The Desert Classic represents a first, tentative step back onto the mainland for the PGA Tour for a multi-course pro-am which always struggles to attract the depth most sponsors would desire.
Defending champion Jon Rahm and world number one Justin Rose are the class acts on show this time and while there are a handful of youngsters in this field who could one day join them at the top of the sport, these two are simply much better than the opposition in the here and now. Why, then, are they 15/2 and 10/1 respectively?
Where Rahm is concerned, I can't find a negative. He spoke of his love for the host Stadium Course last year, on which 36 of the 72 holes are played, and compared it to another Pete Dye layout his grew fond of in college. Although he was given a scare by Andrew Landry, Rahm was always bang in the mix after a blistering 62 to open up and having ended 2018 with a win and started 2019 in promising fashion, he's the man to beat.
Rose has more questions to answer. Not only will this be his first appearance of the year, but his first since signing a high-profile deal with Japanese equipment manufacturer Honma, which has to represent a risk. He'll say all the right things, of course, but upheaval always brings forward unknowns and it's something Rose had previously avoided. I don't blame him for capitalising on his status, but in the short-term he's hard to support, particularly in a tournament like this.
Under its various guises, what was the Bob Hope has thrown up all sorts of winners and, with two easy courses, another which is only slightly tricky and pin positions to make things manageable for the celebrities on show, there's no set formula which works here. Broadly speaking, since the Stadium Course was added it's the ball-strikers who thrive under tougher conditions who have come to the fore despite scoring remaining low, but I wouldn't rule out any particular profile.
A prep in Hawaii, though, is definitely advantageous. Rahm, Jason Dufner and Hudson Swafford had all enjoyed a successful pipe-opener, finishing second, ninth and 13th respectively, so favouring those who played either the Tournament of Champions or the Sony Open would be a sensible starting point.
Indeed it's why I'm overlooking Patrick Cantlay, last seen finishing fifth in the Hero Challenge at the start of December. It shouldn't take him long to shake off the rust and he's playing on home turf here in California, but in an event which has more random than most, 20/1 isn't quite big enough to tempt me.
Instead, it's Si Woo Kim who looks an outstanding bet, even allowing for his propensity to frustrate when fancied.
The Korean narrowly missed the cut last week, but I'm hopeful that will have blown away the cobwebs and he's shown many times in the past that taking his last start as a guide to his next one is hardly a reliable policy.
Widening the focus reveals a profile which is extremely compelling and the evidence begins with ninth place here in 2016, at a time when he was not yet a PGA Tour winner and effectively lined up as a rookie.
Back then, he carded a pair of 67s on the Stadium Course, by a good margin the most difficult, and one bogey across those 36 holes is outstanding. He'd also played the course at Qualifying School back in 2012, where he also broke 70 each time, so he has a wealth of positive experience to call upon.
He's since gone on to suggest that he could prove to be a real , too, firstly winning the PLAYERS Championship at Sawgrass before doing everything but when a play-off loser at the RBC Heritage last spring. Eight good rounds at TPC River Highlands further underline that suspicion.
While 2018 was ultimately a year of frustration, he did end it making birdies for fun and putting really well, while the fact he went an entire calendar year without withdrawing from a tournament (five withdrawals in 2017) suggests some concerning injury issues are well and truly behind him.
Looking ahead, he'll be keen to earn a Presidents Cup place and California, where he secured his sole Web.com Tour win in the Stonebrae Classic, looks set to offer up some chances - none more so than here.
The second section of the market, i.e. those separating Kim from the favourites, is distinctly unappealing in the main, although Aaron Wise is tempting at around the 30/1 mark, as a Californian-raised star in the making who has finished 34th and 17th in two starts here.
Wise was in last year's staking plan at 150/1 and the shift in price is explained by the fact he enjoyed a superb season, culminating in being named rookie of the year, but I just wanted to see a little more from him in the Tournament of Champions and he's left out as a result.
The likes of Adam Hadwin, Andrew Putnam and Abraham Ancer are of course solid, particularly the former, but when they're trading at around the 28/1 mark it tells you something about the event: in this case, that there is scope for some surprise names in the top six or seven.
We'll come to some potential candidates shortly, but first I see no reason why Hudson Swafford can't go close to doubling his PGA Tour tally in the event which gave him his breakthrough.
A self-confessed Dye fan, Swafford was excellent here in 2017 and while he's not really kicked on since, he arrives this time following a near identical preparation, that being a prolonged run of cuts made followed by a contending week in the Sony Open.
Third place behind Matt Kuchar was an ideal way to start the year and, as Swafford explained, it was also an ideal way to start the next chapter in his life.
"New father, so life couldn't get much better," he said. "So it's great. Great to start the year like this. Did some good stuff over the holidays with my coach and swing is feeling good. Everything is feeling good."