ABU DHABI: Rory McIlroy is hoping his affinity for golf in the Gulf can kick-start his season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship this week and set the scene for more major successes.

The 22-year-old Ulsterman won his first tour title at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic and he has strong sponsorship ties to the neighboring emirate, which is playing second fiddle this year to the Abu Dhabi tournament.

He also chose Dubai as the spot to rest and recuperate at the end of last year, which saw him struggling to recover from a bout of dengue fever.

After that he spent some days at home in Belfast before heading to Thailand to spend New Year with his family and tennis-champion girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.

Then in mid-January it was back to Dubai again as he prepared for a season during which many people believe he will build on his impressive U.S. Open title win of last year and take on the mantle of world No. 1.

“Obviously the weather at home at the minute isn’t too good to practice in, so to come out here and get your game in shape and really put in a couple of weeks’ time – this is the perfect place to start,” he said.

“I felt like I’ve sort of done that the last couple of years, without obviously winning.

“You’d like to go out – not so much to make a statement or any sort of intention – but just for yourself, to know that what you might have been working on in the offseason is coming together nicely and gives you a bit of momentum going into the next few events.”

The next few events will gradually lead McIlroy, and the rest of the golfing world, to the Augusta National in early April, where the Irishman dramatically came to grief last year at the Masters.

Leading by four going into the final round, he was left in despair as he slumped to an 80 that put him into a tie for 15th place behind South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel, who birdied the last four holes to win his first major.

But just two months later he rebounded in spectacular style to win the U.S. Open at Congressional Golf Club in Washington D.C. by a runaway eight strokes.

McIlroy, though, was at pains to douse talk of multiple major titles and world No. 1 rankings.

“I’m not really one to set targets like, ‘I want to win four tournaments this year,’ ‘I want to win this’ or ‘I want to win that,’” he said.

“I’m more focused on the process of trying to become a better player and if I do that then obviously that will make it easier to win tournaments.”

McIlroy also confirmed he would be spending more time this year in the U.S., where he says he feels increasingly comfortable, citing a growing fondness for American football.

“The only thing I’m still trying to get into is baseball, but it is tough to get into that,” he added.