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Rory McIlroy is keen to cap a successful season with victory in this week's lucrative DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
McIlroy heads an elite field of 57 players at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, with 28 of the season's winners in attendance, but the European Tour Order of Merit has already been secured by the Northern Irishman.
More than £6m in prize money is on offer and McIlroy hopes he is well placed to put last week's disappointing missed cut in Hong Kong behind him with a fifth 2012 title.
"Obviously Hong Kong wasn't the week that I wanted, but at least it gave me the chance get to Dubai a bit earlier and work on a few things," McIlroy said.
"I definitely needed to work on my putting a little bit, because I feel like I'm still hitting the ball well, I just haven't holed enough putts over the past two weeks. I was maybe also a little bit tired, mentally and physically.
"I think if I was completely fresh, I wouldn't have made the mistakes I did in Hong Kong last week. So in some ways, even though I obviously wanted to defend my title in Hong Kong, maybe having the weekend off worked out for the best, as it gave me the chance to rest up and recharge the batteries.
"It's already been an amazing season, and hopefully I can round it off in style in Dubai this week.
"Obviously I'm very proud and very honoured to win the Race to Dubai. I've had four goes at it and came close a couple of times, so it's great to be able to do it and it's been a phenomenal year."
