Rory McIlroy is hoping to make up for last year's disappointment when he tees it up at The 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon.
The Northern Irishman claimed his third Major Championship - and the third leg of the career grand slam - when he lifted the Claret Jug in 2014 as part of a summer of stunning form which catapulted him back to Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking.
He retained that status into the following summer but was unable to defend his title at St Andrews after he suffered an ankle injury while playing football with friends.
The 27 year old is back to full fitness now, though, and with a win and six top tens in eight European Tour events this season, he is excited to be back on The Open stage.
"I'm excited to be back," he said. "Obviously I missed last year at St Andrews. It was one that I'd earmarked since 2010, to possibly have a chance to win a Claret Jug there. I feel of all the courses on the Open road, that's probably my best chance to win, so to miss that last year was very disappointing.
"But I'm excited to be back and to a golf course that I've never played before. I don't really have any experience here at Troon, so it was good to get a couple of good looks at it last week, and then I just played another 18 holes this morning.
I'm exblockquoted to be back and hopefully by the end of the week I can try to put my name on that Claret Jug a second time - Rory McIlroy
McIlroy found himself on the receiving end of a beating from Troon's famous Postage Stamp on Tuesday morning, taking "eight or nine" shots after getting into bunker trouble on the eighth which - at 123 yards - is the shortest hole on The Open rotation.
But the four-time Major winner is hopeful that he has got his troubles out of the way on a hole that he believes will prove a major test this week, and he does not think his lack of experience on the Ayrshire layout will be a problem.
"I don't think I'm at a disadvantage at all," he said. "I had two good looks at the golf course last Thursday and Friday. I just played another 18 holes this morning. I'll probably play a bit of a loop tomorrow.
"The greens are quite flat. One of the big things here, you just have to keep it out of the bunkers. There's not a whole lot of learning to do of the golf course. Just make sure you're comfortable with the clubs you're hitting off the tees. Once you put it in play, you've got a chance to make some birdies."
McIlroy's last Major triumph came at the US PGA Championship in that glorious summer of 2014 and since then the three players above him in the OWGR - Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson - have all claimed wins in the game's four biggest events.
The 13-time European Tour winner has four Majors in his trophy cabinet, though, and is not concerned if he has to wait a little longer for number five.
"Winning Majors is not easy," he said. "It's not just about turning up and playing and collecting a trophy.
"If someone said at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, you won't win one of your next five Majors you play, I'd be like, 'yeah, well, sometimes it goes like that and it goes in cycles'.
"It's a very long career, so there's plenty of time to try and rack up more Major Championships.
"I feel like when I play my best golf, if I'm not the favourite, I'm one of the favourites. I'm pretty confident that if I do play my best golf, then there's a good chance that I'll end up coming out on top."
