You have to go all the way back to June 2008 for the last time that Tiger Woods won a Major golf championship.
That's over five years, and despite a couple of layoffs due to injury and personal problems, the 37-year-old has tried and failed on 17 occasions to add to what seemed to be a growing list of Major titles.
It used to be a matter of when, rather than if, Woods would replace Jack Nicklaus as the man who would hold the record for the number of victories, but after falling short on so many occasions since his last triumph, doubts have began to creep in as to whether the men's game is now too competitive for one player to dominate the sport.
That said, the expectancy levels that surround the American have never lessened, even when Woods missed the cut at the US PGA in 2011.
Ever since that blip in Atlanta, Woods soon became an unstoppable force on his way to reclaiming the number one position at the top of the world rankings, and that surge has arguably hit a point where he cannot look in any better shape ahead of his next attempt to pick up number 15.
After recording a remarkable four PGA Tour triumphs in his first seven outings of the year, Woods added to that tally with a remarkable display of dominance at last week's Bridgestone Invitational.
There never has been, and perhaps never will be, a better frontrunner in the game and once Tiger hit the front at the start of round two at Firestone, there was no stopping him.
His pursuit to record a magical 59 made for captivating viewing, peppering each pin with supreme accuracy, rarely leaving a putt in excess of 15 feet.
He fell agonisingly short of the much sought-after feat, but Woods could hardly have been disappointed with such an incredible round of golf. It was an exhibition of his capabilities that his rivals would have been fearing for some time.
That few hours of sheer excellence had provided Woods with the most comfortable of weekends, as he focused on solidifying his position without making any mistakes, but that too shown the extent at which Tiger is at ease with his game right now.
He wasn't out there to please the fans, he wasn't out there to try to improve on Friday. He was out there to win a golf tournament and when Woods has that one-track mind, he can become almost impossible to stop.
He proved to himself at Firestone that it only takes one sustained period of perfection to blow his opposition away, and he will go into this year's US PGA knowing that he doesn't have to perform from the first tee on Thursday.
He just has to keep himself in contention and wait for his moment to strike, because anyone in and around the top of the leaderboard will be under the added pressure that the confidence is flowing through Woods.
There aren't many players who can produce four rounds of flawless golf, so when arguably the game's greatest ever player is in such a mood, it will inevitably create a different feeling around a tournament.
Of course, Woods will have to deal with his own pressure of having the spotlight shone even brighter on him during the next few days, and he goes into the tournament as a short-odds favourite.
Whether he is the favourite for a tournament or not probably doesn't matter to Woods right now. When he is switched on mentally and is performing at his physical peak, it is going to take a monumental effort to prevent him winning a golf tournament, and you would be hard pushed to find anyone who can stop the American this week.
