ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – It's hard to believe that 217 days have gone by since I won the VISA Open de Argentina at Nordelta. After the joy of winning my home country’s Open, I realized that I was going to finally fulfill the dream of playing in a major, no less in The 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews.

I have spent the last five days in Scotland with my team looking for the ideal preparation for what will undoubtedly be a week to enjoy but also an important measure of where my game is. I arrived at The Open with the satisfaction of having recently obtained my card for the upcoming Korn Ferry Tour season, but come Thursday a beautiful opportunity opens up for me in my PGA TOUR debut, no less than in the place where golf was born.

This is not the first time I have visited St. Andrews, but obviously this is a special occasion. I first came here in 2011 and 2012 for the St. Andrews Links Trophy, an event for the world’s top amateurs. I finished 34th in my debut and 22nd the following year.

When I first arrived at the Old Course last Tuesday, I felt a different feeling than the one I typically experience when arriving at a golf course. It cannot be explained, seeing the first and 18th fairways, the R&A building, the Swilcan Bridge, those places that are so iconic for our sport. It’s something very special.

I had the privilege of having the course to myself this week and thus I was able to work on getting to know the layout in the best way, devoting all the time necessary to each hole. It was six hours of pure enjoyment on a course that looks perfect and ready for Open week.

On Wednesday we went to play Carnoustie, with the idea of getting used to playing this type of golf. We were received by a brutal course, with a very Scottish wind. There I was able to know perfectly what to play in these conditions. As the hours passed, the wind died down and we reached the end with a spectacular afternoon and with the feeling of having lived a great experience.

The next day, after grabbing groceries for the house we rented for two weeks in Leuchars -- just 15 minutes from St. Andrews -- I once again had the Old Course to myself. This time I played the course in the afternoon and I could see how people use the course as a public park. Seeing the level of respect they treat it with, it was a wonderful thing.

As we continued preparations on Thursday, we went to play Dumbarnie Golf Links, a spectacular new course half an hour from our rental house, where it also blew hard enough to know how to play in these conditions.

Before the end of the first week in Scotland, I had the opportunity to enjoy the Old Course for the last time by myself. At 7 a.m. Saturday, I hit the first tee and I could see the characteristic wind in case I have the morning tee time. A few hours later, my wife Martina and daughter Azalea arrived in Edinburgh, and I went to share some family time with them.

What conclusions did I draw from these days of practice? It is a course where the direction of the wind is preponderant; depending on where the wind blows, it changes significantly. It is also a course with undulating fairways where a good shot can turn into a not-so-good one because of a bad bounce.

As of Sunday, the players began to arrive and everything started to look like a major. There are already more people and you can see a different atmosphere. It will certainly be a different challenge to share this week with the best players in the world.

The dream of playing a major is already underway, and now I have to keep working to ensure the best possible outcome and memory.