For just a little while longer, Valhalla Golf Club remains pure, resting quietly in the beauty that surrounds it.
But when the first ball is walloped off the tee Thursday morning at the PGA Championship, the noise will be deafening, the heat will be insufferable, and the drama - unprecedented.
The tournament always benefits from narrative built throughout the season, but the 96th edition may just be the juiciest of its kind. From Rory McIlroy's white-hot streak to Tiger Woods' ailing back, Ryder Cup races, and even an alleged cocaine-fueled PGA Tour dismissal, there is no shortage of storylines at this weekend's tournament.
To scratch the surface of what's at stake and what we'll see, here are three things you need to know about this year's PGA Championship.
The Greatest Field Ever ... Right?
Perennially, the tournament hangs its hat on having the strongest field of the season, but the 96th fleet is being touted like never before.
The world's top-100 players were supposed to fill out the 156-man field for the first time in history, but unfortunately that's no longer the case.
Shortly after former world No. 4 Dustin Johnson left to battle personal demons (or if you believe some reports, suspended from the tour), Tiger's availability was cast in doubt last weekend as he withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. If Woods does stay in the field - as his caddy's whereabouts would indicate - he would enter the PGA looking for his first major of the tour calendar for the sixth straight year.
The field is still loaded, however, and will include at least 28 major champions, 14 PGA champions, and all three major winners from this season.
Related: 3 things you need to know about Valhalla Golf Club
Ryder Cup Implications
Should a McIlroy-like performance leave little intrigue on the leaderboard Sunday, a salivating sidebar will keep things very interesting. The course that staged the USA's last Ryder Cup victory will determine the American side tasked with ending a six-year drought next month.
This weekend is the final opportunity for players to accumulate points in order to qualify for the biennial competition, a race that received a jolt when Johnson vacated his assured spot.
A handful of players can jump into the top nine with a win, but Phil Mickelson may have the most to gain with a strong showing in Louisville. Lefty made the last nine Ryder Cup teams - a U.S. record - and is currently just behind the other Johnson, Zach, who has since claimed Dustin's spot.
As for Woods, even with a repeat at Valhalla, he will require Tom Watson's generosity to make the team.
Related: Your A-Z Guide to the 2014 PGA Championship
Europe is Ror-ing into Kentucky
On the prowl and on top of the world rankings for the first time since last March, McIlroy is looking to win his third straight tournament and end the major championship season on a historic run.
If he can solve Valhalla, a course he played for the first time this week, he would become just the sixth player to win the season's final two majors.
McIlroy leads a European contingent determined to continue tipping the scales ahead of September's Ryder Cup. Europe boasts three of the last six PGA Champions since Padraig Harrington snapped a 78-year drought in 2008.
Should they continue their roll, Europe will have three major winners for the first time in a single tour season.
