Darren Clarke has set his sights on winning at least two more tour events this season as he bids to make Nick Faldo's European Ryder Cup team on merit.
Clarke was speaking on the eve of the Irish Open at Adare Manor in Limerick where Padraig Harrington will attempt to defend his title from 12 months ago.
Harrington and Lee Westwood will both be looking to bounce back from missed cuts at last week's Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida. Harrington (7/1) leads the betting with Westwood second favourite (12/1).
In Clarke's case he is looking to build on last month's BMW Asian Open win in Shanghai, the 39-year-old's first European Tour win for five years.
"Being a single parent has taken a while to get used to," said the father-of-two Clarke, who lost his wife Heather to cancer 21 months ago. "It's definitely been a different experience, to say the least, looking after the boys, making all the decisions myself.
"It's not something I ever did before. I suppose everybody has difficult times, but I definitely got closer to my boys through what's happened.
"They are happy and I'm certainly a lot happier than I've been for some time. It's just progressing, It's life moving onwards, that's all.
"There were a few times last year where I was going back to venues where I remembered Heather and I used to stay. I couldn't quite focus on what I was trying to do. My concentration wasn't as good as it should have been."
Even though Clarke has regained his focus this season, he still finds himself outside the top 25 on the Ryder Cup qualifying table. This position goes some way to explaining his decision to add the Wales Open to his schedule in two week's time while skipping the US Open qualifier the following day.
"My whole schedule is based around Europe, to start climbing up the world rankings, which I've done," he said.
"It's all worked out as we would have hoped so far and I'm doing everything I can to try to make the Ryder Cup team. It's one I desperately want to play in.
"Some people may frown at my decision, but that's the way I see it. My preparations wouldn't be the way that I would want them going into a major championship."
Asked if he felt his game was now good enough to win any tournament he played in Clarke replied: "Very close."
"When I play well I've got no doubts whatsoever about winning tournaments. I know I can play."
As the Irish Open and British Open champion, Harrington might have expected all the focus to be on him entering the tournament, given that he was the one who finally bridged the 25-year gap to the last Irish winner.
But in addition to Clarke's success, fellow Irishmen Graeme McDowell (Ballentine's Championship), Damien McGrane (China Open) and Peter Lawrie (Spanish Open) have also won on the European Tour in recent weeks.
"They are taking the plaudits and there's less for me to do, so I'm better prepared than last year," said Harrington, who will miss next week's BMW PGA Championship as it doesn't fit in with his build-up to the US Open at Torrey Pines.
"I'm also a better player and I think last week (he bogeyed the last five holes to miss the cut) will have zero effect on this event.
"I think more players are going to be comfortable with the course this time, though," added the Dubliner referring to the stern test the Adare Manor layout presents.
Tomorrow Harrington will tee it up from the 10th tee with McDowell and Scotland's Alastair Forsyth at 8.00am, while Clarke will be alongside his friend and compatriot Paul McGinley, plus England's Oliver Wilson, at 1.00pm from the first tee.
Rory McIlroy is in the second group of the morning from the 10th (7.30am) alongside Sweden's Peter Hedblom and Australia's Richard Green. Fellow Belfast man Michael Hoey received a sponsor's invite after his recent win in the Moroccan Open on the Challenge Tour.
