The Northern Irishman was sidelined for almost two months after rupturing a ligament in his ankle while playing soccer with friends on July 4, forcing him to miss the British Open at St. Andrews, one of his favourite venues, among other events.
Though he triumphed three times this year, all those wins came before the end of May and he is eager to recapture his usual ability of contending virtually every time he competes, starting this week at Silverado Resort in Napa, California.
"Since I've come back from the injury, I've had a couple of good finishes but not really been in contention," McIlroy, 26, told reporters on Wednesday while preparing for Thursday's opening round.
"So I want to get back into contention, have chances to win tournaments. That's really my focus until the end of the year. I've got four opportunities to do that from now until Dubai," he said, referring to the PGA Tour and its European equivalent.
A four-time major champion, McIlroy described 2015 as something of a 'lost year' because of his inability to add further wins in golf's blue riband events to his career resume.
Pats' Brady says no extra motivation for Colts clash
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady feels no added motivation for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts team that triggered the "Deflategate" scandal that nearly kept him off the field for four games.
While many believe this matchup will have extra edge because of the fallout from their AFC Championship Game in January, both Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick maintained it would be 'business as usual' when the Patriots visit the Colts.
"I'm always pretty motivated," Brady told a news conference on Wednesday when asked if he would have added incentive for the game in Indianapolis.
"It'll be an exciting game. I know they've got a good team. They've won three straight. They made some changes this offseason, so they're a very confident team.
"It's going to take a great effort to beat them, so we'll work hard at practice today, over the next few days, hopefully get us prepared, and then go out and try to beat a good team on the road on Sunday night."
When pressed on how there could not be extra incentive, Brady replied: "I'm always pretty motivated regardless of the opponent, regardless of the team or the week, whether it's a preseason game, whether it's a regular season game.
"They're all important because there are so few of those where you get an opportunity in your life, so I don't take it for granted.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
