The Northern Irish golfer has established himself as one of the top players in the sport over the past 15 years and explained that his remaining targets are to win the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, win an away Ryder Cup for the second time and claim an Olympic gold medal.

McIlroy told BBC Sport: "Winning the Masters, winning an Olympic medal and another away Ryder Cup, they are my three goals for the rest of my career."

The four-time major winner begins his PGA Tour season at the AT+T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend and revealed that he is tailoring his game to be in peak condition for the Masters in April.

McIlroy said: "I've realised that all I can control is myself. What's right for me right now is to fully focus on myself and to get the best out of myself and get back to winning the biggest tournaments in the world.

"I've been agonisingly close for the past few years, without being able to get it done and that is the main focus of this year."

McIlroy has not won a major since 2014 and has centred his game around ending his 11-year wait to win of the four biggest prizes in the sport.

The world number three said: "All of my practice, all of my prep, even the tournaments that I'm playing, it's all geared towards being ready for those four events.

"Augusta is Augusta. I've gone through my stats and there are a couple of things that were pointed out to me that I could definitely get better at - certain little shots around the greens."