European Ryder Cup team captain Mark James will be looking to Colin Montgomerie and José Maria Olazábal to fill the leadership role in Europe's quest for a third successive Ryder Cup victory.
Montgomerie, the oldest player on the team and a veteran of four contests against the United States and Olazábal, playing in his sixth Ryder Cup, are set to form the backbone of the European side.
James said: "I think the players are looking towards Monty because he's been European Number One for the past, it seems like 35 years now. He's our biggest star at the moment. And Chema as well. The Spanish guys look up to him. He's experienced."
James was speaking after the first official practice day at The Country Club, Brookline, with the 33rd Ryder Cup matches only three days away. For many of the Europeans it was the first time they had seen the course but all came away happy with what they had seen.
"The course is in great shape, in fact, stunningly good shape," said James. "Faultless I would say. It's how a course like this should be set up. If you play well, you shoot 65, if you play badly you'll shoot 74. It's ideal. The boys have had a good practice round, and they're enjoying Boston and they're raring to go."
With three days to go until the matches get underway James's job is to let the players, especially the seven rookies in the team, know what they can expect. While not remembering any of the advice he was given on his debut at the age of 22, his experience and that of his two lieutenants Ken Brown and Sam Torrance will be invaluable.
"The players know what is a stake," said James. "It's just a question of helping them realise what they're going to be feeling like when they get under pressure for the first time this week and telling them how to deal with it and how to react. Just so they have some benefit from the experience of myself, my two assistants and the other senior players in the side."
Whether the players want to hear what the pressure is like is a different matter. Jesper Parnevik, who made his debut two years ago at Valderrama, described the pressure as "like playing the 18th hole of a major championship when you are in contention on every hole".
When he hit the opening tee shot in the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, Olazábal said the only thing that wasn't shaking was the shaft of his club before he took it out of his bag. "The rest, everything shakes - hands, legs absolutely everything. There is nothing you can do to avoid it. It's the reason why the Ryder Cup is so special."
Four years later at Oak Hill, Montgomerie hit the opening tee shot. He said: "That's as nervous as I want to be, thank you very much. I don't want to feel that bad ever again because of the expectation, having to hit the fairway and lucky enough doing so. Having some through that it has kept me in good stead for the past four or five years.
"At Kiawah I was given advice. 'Just remember they're as nervous as you are and get on with it. It's the game of golf.' We're coming here as underdogs. The Americans are expected to win so it has possibly put more pressure on them."
James now has three days to prepare his team for one of the greatest sporting events in the world but when asked what made a good captain his answer was simple - "The team."
