If Tiger Woods were to win the Masters next week, you can be sure it would be hailed as the completion of the greatest golfing comeback since Ben Hogan recovered from a near fatal car accident to win six majors more than 60 years ago.
But there is a more recent reference point that bears scrutiny for comparison, and that is the remarkable Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal, who will celebrate two notable anniversaries at Augusta National this year.
It's 25 years since the chosen heir to Seve Ballesteros delivered on his promise to win the Masters for the first time, and 20 years since he completed his own miraculous comeback from an arthritic foot injury so debilitating there were weeks when he could not walk, and had to crawl to the bathroom.
Jose Maria Olazabal celebrates his first Masters victory in his green jacket back in 1994
'It might seem a strange thing to say but I went through the whole painful process with a better peace of mind because I had one green jacket,' Olazabal says now. 'Don't get me wrong, it was really tough to watch golf on television when I couldn't even leave the house and there were many times I thought my career was over. But it definitely helped that I had my major.
'You fall back on your belief, your family, and your personal will, and my will was strengthened because of my win at the Masters. I would imagine Tiger, with his 14 majors, will be feeling that even more.'
Olazabal is 53 now and has the worn look of a man who has experienced fate's extremes.
Golf never came easy to him, and it shows. He's still playing, usually on the Champions Tour in America, but it has been a while since he was in contention.
Augusta National, with its monstrous modern-day yardage, is almost literally miles too long for him, but the pleasure of returning each year remains incalculable.
'To win the Masters and to know you'll always have a place at the Champions Dinner and in the champions locker room, in many ways it gets better as the years pass along,' he says.
Olazabal went to Augusta in 1994 as one of the favourites after finishing second in New Orleans the previous week. Runner-up at the 1991 edition to Ian Woosnam, he had learned at Seve's right hand.
Olazabal completed a miraculous comeback to claim his second Masters back in 1999
The Spaniard has been fondly recalling his historic Masters triumphs ahead of next week
'I practised with Seve a lot and watched the time he would spend on and around the greens,' he says. 'I absorbed the small details. Seve helped me a lot in realising the course actually suited my game.
'After losing to Woosie in 1991, I met Sergio (Gomez, still his manager) in front of the clubhouse and he was sad. I told him there was nothing to be sad about. It was the day I knew I could win.'
Three years on, however, he was far from confident after taking a one-stroke lead over Tom Lehman into the final round.
Giving a brilliant insight into what it's like to be in front with 18 holes to play at Augusta, he recalls: 'That night was so tough. I went to bed and I hardly slept.
'I was visualising winning the Masters. I went through every hole and pictured every shot. I played out the different scenarios.
'What would happen if I started well? What would I do if I struggled? I
