Viktor Hovland is confident he can recapture his recent winning form as he starts his 2022 DP World Tour season at this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The Norwegian finished 2021 with back-to-back victories on the PGA Tour to make it a hat-trick for the year after his triumph at the BMW International Open in June.
The World Number Seven came back after the festive season with a tie for 30th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and, while he admitted to a little ring rust in Hawaii, he is raring to go as he seeks a first Rolex Series title at Yas Links.
"Obviously I couldn't have finished the year better than I did last year," he said.
"I put the clubs away for a few weeks and started the year in Hawaii where I didn't have the best of prep and was pretty rusty. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting the rust off and feel like I'm getting the game back to where it was before the break."
With five worldwide wins and a Ryder Cup appearance in less than three years since turning professional, Hovland has already established himself as a global star at the age of just 24.
He is making his second appearance at this event after a missed cut in 2020 and admits he is learning all the time how to be a worldwide player.
"It's cool," he said. "It's definitely a little different field.
"We're worldwide players and we come to these great events and you've really got to bring your best stuff to have a chance to raise the trophy at the end. It's going to be a cool experience and I look forward to it.
"The more experience you have always helps but there's something to not knowing what you're getting into and just kind of playing golf and then seeing how it goes.
You've really got to bring your best stuff to have a chance to raise the trophy at the end. It's going to be a cool experience and I look forward to it
"But I feel comfortable and I've already been here for a couple of days and I feel like I'm going through the preparations and know what I'm getting into. It's not like I'm wondering how it's going to be or what it's going to be like. So I think that helps."
The coastal course at Yas Links truly lives up to its name, and Hovland is looking forward to the test should the wind blow over the next few days.
"Obviously there's some wind forecasted around this place," he said. "I think it's a good test tee-to-green. The fairways are reasonably wide.
"But if you get a few crosswinds here and there, you really have to know where the ball is going off the tee. You have to sometimes hold the ball up against the wind or be able to be comfortable working it both ways. If you're far off line, there's some pretty thick stuff.
"The greens are very interesting. There's a lot of slope but again there's not that many flat spots on the green. I'll be interested to see where they put the pins and if it starts blowing a lot then it could be a really good test."
