Once the tournament starts, the pre-event talking points tend to drift to the background, however in the age of LIV Golf and the emergence of the Saudi Public Investment fund as a major player in men’s golf that hasn’t been the case.

There was the will they-won’t they element of potential player signings last year, this year’s Masters had the constant questions about a LIV player winning a major, then it actually happened at the PGA.

Even with that storyline being quelled, there remained the bubbling tension at the top of men’s elite golf, but with last week’s announcement of a planned merger and the resulting discourse we are thankfully entering a window of pure golf focus.

Sure, there are many still moving parts, Senate queries, player votes and the concerning aspect of PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan’s health, but that all takes a back seat as we watch the best in the game take on a gem of a layout.

Los Angeles Country Club has been largely behind the curtain of exceptional privacy for years, and if the 2017 Walker Cup was its debutante ball, this week’s major championship is its chance to be crowned prom king and queen all in one.

"Not all those questions will be answered this week of course. But all are golf questions, not relating to sportswashing, loyalty, legacy, secret mergers, money, and so on. And that is something to be thankful for."

Designed in the golden age of golf architecture and restored by arguably the best exponent of that skill set in golf, the course is just one of the many interesting elements to watch for across 72-holes.

Will Brooks Koepka continue to operate in major championship beast mode?

Can Scottie Scheffler work out the most frustrating part of the game to take advantage of one of the most impressive, and sustained, periods of ball striking excellence in recent history?

Or is Jon Rahm the best player in the game? Or is it Rory, a man finally relieved of his burdensome role in golf’s civil war?

Perhaps most intriguing, at least over the first couple of days when a call can be made if it is indeed possible, is whether Phil Mickelson has one last roll of the dice for the career grand slam left in him.

If this was 2003 or 2013, Phil’s U.S Open mission would have had its best chance of a happening ending in his home state. But at 52 years of age and two years on from his last victory, can he take advantage of arguably the most suitable U.S Open course for his game?

On the Australian front, it is a similar story of rare horses for courses in a U.S Open with Adam Scott and Cam Smith. Or will our new wave of Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis and Lucas Herbert take the baton and run with it?

Not all those questions will be answered this week of course. But all are golf questions, not relating to sportswashing, loyalty, legacy, secret mergers, money and so on. And that is something to be thankful for.