This time next year there will be a lot more attention on José Maria Olazábal than there is this week as he makes his first US PGA Championship appearance for four years.
Invited to play in Atlanta - one of the perks of being appointed Ryder Cup Captain - Olazábal admits his form is not great after another summer disrupted by health problems.
A back injury has kept the 45-year-old Spaniard out of all European Tour golf since the end of May, but he has played on the US PGA Tour the last three weeks and making the cut in Nevada last Friday was at least a sign of progress.
As a double Masters champion - and only three years older than Open Champion Darren Clarke – Olazábal still hopes to show he is a force to be reckoned with.
But his new role means it is not just about himself any more, of course, and he takes delight in seeing four Europeans heading the world rankings and in Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy and Clarke winning four of the last six Majors.
"That's fantastic and for European golf we have not seen anything like this for 20 years, since we had the 'Big Five' of Seve (Ballesteros), Sandy (Lyle), Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Woosie (Ian Woosnam)," he said.
"But I have to say from my point of view that it says nothing when we are talking Ryder Cup.
"In a year's time we know things can change and what I need is those players to be playing good that week. It's a long time until then."
And while no American has won a Major since Phil Mickelson at The Masters 16 months ago Olazábal is not doubting their ability to bounce back in time in Chicago next September.
"No, come on - I've been here long enough to know that these things go in stretches. Our boys are having a great spell, but we don't have home advantage next year and you know what's going to happen.
"They (the United States) will be on home soil, the crowds are going to be in their favour and they can set up the course, as we do in Europe."
Olazábal will be taking a look at the Medinah set-up - off the course as well as on it, naturally - late next month, but first comes his involvement in the Vivendi Seve Trophy in Paris on September 15-18.
As Ryder Cup Captain he can name the captains for both the Britain and Ireland and the Continental Europe sides, but although qualifying ends soon neither has been named yet.
Olazábal admits that Clarke may well have been one before he won at Sandwich and put himself in position to play for the first time in nine years.
"He was one of the names I had in mind, but now he's one of the names I've had to cross out," he said. "I have a couple in my head."
