Here's a new tradition unlike any other - the race to see if the Masters can keep its field under 100 players by April.
For the fourth time in the last five years, at least 90 players already have qualified for the Masters at the end of the year with three months of opportunities remaining before the field is set. Each time, Augusta National managed to achieve its objective of keeping the number of competitors in double digits.
By far the smallest field of the four majors, the Masters has not had more than 100 players since 1966.
That's what Augusta National prefers. Club chairmen have talked about a small field creating a better experience. Remember, the original name of the Masters was the Augusta National Invitation Tournament.
But if the last eight months were any indication, this could be the closest call yet.
Of the 90 players who are eligible and expected to compete, 17 earned invitations by winning PGA Tour events that award full FedEx Cup points. That's up from 12 a year ago, a reminder not only winning is difficult for everyone but the PGA Tour is stronger and deeper than ever.
There are 13 chances for players not already in the Masters to win a full PGA Tour event and get in. And because the Match Play Championship has been moved from its traditional late February slot, top international players such as Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott are not expected to play much (if at all) before the Florida swing.
The other way to qualify is to move into the top 50 in the world ranking published March 30. Among those on the outside is Brandt Snedeker (No. 58) from the PGA Tour. Tommy Fleetwood (51), Alexander Levy (53) and Francesco Molinari (55) are also outside the top 50, though they will face some of the European Tour's stronger fields during the Middle East swing.
Also, the Masters had created a new spot for the winner of the Latin America Amateur Championship, to be played in January in Argentina.
A year ago, 90 players were eligible after the first cutoff in December. Seven players not already eligible won PGA Tour events, and Stephen Gallacher was added from the world ranking. Then again, one spot was reduced when Tiger Woods had back surgery a week before the Masters.
This year? Stay tuned. It starts with the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, a field that includes four players who won before last year's Masters - Scott Stallings, Matt Every, Steven Bowditch and Matt Jones - and are not yet eligible at Augusta.
Half of the 84 professionals who already have qualified for the Masters are Americans. The Masters currently has 23 players from outside the top 100 in the world - 12 are former champions and six are amateurs.
III
TWO YEARS INTO a wraparound schedule is too soon to analyze trends, though there was one significant change this year.
A year ago, Chris Kirk had the worst world ranking of the six winners in the fall. He was at No. 93 when he won the McGladrey Classic. Dustin Johnson had the highest ranking (No. 23 when he won he HSBC Champions), and the others were scattered in between. Jimmy Walker at the Frys.com Open was the only first-time winner.
This year provided more opportunity.
There were three first-time winners - Ben Martin, Robert Streb and Nick Taylor - among the seven tournaments. The player with the worst ranking? That would be Taylor at the Sanderson Farms Championship (played opposite Shanghai), who checked in at No. 594.
Bae Sang-moon was at No. 195 when he won the Frys.com Open, while Streb was No. 177 before winning at Sea Island.
The best ranking belonged to Bubba Watson, who was No. 7 when he won the World Golf Championship in China.
III
IT'S ALWAYS GOOD to have solid title sponsors, even better to have sponsors who are flexible.
The European Tour discovered that anew when the Turkish Airlines Open - typically the third of four events in the Race to Dubai final series - ran into problems for 2015. The G20 Summit starts Nov. 15 in Turkey, the same day as the final round of the golf tournament. The Turkish Golf Federation feared it would be exceedingly difficult for the events to clash and asked to change the date.
The BMW Masters in Shanghai - typically the Final Series opener - agreed to swap.
That means the Turkish Airlines Open will be the opening Final Series event, followed by the HSBC Champions in Shanghai and then the BMW Masters. The final event is the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
"We are a dedicated partner of golf worldwide, and we were keen to act in the interest of golf," Thorsten Mattig of BMW said.
BMW also sponsors European Tour events in Germany and at Wentworth, along with a FedEx Cup event on the PGA Tour.