Graeme McDowell defends his US Open title in Washington this coming week motivated by the desire to prove he is no one-hit wonder in the majors.
With his Pebble Beach victory, Ryder Cup match-winning heroics and then a play-off triumph over Tiger Woods in December from four behind with a round to go, McDowell's place in European golf history is already assured.
But at 31 the Northern Irishman is looking to take his career to the next level - just as Padraig Harrington did after capturing the 2007 Open.
Harrington made a successful defence at Birkdale, then won the US PGA title as well. The first had not been done by a European since 1906, the second since 1930.
Now McDowell, one of seven first-time winners in the last eight majors, believes he can follow suit - even though he has had only one other top-10 finish in majors before or since Pebble Beach.
'Subconsciously we all want to prove ourselves,' he said. 'I don't want to be a one-hit wonder - I want to be the best player I can be.
'What have I got? Five, 10, maybe 15 years of probably the prime of my career. Can I get better? Yeah.
'I've got a hell of a lot of improving to do. There are so many areas of my game that I can get much, much better at.
'I really do believe I've got the game to win an Open. Links is in my blood - always has been - and I'd love to win an Open.
'But you've got to take every week as it comes and Congressional is going to be a huge milestone for me.'
Much though he has loved his year in the spotlight, holding one of the game's four biggest trophies for the first time has taken some getting used to and placed so many more demands on his time.
'I'm excited to get there and have that weight lifted off my shoulders,' adds McDowell.
Asked if it was a weight bearing down on him, he said: 'No, but subconsciously it might be. When I come out the other end I don't know how it's going to make me feel, but all I do know is that I'm going be ready to get on with the rest of my career.
'What I've learned over the past year is that maybe I can handle being one of the world's top players.
'It's been a great learning experience just to go through the process because I'll never go through it again - this will always be my first major.
'It'll always be my defining year, my rookie year as a top player. I feel like I've experienced everything there is to experience in this game and anything else will feel reasonably normal.
'Winning your first major is very surreal. It doesn't feel like you think it's going to feel.
'It feels a lot more normal than that, but of course everything that goes with it is not normal and there's a period of trying to accept what you've achieved.
'It didn't hit me for weeks afterwards. Even at the Open (a month later) I was still feeling pretty emotional.
'When I see statements like 'first European for 40 years, first Irishman to win the US Open, only the third Irishman to win a major championship', stuff like that hits me hard.
'It helps me grab the reality of what I did. Yet I just remember having a certain calm confidence during the week.
'I remember (mental guru) Bob Rotella coming up at the start and asking if I wanted to do anything.
'I said "Doc, I'm feeling very quietly confident. I'm in a calm place in my mind, I'm enjoying my golf, seeing my shots and executing them well".
'I'd won in Wales and in nine holes at Lake Nona on the way to Pebble I had seven birdies. My game was all there - I know a few of the caddies had a sneaky punt on me.'
They must have been worried it was not going to happen when Dustin Johnson came charging past him into a three-stroke lead with a third-round 66 McDowell describes as 'immense'.
His word for his own level-par 71 the same day is 'battling', but he adds: 'In a way Saturday was part of the reason I got the job done on Sunday.
'I was nervous, but I came through that experience, handled it pretty well and I was in control of myself.
'And when Dustin threw the lead back to me (with an early triple bogey and double bogey en route to an 82) I hadn't had to sleep on it. I was on the course, ready to accept it and run with it.'
That he most certainly did. And he craves a chance to do it again.
