Shane Lowry says the Ryder Cup is on his mind as he makes final preparations for this week's Amgen Irish Open, which starts tomorrow.
Lowry won the tournament as an amateur 16 years ago, announcing himself to the golfing world with a play-off triumph at Baltray.
He'll return tomorrow fresh off the news that he was selected as one of captain Luke Donald's wildcard picks on Monday.
"The Ryder Cup's been on my mind for a while but when you get the first tee, you're just trying to do as well as you can," he told RTÉ Sport.
"So when I get to the first tee here on Thursday, I'm trying to compete this week, give the crowd something to shout about.
"I'm playing in front of my friends and my family and it's something that I should be very excited about, as well.
"These four weeks in the year are some of the best weeks that I can have so if I can't enjoy these weeks, there's no point playing golf anymore."
Before all that, a crack at winning his home event to build some momentum ahead of the trip to Bethpage at the end of the month.
Lowry is due on course at 7:50am tomorrow alongside Brooks Koepla and Martin Couvra. But the Offaly native is trying to treat the event, which is so close to his heart, like any other.
" I obviously don't live in Ireland anymore," Lowry continued.
"So it's nice to get home for a week. Another week in Ireland's always a bonus and I come here to the K club, a place that I know and love.
"It's just nice to be here playing another Irish Open.
"I was counting the other day, this is my 17th Irish Open, so I'm starting to feel old... experienced more so than old and ready for the challenge.
"It's always a kind of weird week where you want to do really well. You put a lot of pressure on yourself, and once you get to the first tee on Thursday, you try and get rid of all that expectation and just play golf.
"But I'm feeling good. As the weeks have gone on over the last couple of months, I feel like I've started to play better and better and I'm pretty happy with where my game's at. So I'm looking forward to the next few weeks."
Watch the Amgen Irish Open with RTÉ Sport. Live coverage on Thursday and Friday available on RTÉ2, with Saturday and Sunday on RTÉ One. All four days live on RTÉ Player
