Shane Lowry heads into his opening round of the US PGA Championship "optimistic" and battle-hardened after a tough year that's seen the Offaly man take "a few pretty big punches in the gut".
Elements of Lowry's form have been excellent, however he's endured costly nervy finishes when in contention at the Dubai Invitational in January, the Cognizant in February and the Masters last month.
The action at Aronimink in Philadelphia gets under way before midday Irish time with four Irish competitors in the field. Three of them - Tom McKibbin, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy - start around lunchtime. Lowry tees off just after 6.30pm, upbeat and determined to put together a strong few days of golf.
"I've had a few pretty big punches in the gut, or a little bit lower than that!" Lowry laughed when speaking to RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.
"And they've come at a weird time for me this year. Obviously what happened in Dubai at the start of the year, that was pretty early in the season and I came back from that.
"The Cognizant I was playing really good golf and then that happened. To come back and really contend at the Masters and put myself in a position to go out there on Sunday and do well, and then have a shocking day there, yeah it was hard.
"Probably one of the hardest things I've had to do ever was, like literally after I finished, Rory's walking up and I had to go out and put on a brave face. I was happy for him, don't get me wrong, one of my close friends winning the Masters, I was very happy for him. But it was a hard place for me to sit there in front of everyone and put on a brave face.
"Mentally it's been a challenge week after week to keep going. I played 10 out of 12 weeks. My schedule has been quite tough. It was nice to have a week off last week and kind of reset myself."
The 39-year-old has been working with renowned golf psychologist Bob Rotella as he searches for the crucial extra edge that might get him over the line.
Overall though Lowry is in good spirits, quietly confident he can make something happen over the next four days.
"I do a bit of work with Bob Rotella, that's worked well," he added. "But it's hard. It's not as straightforward as going and speaking to someone and getting it out and resetting. It's just not that easy. But I've been around long enough, I'll be fine, still a lot to play for.
"I'm optimistic. I always am. I come here and my main goal is to put myself in a position Saturday evening/Sunday morning to go out and have a chance to win this tournament. That's what we're here for. I love this type of golf, I love these tournaments, I love the big occasions. So yeah that's the plan."
