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Robert MacIntyre has admitted that he is eyeing up a seat on Team Europe’s flight to Whistling Straits in September as he gets set to resume his season at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The Scot enjoyed a fine run of form towards the end of 2020, finally securing that elusive first European Tour win at the Cyprus Showdown in November as well as recording two other top-10 finishes.

Now, after a month’s break, the 24-year-old is raring to go once again as he seeks to achieve his big goals for the year ahead.

“If I can keep playing the way I was playing at the end of last year, then I personally think anything is achievable, no matter what it is,” said the Oban man.

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“The win took a lot of people off my back and got the monkey off my back. I don’t need to think about winning just as much now. I was worrying about too many people and too many things that I couldn’t control, so I’ve narrowed my focus and it’s helping me.”

A big factor this week in the UAE is the resumption of Ryder Cup qualification on the European Tour. The decision to freeze them was made back in July until the beginning of 2021, something of which MacIntyre is well aware.

“The Ryder Cup points restarting has obviously been on the horizon. I’m quite glad it got knocked back a year. The Ryder Cup is in my sights. I’ve just got to play good golf. Everything that I do, comes down to me playing good golf and if I can do that, then every goal is achievable.”

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The Scot is currently sitting 51st in the Official World Golf Rankings, a 14-place improvement on where he was at this time last year, but he isn’t resting on his laurels with a potential first trip to Augusta on the cards in April.

As it stands, MacIntyre would only be eligible for a shot at a Green Jacket should he be one of the 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the 2021 Masters Tournament.

“Top-50 is not where I want to end up,” he added. “It’s not my end goal. It’s just a stepping stone in where I want to be. If I can crack that by April or by March 25, then absolutely brilliant, I’ll also be at the Masters. If not, I’m only 25, so I’ve got plenty of years to be playing the Masters, but I’ve got a great chance this year.”