Jon Rahm may be in the form of his life but the World Number Two will be taking nothing for granted when he tees it up at this week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
The Spaniard finished second in his debut at this event in 2017 as he enjoyed a blistering start to his professional career that saw him enter the top ten on the Official World Golf Ranking just 13 months after entering the paid ranks.
He has since spent 46 weeks at the summit, sitting in top spot as recently as last month after claiming five wins and five other top tens in his last 12 worldwide starts.
That should make him a big favourite to advance from Group Two but with 2021 champion Billy Horschel, Rickie Fowler and Keith Mitchell to take on, Rahm is expecting a tough test.
"All great guys, all great players," he said. "The one guy that maybe hasn't been playing his best this year is a past champion out here, so you can't overlook that. He's a great match play player, as well.
"So looking forward to it. I'm excited and hopefully I can make it again through the group stage.
"With regards to the golf course, I think it fits match play very well. It's a golf course that gives you a lot of opportunities. I think it equalises play quite a bit and you see very different people having success out here.
"It's a fun one to play and I always look forward to coming.
"I think it's a great venue. Like I said, the golf course complements match play very, very well and then the city itself, it's a great city to come to. It's easily accessible and it's fun. It's great destination."
Rahm is not only playing at a venue that he loves but also in a format in which he excels, having famously beaten Tiger Woods in the singles at the 2018 Ryder Cup and then won 3½ points in a losing European effort in 2021.
"It's really the only time throughout the year besides maybe the Ryder Cup where you're playing truly against the person in front of you," he said. "Which is much more relatable to every sport we play in the world, which is basically about just playing better than the team in front.
"Usually it's very much about you minding your own business and hopefully beating the other 150 players in the field.
"It's fun. It's a lot more aggressive. You see more birdies. You see a lot of things happen."
