Adrian Meronk is hoping to carry his fine individual form into team competition when he tees it up for Continental Europe against Great Britain & Ireland at this week's Hero Cup.
The Pole entered 2022 without a DP World Tour win but left it with two after his breakthrough victory at the Horizon Irish Open and stunning win at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open as part of the 2023 campaign.
He arrives at Abu Dhabi Golf Club 47th in the Official World Golf Ranking and with a Masters Tournament debut to come in April, he cannot wait to get his golfing year under way.
"After that win (in Australia), I received the Masters invitation, so that was special," he said. "I'm just very, very proud and glad it happened. The confidence definitely is much higher than last year.
"I spent some quality time back home over Christmas and New Year. I'm excited to be back and get things going again.
"It's a great way to start the year with the team competition and I'm very excited about this week."
This will be the second time the Pole has represented Europe after playing in the Arnold Palmer Cup in 2015 and 2016, while he has also represented his country in team golf as both an amateur and a professional.
"I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I love match play. We didn't play much over my professional career but I played a little bit as an amateur, as a junior, so I have some experience, and I enjoy it. I think it's a great format, especially playing for a team as well. So it's going to be a lot of fun.
"We have a really strong team and I'm very happy to be among these players and I'm sure we're going to enjoy the week and everyone is going to do their best."
One of Meronk's nine team-mates is Nicolai Højgaard, with the Dane drafted in as a replacement for injured twin brother Rasmus.
While he is making his debut in professional team golf this week, Højgaard is another player with plenty of team-room experience in the amateur game, and he believes a fast start in Friday's four-ball session is key before ten sets of foursomes and ten singles matches at the weekend.
"There's obviously some unique circumstances of getting the call last minute but I'm excited to be here and really looking forward to it," he said. "I'll do my best.
"Obviously Rasmus was an asset for the team and he's been playing well for a long time. But I know if he can play well, I can do it as well. I’m definitely looking forward to it and feeling ready for the gun to go off.
"Team Europe has the focus of getting out of the blocks as fast as possible. We have some stats for the team about fast starts and how important that is. We are obviously preparing for Friday, and we are all excited to get going."
