Pablo Larrazábal is looking forward to having the chance to experience the "second best" feeling in the world as he defends his title at the Genesis Championship.
The Spaniard won his eighth DP World Tour title at last year's Korea Championship Presented by Genesis, which has now merged with the Genesis Championship for this year's event.
That means Park Sang-hyun, the winner of the 2023 Genesis Championship which was also held at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, will also be defending his crown as 90 DP World Tour and 30 KPGA Tour players go head to head.
Larrazábal arrives in Incheon having become a father for the first time in April when son Thiago was born and while he admits it has given him a different outlook on golf this season, he insists the desire to win is as strong as ever as he hunts Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup points.
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"It's awesome to be back, what a golf course," he said.
"I had so many memories playing yesterday, I played the back nine and going through all those shots that I hit on Sunday afternoon down the stretch, it was very emotional.
"There is no better feeling than to win in golf. There is one better feeling which is to have a child but the second best feeling is to win a golf tournament.
"When you win once, you want to win more and that's how I feel. I like to compete against the best and this week we have Tom Kim here.
"I don't travel the world to have fun, I travel the world to win golf tournaments and that's what I've been doing for 17 years.
"I'm going to try to keep my title, to defend it properly and to win it back and if I win it back I will get some Race to Dubai points and get into Dubai and get some good points for Luke Donald's team."
While Larrazábal is aiming to defend his title and crack the top 70 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex so he can make the DP World Tour Play-Offs, many in the field this week are playing for their futures on tour.
The top 114 on the Race to Dubai after Sunday's action concludes will keep their playing privileges but Larrazábal's countrymen Santiago Tarrio and Ivan Cantero are currently on the outside looking in, although they have a good fighting chance at 116th and 117th respectively.
Larrazábal has been fortunate enough to have never been involved in that battle since coming through the Qualifying School in 2007 but his thoughts this week will be with his compatriots.
"90% of my heart is with those Spaniards that are trying to keep their card and those friends of mine that have been around for so many years - those guys are part of my family," he said.
"To try to keep your job is tough and you're working four days for probably the rest of your life because some of those guys, if they lose their tour card, it is going to be tough to make it back.
"So my energy is on Ivan, Santi, those guys are really in the position that they have to make a score to keep their job so that's how tough this week is."
