Galleri Classic storylines: Will Bernhard Langer win a record 46th title and can Fred Couples win on familiar course?

Can a new PGA Tour Champions record be set this week in the inaugural Galleri Classic? Will someone jump into a famous lake?

Those are just two of the questions to be answered at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage when the Galleri Classic debuts, bringing the senior PGA Tour stars back to the desert where many of them made names for themselves on the regular tour. Desert golf fans have been pondering some of these questions since the PGA Tour Champions announced last April it was returning to the Coachella Valley just weeks after the LPGA played its 51st and final event at Mission Hills.

Here's a look at five of the biggest storylines for the Galleri Classic this week:

Bernhard Langer's record chase

Langer has 45 career PGA Tour Champions titles, tied for the most in the tour’s history with Hale Irwin. Langer’s 45th win came just weeks ago at the Chubb Classic in Florida, so even at age 65 Langer is more than capable of winning. A 46th win would be a great introduction for the Galleri Classic.

Dinah Shore Tournament Course

We all know what the Dinah Shore Tournament Course is from its 51 years on the LPGA, most of those as a major championship. But changes will come to the course for the PGA Tour Champions. The course will be longer, the rough won’t be quite as long as it was for the major champions and even a new tee has been built on the first hole. How will the seniors handle the layout?

Fred Couples returns to desert

Other than John Cook, likely no one in the field this week has played the Shore Course as much as Couples, a long-time desert resident who used to play the courses in the 1980s and 1990s. Perhaps the most popular player on the PGA Tour Champions, Couples also won an event last year and will be a focus of attention this week.

What crowds can we expect this week?

From the time the PGA Tour Champions announced it was coming to the desert, some people in the Coachella Valley have wondered if the senior golfers will draw larger galleries than the dwindling crowds for the LPGA major the last few years. That might be a stretch, but it will be interesting to see how desert golf fans embrace a new event with familiar faces.

Tradition of Poppie's Pond

Oh, my goodness, what will happen if the winner of the Galleri this week decides to jump into Poppie’s Pond, the tradition the LPGA and Amy Alcott began back in 1988? Some fans are hoping the jump happens, others believe the leap left the desert with the LPGA. But some PGA Tour Champions golfers have already said they will jump, and it’s important to remember that lots of golfers, not just the LPGA winners, have jumped in that lake.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Galleri Classic: Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples among storylines for debut event