The PGA Tour is back. Let’s make some wild predictions for the 2017 season.

A new year brings new hope, new enthusiasm, and a new mandate for wild predictions about events that could be many months away.

After a break for the holidays, the PGA Tour’s 2016-2017 season returns this week at the SBS Tournament of Champions at Kapalua on Maui. While this field of 2016 tournament winners probably won’t tell you a great deal about what to expect for the upcoming season, it’s not too early to look ahead. This is a new year so let’s make some predictions for all that awaits us in the upcoming season.

Here are seven things to expect this season on the PGA Tour and in the golf world.

Dustin Johnson was the dominant player on the PGA Tour in 2016, and it would be easy to pick the long-bombing U.S. Open champ to retain his Player of the Year title in 2017. One reason he might not? Rory McIlroy still plays golf — and he finished 2016 looking stronger than ever.

For the better part of two full seasons, Rory’s had to listen to the chorus of the golf world proclaim the Big Two, Big Three, Big Four, Big Whatever Indiscriminate Number Of Players We Feel Are Stars On A Given Week. But while McIlroy’s gone majorless for the last two seasons, he’s still got as many major titles to his name as Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, and Jason Day combined — and he’s still widely regarded as the most talented player on the planet.

Rory’s finish to 2016 was as impressive as any in the world. He won in Boston and Atlanta during the playoffs, taking home the FedExCup. He went full wrestling-heel during the Ryder Cup and played at a level to back it up. And after a break, closed 2016 with top-10s at the HSBC Champions and Euro Tour championship in Dubai. He’s in good form, and Nike’s departure from the equipment-making business could allow him to do even bigger things.

Now freed up to explore whatever club and ball options he likes without a contractual commitment, there’s every reason to believe Rory could reach the levels of dominance we all salivate about this season.

That’s bad news for the rest of golf in 2017.

If you’re a gambling type, it’s a solid investment to take a shot on McIlroy winning at least one major title this season. It’s easy to see him contending for his career grand slam in April at the Masters, but he’ll be a heavy favorite come August at the PGA Championship when the tournament goes to Quail Hollow. He’s shattered records in each of his two wins there, and has already been on record saying he likes his chances.

If he can add one major win in the first three? Don’t be shocked if this is a multiple-major season for the man many regard as the game’s best player.

Here, quick, let’s list Hideki’s worldwide finishes since a fifth place to close the 2015-16 season at the Tour Championship in September.

First, second, first, first, first

WHEW.

The crown jewel of that run since September was his late-October, seven-shot victory at the WGC HSBC Champions event. But the Japanese young gun isn’t just beating everyone, he’s blowing dudes off the face of the earth. In his four wins to close 2016, his margin of victory totaled 19 shots. Sure, a couple of those events were in Japan and another was Tiger’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. But I don’t care if you’re playing mini-tour events, ethering the field four times in five starts like that is insane.

So, why now, what changed for Hideki? He figured out how to putt. Matsuyama’s always been a brilliant tee-to-green player, but he was 103rd on tour in strokes gained putting in 2016. Those stats weren’t kept for any of his 2016-17, but the top-ranked player on tour in putting average so far during the wraparound season.

If he keeps that pace up this season, he’s gonna win The Masters. By, like, a lot.

Listen, everyone gets one prediction that might be a little silly, OK?

Large Cat was ultimately daggone impressive in his first competitive start in over a year at the Hero in early December. Of course, he only beat three dudes on a fairly toothless golf course. But the hero provides a quality field from top to bottom, even if it is a small one.

Tiger will likely benefit from being freed up from his Nike equipment deal, too. The old Scotty Cameron putter that he used in 13 of his 14 major wins is back in the bag, and he’s been able to test clubs and balls — coming to find whatever works best without the guiding hand of Swoosh Money. Sure, he might be looking like your dad out there playing a Bridgestone ball, but, hey — if it works for Cat to win big tournaments again, I’m all for it.

The number of familiar tracks he’ll play in 2017 (as he most often does when healthy) is what lends me to believe a win might be in play this season. He’ll open the 2017 calendar at Torrey Pines. After that, it’s off to the Dubai Desert Classic, where’s he won multiple times, and then back stateside to Riviera and the Honda Classic near his home in south Florida. One would expect other regular stops like Bay Hill, the Memorial, and Akron to make the schedule, too, if he stays healthy. Those are a lot of familiar courses with good memories.

Why not?

The PGA Tour needs more creativity and outside-the-box thinking with tournament formats. Players had been asking for some sort of team format tournament that actually mattered (Sorry, Franklin Templeton Shootout) for quite some time, and the tour and Zurich Classic organizers answered the call with this two-man team event, which will alternate foursomes (alternate shot) and fourball (best ball) play through four rounds.

Some of the teams are already loaded. Olympic gold and silver medalists Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose will play together. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler have made an alliance. Many of the teams are still up in the air, but the change in format is something the Tour needs — and it’s likely going to be a hit with fans come late April.

Expect this to go over extremely well and result in other sometimes middling and lower-tier events clamoring at the Tour’s door for the opportunity to mix up their format, too.

There’s a number of names one could throw out to be a breakout player in 2017 domestically, but if there’s a player best positioned to become a superstar, you might find him overseas.

Thomas Pieters played his way onto the European Ryder Cup roster with a huge late summer streak, and then played all five sessions, setting a new Euro rookie record with four wins. How much game does he have? Well, Rory McIlroy says he wants the young Belgian to be his partner at the competition for the “next 20 years.”

Pieters is miles-long off the tee, and drew early comparisons to Tiger Woods from Euro captain Darren Clarke. He’s got a superstar pedigree, too, winning the 2012 individual NCAA title in his second year at Illinois.

Don’t expect to see too much of Pieters stateside just yet in 2017, but he’d be a decent bet to pick up a couple of worldwide wins in 2017 and contend in major championships. If you’re not already from the Ryder Cup, it’s time you become familiar with his name.

The last two U.S. Opens haven’t, um, gone well for the USGA. Chambers Bay was an agronomical trash fire in 2015, a viable public golf course ruined by decisions that flirt with being out-and-out turf management malpractice. The botched ruling and finish to the 2016 edition with Dustin Johnson’s penalty-or-not-penalty affected less players than 2015 but made it back-to-back years with serious issues.

When the 2017 national championship comes to Erin Hills in rural Wisconsin, expect more of the same. The course itself was built and constructed for almost the sole purpose of bringing a U.S. Open to Wisconsin, and the USGA has its fingerprints all over the course’s DNA. New golf course, over-involved USGA course-set up folks (it can be set up over 8,000 yards!). That sound familiar? Don’t be surprised if players and fans alike aren’t happy with the set up of the course once again.

Will we all (read: I) get sucked in by May or June that this is finally the year El Nino pulls through at the Open Championship? Stay tuned!