Shane Lowry returns to one of his "favourite places in the world" to defend his BMW PGA Championship title, with the memory of overcoming two of the world's best players on Sunday last year fresh in his mind.
"It was a good week last week in Ireland and I'm hoping for another good week this week and looking forward to it."
During a dramatic final round in Surrey a year ago, Lowry birdied the last to overtake early clubhouse leader Rahm at the summit.
But he then faced an anxious wait as McIlroy, in the group behind, gave himself an eagle putt at the 18th which would have pulled him alongside Lowry.
McIlroy's 23-foot effort just stayed above ground, though, handing Lowry the title.
And he is back in England this week to take on a star-studded field in the fourth Rolex Series event of the 2023 season.
Fresh from his joint third-place finish at the Horizon Irish Open on home soil on Sunday, Lowry is relishing the prospect of defending his title at one of his favourite venues this week.
He said: "I've always loved coming here and to come back here as defending champion, it's a tournament that you always want to win as a European golfer.
"It's one that's kind of on your list at the start of every year that you definitely want to play in, and you want to try and win. It's great and I'm looking forward to the week ahead.
Reflecting on what stands out from that experience, Lowry added: "Just how calm I was coming down the back nine.
"I felt like I got myself in position and I've got what it takes to do it against the best in the world. It was exciting to do that.
"I always love coming here. It's one of my favourite places in the world."
Lowry will kick off his title defence in the company of Ryder Cup team-mates Sepp Straka and Tommy Fleetwood at 0900 on Thursday.
