it a few times and many of the memories I've got is that he keeps winning, you do remember quite a few shots around here that he's hit so it's nice to come out and play a practice round and put a few of them together. There's always nerves playing professional golf, doesn't matter whether it's a small event or a big event, playing against the best guys, that's what you want to do - I'm definitely excited."
Shubhankar Sharma
Indian Sharma has won both the Joburg Open and the Maybank Championship this season, and finished in the top ten in Mexico on his WGC debut.
"It's amazing. I've seen this event on TV so many times and I've seen Tiger win it so many times, just to be here finally it's a dream come true for me. I remember when Tiger won in 2013 the last time, that was a great comeback, I remember he won five times that year. And obviously that shot in the dark in 2000. I just have a lot of good feelings, it's hard to keep track of all the great shots he's done when he won around here. I like the look of the course, it's very green, tree-lined, just the way I like it. I've had good success on tree-lined courses before so I'll be just hoping to have a good finish this week."
Brandon Stone
Stone is the most decorated of our debutants, claiming his third European Tour win and first Rolex Series victory at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open just 16 days ago.
"It's going to be a fantastic week. I'm very excited for the week. I think I watched it, even last year, as long as I can remember. The thing that really stuck with me was how well it's manicured, how good it looked on TV and how quick the greens were. I'm having a little bit of a fun time on the putting green now, they're nice and smooth and nice and quick. I've had a couple of chats with Gracey and Louis and Charl and seen their opinions of the course, I'm going to try and get out there tomorrow with the boys and pick their brains on strategy. Hopefully I'll go out there, formulate a good game-plan and then put it in play Thursday to Sunday. To be here this week is obviously a fantastic achievement and one of the goals that I set out for myself at the start of the year."
