Eddie Pepperell is hoping a relaxed persona and positive memories will be the keys to success when he tees up at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time in Austin.
Pepperell broke into the top 500 of the Official World Golf Rankings after making the cut at The Rocco Forte Open - Verdura, Sicily in May 2017 and the Englishman has gone on from strength to strength ever since.
He has recorded 16 top tens in the 42 European Tour events since then, including two victories and two second-placed finishes, to cement his place in the world's top 50 during his meteoric rise.
Pepperell hopes his fondness towards match play can help him secure a place in the knockout stages at the Austin Country Club, where he will take on World Number Two and fellow Englishman Justin Rose, American Gary Woodland and Argentina's Emilano Grillo in Group 2 during the first three days of action.
"It's very different," Pepperell said. "I've haven't played match play for I'm thinking a decade or so, since I was a amateur. Actually no, we nearly lost last year, me and Matt (Wallace) [at the GolfSixes]. So my last memory is not really good actually.
I like to just play golf and make sure I'm playing as good as I can - Eddie Pepperell
"Out here, you know all these guys are very good golfers. So I think you're taking it with a pinch of salt. Anything can happen on the day. You've just first of all got to make sure that you play well.
"But I've historically loved match play. So it will be nice to, hopefully we can use some of those positive memories and get positive."
Success has not been restricted to just the European Tour either. The Englishman produced a fine weekend of low scoring to finished tied for third at The Players Championship two weeks ago to play his way into form ahead of a busy period in the European International Schedule.
"It was a bizarre week, I didn't feel like I played very good. I was ready to go home pretty early in the week. And then before you know it, I found a good run here and there on a Sunday, and I'm on the 18th tee tied for the lead, thinking, don't hit it left.
"I mean, it was bizarre, really. One of those weeks I wouldn't be able to say I expected or saw it coming. It was a lot of fun. Obviously 17 was a pretty magical moment for me. And I had a lot of people at home saying how much they enjoyed it."
Pepperell has not ruled out his chances of success in Texas, but remains relaxed as he takes part in a world-class field and is open to letting the big-name stars gain all the attention.
"I think that's going to be the hardest thing for me this week," he added. "I don't know how competitive I am. I think I'm competitive. But the position these guys are in, I don't know. It can sometimes be hard to be positive because they're golfing very lovely. But then again if you stand on the tee, there might be more positive juices flowing. It's hard to say.
"I think I'm prepared for it. I don't think too much about those things, so I like to just play golf and make sure I'm playing as good as I can.
"And the good thing is as I'm getting a bit older, it seems that the results are coming better, and better results are coming as I tend to reach the levels that I want to reach, let's say. So that's nice. And the fact if it does is great, and if not, so be it."
Pepperell produced a superb wire-to-wire victory to claim the Sky Sports British Masters for his second European Tour victory and he believes those experiences can help him in Texas.
"That was nice, just leading the week, feeling very comfortable in that position. I actually expected myself to win from the Thursday. It was quite nice.
"I definitely had some confidence that week that I hadn't felt very often before. And just the whole feeling of the week was very nice. We had a good time."
