Rory McIlroy insists he has lost none of his hunger for major success as he goes in search of a second Open Championship victory this week.
The Northern Irishman has not added to his four majors since winning the US PGA Championship in 2014, while his form heading to Royal Birkdale has been underwhelming.
Fitness issues have played a part in his relative decline, but the 28-year-old remains determined to compete for top honours.
"I want to win this week. I don't need to win," he said. "A second Open Championship isn't going to change my life, but I want to win.
"I'm still as ambitious now as I was starting off my career, if not more so now because I know what I've achieved and I know what I can achieve.
"So it only makes you want to do that even more."
It has been a decade since McIlroy made his maiden outing at a major when he qualified for The Open at Carnoustie and won the silver medal as the best-performing amateur.
His achievements since then mark him down as one of the greats of his generation, despite some suggestions he has not yet lived up to his full potential.
McIlroy himself has not lost sight of his remarkable progress, but still has a desire to for more.
He added: "If you were to ask me in Carnoustie 10 years ago, okay, you're going to be sitting in your press conference in 10 years' time at Birkdale, what would you like to have achieved?
"If someone told me, you're going to be a four-time major winner and you won The Open, and you're one leg away from the career Grand Slam, you've played on three winning Ryder Cup teams, you've won the Order of Merit three times in Europe, you've won the FedExCup in the States – I'd be, like, yes, I'll take that! That's pretty good.
"But having that success, you only want to do that more. And you want to emulate that and you want to do it again and again and again. So I definitely haven't lost the hunger that I've always had."
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