Advancements in the depth and availability of statistical data have transformed the way we analyse and contextualise golf. From the shoulders of Mark Broadie, we can now see things we could not see before: that Viktor Hovland drove the ball better at Pebble Beach than Brooks Koepka did for his two PGA Championship wins; that Martin Kaymer's approach play was at a level which might've made for a remake of Pinehurst '14 had the putter behaved; that Gary Woodland's transformation really was completed by the emergence of a first-class putting performance.
Yet, fittingly, the Travelers Championship - played at an old-fashioned, Pete Dye course, loved for its hospitality and quaintly warm support and positioned as the comedown machine for those with a US Open hangover - affords us the opportunity to go back in time, to the days when the basics - greens in regulation, total putting, ball-striking - were all we had to work with.
Here at TPC River Highlands, the easiest way to spot the winner has been to start at the top of those greens in regulation charts and work down. Year after year, with the sort of odd exceptions we should expect in this sport, someone who has been regularly setting up chances has taken them at this dog-legged par 70. Russell Knox, Jordan Spieth, Hunter Mahan, Kenny Perry, Stewart Cink... the honours' board here is a list of players who make their cheques by pounding greens.
All of these players were among the top 25 per cent on the PGA Tour in the year of their victories. One of the exceptions, Kevin Streelman, is known for his tee-to-green proficiency but doesn't tick the box in 2014 because he was largely out of sorts. The same goes for Marc Leishman, whose sparkling final round for a breakthrough win in 2012 meant Bubba Watson had to settle for second - the same spot he filled in that year's GIR list.
You get the message. A classical par 70 which has yielded the only 58 in the history of the PGA Tour but is by no means a cakewalk has favoured the shot-maker. It's no wonder that Watson, who shapes the ball more dramatically than anyone on the circuit, has found his interest piqued by these winding corridors.
Narrowing down a shortlist isn't easy, but nor is it difficult to pass up those at the front of the betting. Brooks Koepka left everything on the course at Pebble Beach, Patrick Cantlay has been extremely busy and had to work hard to climb the leaderboard last week, Jordan Spieth doesn't look quite there yet and neither is Justin Thomas as he continues his rehabilitation from a spring injury.
With Jason Day at the beginning of a new caddie relationship and not particularly well suited to this technical par 70, it's Ryder Cup duo 'Moliwood' who make most appeal at the front of the betting. Tommy Fleetwood will love it here and isn't much shorter than he has been for majors, while Francesco Molinari hinted at Pebble Beach that he may be ready to lay those Augusta ghosts to rests.
There are ifs and buts with both, however, and I'd rather focus on a collection of players at much bigger prices, all of whom fit the profile not just of winners here, but of those who have gone closest in defeat.
The pick of them is Emiliano Grillo, who ranks sixth among this field in greens hit this year and 21st overall as he continues to operate at a consistently high level without often threatening to win.
That could change at TPC River Highlands, where seven of his eight rounds so far have been par or better. Grillo's ball-striking is ideal for the course and he's been among the best in the field during each of his two starts, particularly off the tee.
Perhaps there ought to be a slight concern that the sort of extremely low bursts of scoring which are often required here might be beyond a notoriously poor putter, but he won't need to make many if he hits his approach shots as he did at the US Open last week, where he was second in strokes-gained.
Having been making cuts all year, it's notable that Grillo has twice been inside the top five at the halfway stage since the Masters - first at the Dye-designed Harbour Town and then at the Memorial two starts back - and it could just be that he's able to see things through better in an event where it's common for the marquee names to flirt with the top of the leaderboard without winning.
In terms of added motivation, Grillo is both outside the world's top 50 and the Presidents Cup places by a narrow margin and there's no doubt the latter in particular will be at the top of his list of priorities with the chance to play for Ernie Els not to be missed.
His form on these short, classical courses includes his only win on the PGA Tour plus third place at Colonial and a strong overall record at Sawgrass, another Dye design which correlates nicely with this courtesy of the likes of Kevin Streelman and Daniel Berger, among others.
There will I'm sure be those unwilling to back a player who so often has flattered to deceive, but the exploits of Gary Woodland, Molinari, Cantlay and Kevin Na lately offer a reminder that nothing in this sport is absolute. Grillo is precisely the type of player to suddenly click when he works out how to score better around the greens and this could be an excellent place to start.
Streelman is really hard to leave out of the staking plan with Berger also on the longlist. The former carded a pair of weekend 64s to win this in 2014 and it's no surprise to read that it's his favourite PGA Tour stop. He hits tons of greens, scores in bursts, arrives in form and has shot 63 and 62 here, so there's an excellent case to be made.
The trouble is he's not been missed in the market, up there at 66/1 with players who are better than he is and, as is the case with Grillo, have much more scope to improve. For all that he might be inspired by seeing stablemate Woodland win the US Open, I can't bring myself to row in at the price in a field which is strong.
Berger meanwhile has a good Dye record, as he should having grown up playing Sawgrass and the Dye Preserve in Florida. He's made cut upon cut, all departments firing separately but never together, and it's significant that his best form has come on similar par-70 courses including here, where he was fifth on debut and a luckless second in 2017.
For my money, however, Russell Knox is a better bet than both as a classier player than Streelman and a more in-form one than Berger.
It's that any four of the six finish T20 or better and that five do.