Rory McIlroy labelled 2025 as the year that "everything came together for me" as he eyes more success at the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy completed his career grand slam back in April with his triumph at the Masters, also ending his 11-year wait for a major title.
He has struggled for form since then, though, finishing T12 at the BMW Championship and T23 at the Tour Championship most recently.
Now, the Northern Irishman is preparing for this week's Irish Open, with the BMW PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup to come later this month.
McIlroy is already delighted with his achievements this year, but knows that a Ryder Cup victory, in particular, would cap it all off.
"I guess it's the year that everything came together for me," he said. "It was basically the one piece of the puzzle that was left for me to complete.
"When I look at my career and my whole picture as a golfer, I've basically done everything I wanted to. I guess everything after that it's a bonus, but you have to reassess your goals.
"The one thing for me - obviously, I'd love to win this week. I'd love to win next week at Wentworth. But the one thing for me this year to reassess my goals, an away Ryder Cup [win], after everything that's happened this year.
"I would look back on 2025, and there's no way that I would – if I did have a better year in the game, I'd love to see it.
"But if we were to win an away Ryder Cup with everything else that I've been through this year, 2025 would be the best year of my career."
No away side has won the Ryder Cup since 2012, when Europe achieved their 'Miracle at Medinah' under captain Jose Maria Olazabal.
This year's captain, Luke Donald, has opted to go with 11 of the 12 golfers who were part of their win in Italy two years ago, with the only change seeing Rasmus Hojgaard replacing his twin brother Nicolai.
And McIlroy is fully confident in the team as he believes their experience could prove invaluable.
"I've said this repeatedly, but I think winning an away Ryder Cup is up there with one of the biggest achievements in the game, especially nowadays," he added.
"There's a reason every Ryder Cup for the last 10 years has gone to the home team. They have a big advantage from the set-up of the course to how partisan the crowd is.
"But I think the Europeans have a wonderful opportunity this year to achieve something very, very special – but it's going to be very difficult. Make no mistake, we know we're up against it. We know we've got a tall task on our hands.
"They have a very strong team. They're going to have a pretty raucous crowd on their side and on a golf course that a lot of them know pretty well from previous tournaments.
"But I love the team that Luke has assembled. It's a very strong 12 players, and I think it's the right 12 players. You could certainly make that case [that the players are stronger than in Rome]. You could argue that pretty much every player is more accomplished than two years ago."
The Ryder Cup is taking place at Bethpage Black between September 26 and 28.
