No other player gets the Tiger treatment. While announcements drift over the media centre tannoy that such and such “is now in the interview room,” the scheduled arrival of Woods comes with its own build up.

“Tiger Woods will be in the media centre in 10 minutes” declares one of the press officers in an effort to get the media masses seated in an orderly fashion and avoid the kind of jam-packed stooshie that would resemble the herding of the beasts onto Noah’s Ark.

Barely two minutes after that 10 minute heads-up, though, Woods was actually plonked in his seat in the media centre. It’s a good job the R&A are not in charge of the Four Minute Warning. We’d all be obliterated by a nuclear missile before we even had time to panic.

Better early than never. Or something like that. And Tiger never being back at an Open was a genuine concern. But he’s here, he’s in fine fettle and he’s still got that colossal presence that almost whips up a breeze when he walks about.

The other day, a video was circulated on social media of Woods hosting a golf clinic and explaining why players shouldn’t worry about their competitors. “If you get intimidated, that’s your own f***ing issue,” he said.

Presumably, he won’t use this phrase when he shakes hands with Russell Knox on the first tee at Carnoustie tomorrow. Then again?

The Scot has been grouped with Woods for the first two rounds of the 147th Open. Despite his toils and troubles, Woods’ intimidation factor remains. Knox, meanwhile, is simply giddy at the prospect of experiencing Tiger’s X-factor.

“He is probably the reason why I played golf so to play with him is amazing, to play with him at a major even more amazing, and to play with him in a major in my own country is more amazing than that,” said Knox with a smile of, well, amazement. “I’ve played with Phil [Mickelson] a couple of times and that is beyond what anyone else brings but Tiger is in a whole different category. I’m expecting craziness.

“Even Rory McIlroy came out a few weeks ago and said playing with him was tough so I’m expecting it to be difficult. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with your hero. I’m just floating on air.

“He has come back differently but if he walks on the range, people know and he is never going to lose that presence. He is more than capable of winning this tournament by 10 shots. He will win tournaments. He might not win this week but he might, you never know.”

When police mugshots of a glum Woods were made public following his arrest for driving under the influence, many thought Woods’ spiral towards the bottom of professional, personal, physical and psychological despair was complete. There seemed no way back.

In 2018, though, Woods is a man reborn. “I always thought he would come back but I thought my career would never be fully complete if I didn’t get to play with him,” added Knox. “At the darkest times for Tiger with injuries and whatnot I didn’t think I’d ever get to play with him. This is a dream come true.”

Knox’s own renaissance recently has provided him with the most eagerly anticipated tee-time of his career. Never has 3.21pm held such significance.

A second in France and a win in Ireland over the last three weeks underlined Knox’s own golfing significance. “I was talking to my caddie and he was like ‘you deserve this tee time with your play recently’,” added the 33-year-old Scot.

Woods and Knox may not have been grouped together professionally before but they have met personally. “I met Russell at my own tournament in the little pre-tournament barbecue,” said Woods.

Plenty of folk, including Woods himself, thought Tiger’s goose was cooked as crippling back injuries and a variety of surgeries took a grisly toll.

The remarkable spinal fusion operation he underwent probably featured more welding and riveting than a day at a Clyde shipyard as Woods’ dicey dorsal was put back together again.

A return to the Open, for the first time since St Andrews in 2015, has stirred the senses. It’s also evoked the memories. It was here at Carnoustie, after all, where he had that first taste of links golf as an amateur in the Scottish Open.

“It was one of the cooler things, just staying on the range and hitting 9-irons, 4-irons and 5-irons at the 100 yard sign,” he reflected. “I remember my dad saying, ‘are you ever going to hit the ball past the 100 yard sign?’ and I said, ‘are you kidding me? I’m enjoying this’. I spent two hours just hitting balls. It was just the best, seeing the ball bounce, being creative and using my mind.”

That mind is still tuned into the links game and the artistry and invention that is required suits Tiger to a tee. The firm, fast test here is broadly equivalent to Hoylake in 2006 when Woods plotted his way to a dominant win and used his driver just once in 72-holes.

He may be climbing the brae on the age front but the passing of years has never been a barrier to success in this game. As he seeks to add to his haul of 14 majors with a fourth Open victory, the 42-year-old Woods can take comfort from the fact that five of the last seven winners of the Claret Jug have all been over 39.

The exploits of 59-year-old Tom Watson in 2009, where he was runner-up, and Greg Norman, who led going into the final round at Birkdale at the age of 53 a year earlier, continue to inspire too.

Asked if an Open, particularly on a course playing like this, presented his best chance of major glory, Woods said: “Yes, because you don’t have to be long to play on a links golf course

“Look at what Tom did at Turnberry. Greg was there at Birkdale. So it’s possible. You get to places like Augusta National, where it’s just a big ballpark, and the golf course outgrows you unfortunately. But a links-style golf course, you can roll the ball.

“I hit a 3-iron on the 18th that went 333 yards. Even if I get a little bit older, I can still chase some wood or a long club down there and hit the ball the same distance.

“Distance becomes a moot point but creativity plays such an important role. There’s a reason Tom Watson won five of these [Opens]. He’s very creative and had all the shots.”

Here in 2018, Carnoustie welcomes back another links master.