Rory McIlroy has set his sights on stringing four strong rounds together at this week's WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational, knowing that the reward for doing so could be a return to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Northern Irishman was replaced as World Number One by Jon Rahm less than a fortnight ago following the Spaniard's victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide on the US PGA Tour.
McIlroy would definitely regain top spot with a win at TPC Southwind but his sole focus ahead of this week's event is achieving a level of consistency he has perhaps lacked since golf returned last month following the coronavirus shutdown.
He said: "I want to play well. And I guess over the last four weeks there's been some decent golf in there, but obviously some pretty bad stuff too.
"I just want to put four solid rounds together. I haven't really done that since coming back out of the lockdown.
"And if I do put four solid rounds together, then I know I'll have a chance to win."
McIlroy has fond memories of this week's host venue, where he led after three rounds last year before eventually finishing in a tie for fourth after posting a 71 on day four, and he is looking forward to teeing it up on Thursday at 11.50am.
He added: "It's good to be back.
"Southwind's always been a course that I enjoyed going back to when it wasn't hosting a World Golf Championship and it was the week before the U.S. Open.
"I played it a couple of times and I've played well.
"I feel like it's a golf course that suits me, and the condition of the place right now is perfect, so I'm excited to get out there and play tomorrow."
The man who overtook McIlroy at the top of the leaderboard here on Sunday last year is American Brooks Koepka, who followed up finishes of second, first, second and fourth in 2019's four Major Championships with a stunning three-shot victory in Memphis.
Koepka has struggled for form since, however, recording just two top ten finishes in the intervening 12 months as he battled a knee problem and was sidelined for around three months at the end of last year.
But the 30-year-old believes an upturn in fortunes is just around the corner as he prepares to defend his crown.
He said: "I feel like I'm getting better and better every day.
"It's definitely been frustrating. It will test you mentally, but at the same time, I'm looking at it as a challenge. It will turn around eventually.
"You don't work that hard for nothing and I'm starting to see signs of it.
"Now it's just about going and doing it. Whether it be this week, next week, a month from now, two months from now, whatever it's going to be, it will pay off."
