The Open Championship has, so often down the years, been as much a battle with the elements as it has the swing for the world's top golfers.
Recent Royal Birkdale Opens have been no different. When the Southport venue last staged the game's oldest championship in 2017, play was briefly suspended during the second round because of heavy wind and rain.
In 2008, at the end of a week largely dominated by horrendous weather, Padraig Harrington prevailed with a winning score of three over par, four shots clear of Ian Poulter.
This week, however, it is shaping up to be a much different test, with firm and fiery conditions expected at a sun-baked Birkdale.
"The course is primed for an amazing week. It's as linksy as links gets," 2014 champion Rory McIlroy told BBC Sport's Iain Carter.
"It's a lot different than when I was here a few weeks ago [for a practice round]. It's not quite as green, the rough isn't quite as juicy - it's still long, the fescue, but it's a little thinner because of the weather we've had."
With the rough having been "burnt out" by the sun, McIlroy - who shot 73-64 over the weekend to finish tied seventh at last week's Scottish Open - is approaching the week with an attacking mindset.
"I think I can play the course a little more aggressively than I could, so I'm excited by that possibility, but it's a great test," added the six-time major winner, who finished joint fourth at Birkdale in 2017.
"The changes they've made to the golf course over the last few years, I think it's going to be a great golf tournament that tests all aspects of the game."
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"There are some extreme conditions," said Scheffler, who finished 17 under to triumph at Royal Portrush last year.
"The wind direction is going to change as the tournament starts, but overall getting some extra rest going into a major championship is never the worst thing, but I really hate missing cuts, too.
"It's very interesting. A lot of thinking. You're going to get some weird bounces, some weird stuff is going to happen, but a lot of thinking off the tee and going into the greens and it's been a lot of fun to prepare for."
Since Jordan Spieth's victory in 2017, Birkdale has undergone a renovation, with the changes including redesigns on the fifth, seventh, 14th and 15th holes.
"The one thing I found interesting is it's so obvious as to which holes had been redone," Scheffler said in his news conference.
"They look like they're not even on the same golf course. You look at 14, 15, 16, those green complexes and the amount of slope that they have off of them are pretty severe and quite challenging. The fifth hole is kind of like that, seventh hole as well.
"It was pretty obvious the holes that got redone because they look like they're on a different golf course. Those are the things that stood out to me the most."
While McIlroy and Scheffler - who have won four of the seven majors contested since the start of 2025 - spoke freely about the nuts and bolts of Open Championship preparation, they were also asked to tackle the more philosophical concept of legacy during their pre-tournament media duties.
Scheffler's surprising soliloquy about the importance of chasing golfing greatness caused a stir at Portrush last year and the four-time major winner flirted with similar territory at Birkdale.
"I have never once thought about how I'm going to be remembered," said the 30-year-old American.
"Like when I die: 'Hey, Scottie won four majors and 20 tournaments and he won this much money' – that has zero effect on me.
"History to me just isn't that important. I don't necessarily want to be remembered for winning the tournaments, I'd much rather be remembered for the way that I did it.
"This is going to sound a little morbid: I'm going to live my life, and it's going to end. When it ends, I'm going somewhere else, and I'm not going to be here any more."
McIlroy, one of only six men to have completed the career Grand Slam, seemed similarly unbothered about how he will be remembered, saying: "I don't really care.
"I would like to think that the people that love and care about me think a certain way of me, but I'll be long gone. I'll be dead.
"I don't think I'll be seeing what people say about me. I'll be six feet under. I don't think I'll be a ghost.
"I think it would be a pretty unfulfilling pursuit if you're just chasing records and results.
"You have to enjoy the journey to get there. I've learned that the hard way at times by chasing results and records too much."
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'I'll be long gone' - McIlroy unconcerned about legacy
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