Rory McIlroy insists he is not thinking about the chance to return to world No 1 or the prospect of a last-16 clash with Tiger Woods at this week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
McIlroy has arrived in Austin refreshed after taking a week off following his memorable win at The Players Championship, where his renewed attitude and calm mindset helped him to his first victory in 53 weeks.
The 29-year-old could reclaim the world No 1 ranking for the first time since September 2015 if he lifts the title for the second time this week, while many are relishing the prospect of seeing McIlroy take on Tiger Woods on Saturday morning if both can win their respective groups.
But McIlroy has vowed to retain the composed approach to his game that has seen him start the year in stunning style, with his win at TPC Sawgrass following five consecutive top-six finishes, and he reiterated he is not putting himself under pressure to win every time he tees up.
"My narrative is I'm playing some pretty good golf here," said McIlroy, who faces Luke List, Justin Harding and Matt Fitzpatrick in Group 4. "It's just a matter of keep doing what I'm doing, keep thinking how I'm thinking.
"And again, it's not being defined by your wins and losses, that's the key. That's the secret of being freed up and not buying into narratives and not living and dying with every golf tournament or every shot. I think that's very important.
"The big thing is winning my first match. I haven't been able to do that the last couple of years, win my match on Wednesday. So that's the first step in the process. If I win seven matches this week, that would be awesome. But we'll see what happens.
"But winning tournaments, getting to world No 1 and all those accolades, it's a by-product of doing all the little things right. And I feel like I'm doing the little things right. And step by step they will add up to all that stuff that other people find important.
"I saw that Fitz was in my group, and Fitz and I have become pretty close over the last couple of years, living in Jupiter and practising together. I texted him and said, 'let's make sure we both have something to play for on Friday'. That's as far as I've thought ahead."
McIlroy is also determined to take his relaxed attitude to Augusta National in a fortnight as he makes his latest attempt to complete a career grand slam of majors, although he is wary that some may question his motivation.
When asked about his "desire" to win The Masters for the first time after several near-misses, he said: "I think there's a difference between a personal desire and a need, and I think I've separated those two.
"I would have said a couple of years ago, 'I need to win a Masters. I need a green jacket'. But now it's, 'I want to. I want to win it. And I'd love to win it', but if I don't then I'm okay with that. And I think that is the difference.
"Maybe some people will say that I'm not motivated enough. Believe me, I am motivated to make the most of what I have and to put my name among some of the greats of our game.
"My win percentage since I turned pro is probably around 10 per cent, which is pretty good for golf. So knowing nine times out of 10 that you're going to fail, that is freeing, as well. That's freedom.
"So I'm going to try my ass off here, and I'm probably not going to win, but as long as you can take the positives from it and you move on to the next tournament and the next tournament and the next tournament and you keep going with what you want to do and you keep learning.
"I've had 10 years of learning at Augusta, and some tough times. And all of those, if I do one day, get that green jacket at the end of 72 holes, then all of those experiences will have played a part in helping me do that.
"So have I a desire to do it? Yes. Do I have a need to do it? No."