Fellow Golf Australia magazine writer John Huggan once quipped when asked, what was news on the Wednesday of a Ryder Cup that “nothing continues to happen.”

That feeling is alive and well at Royal Melbourne.

The waiting can sometimes seem interminable at these events. There is little meaningful access to players or captains and almost no information to report but, because of the nature of the field, lots of people waiting to report it.

By Wednesday the media centre is running predominantly on speculation, rumours and absurd arguments about who should be paired with who.

International players and their caddies ham it up during the official photo shoots. PHOTO: Getty Images.

But all of that finally comes to an end Wednesday afternoon. The pairings for the opening day have been announced and at 9.32am tomorrow the first tee shot will be struck.

And that’s when the Presidents Cup really begins.

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An event of this size and nature needs a degree of theatre but for all the early week PR stunts and the intrigue of the pairings announcements it is ultimately about the golf.

The 12 best players the International team can muster will go head to head with the 12 best players the US side can put together and the only thing that will count is the number of strokes taken.

Team matchplay is a fascinating battle and the format lends itself to high drama, especially on a course like Alister MacKenzie’s Black Rock gem.

Captain Ernie Els chauffeurs Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann during their practice round. PHOTO: Getty Images.

There are thrills aplenty to be had on the heaving land upon which the Composite Course is built but the most interesting battles will be the ones taking place inside the players’ heads.

The constant nagging feeling that matchplay induces about the need to make something happen can create poor decision making and diabolical results at Royal Melbourne.

Similarly, an aggressive game plan well executed can reap big rewards and a player like Woods, if in form, can assume the role of virtuoso to the layout’s Stradivarius.

All of which will be at the fore tomorrow when, mercifully, the waiting ends and the golf begins.

Whether on site or watching from home either in Australia or elsewhere, make sure not to miss it.

Because this Presidents Cup has taken forever to get started but has the air of something special about it.