The idea that this will be formally recognised as “the Open without Tiger” is absurd, although be reassured that the new champion on Sunday will quickly be asked: “Does it mean the same?”

A key quality of the next champion, however, will surely be that he did not allow Tiger Woods into his thought process. He who spends his life concerned with Woods should be working in the media, not on the golf course.

It is rare that you find such a towering figure from an individual sport being forced to take a break in the way that Woods has. Mike Tyson’s first prison sentence in the early 1990s had an effect in that it allowed Evander Holyfield to establish himself in the heavyweight boxing division. In tennis, a knife attack in 1993 kept Monica Seles out for two years, just when she had asserted a tight grip on the women’s game. She had won seven of her previous eight grand-slam tournaments; the minute she was out, Steffi Graf reasserted herself.

It may be that, as Holyfield and Graf did in their sports, another golfer seizes the opportunity that the Woods hiatus provides, but whoever does this will not have Woods on their mind. As Steve Bull, a leading sports psychologist, said: “As soon as a door opens slightly, someone should be barging their way through it. That’s how they should be thinking: ‘How can I grab this opportunity?’ ”

According to Karl Morris, another sports psychologist, grabbing the opportunity should always be the key. The point was made two years ago when Morris took Michael Vaughan, the England cricket captain, to the Open to watch Woods. As he recalled: “Immediately Michael was saying: ‘There must be something you can do to get under Tiger’s skin.’ ”

The alternative, as Bull and Morris have acknowledged, is to concede defeat mentally to a player such as Woods. “If you are playing for second when Tiger’s around, the chances are that you will come 32nd,” Bull said. “Yes, see this as an opportunity, but don’t be thinking, ‘Woods isn’t here so it’ll be easier.’ ”

Morris, who works with Graeme McDowell, who won the Barclays Scottish Open on Sunday, concurs. He and McDowell, he said, have not mentioned the name of Woods since the American announced his injury break. “So much of the work we do is getting players to focus on what they can control and not what they can’t,” Morris said. “In tennis, you have a problem if you cannot return Rafael Nadal’s serve. And in boxing, you may have a physical problem with Tyson. But in golf, that cannot happen. Tiger cannot physically affect your ball and that’s what players need to bear in mind now more than ever.”