Shane Lowry believes playing tournaments at home prior to the Ryder Cup in New York later this month will help Team Europe fully embrace what is at stake against Team USA.
Lowry, selected as a captain's pick by Luke Donald for the event at Bethpage Black from September 26-28, live in full on SportNews, will be looking to help Team Europe win an away Ryder Cup for the first time since the 'Miracle at Medinah' in 2012.
The 38-year-old will tee it up at the Amgen Irish Open from Thursday and then play in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth the following week before heading to the States.
When a reporter suggested playing in Ireland and England was "not ideal" ahead of the Ryder Cup in America, Lowry said: "I think it actually works well for us Europeans - we get to come to the environment that we're essentially playing for.
"I feel when you go play the Ryder Cup, you're playing for much more than just the 12 lads, the caddies or the people that are there. You're playing for the [DP World] Tour, for a lot of people on the outside.
"To put ourselves in that environment over the next two weeks, it kind of shows what it would mean to everyone. I quite enjoy that, especially with what we've got coming up.
"You're getting well wishes off everybody. It's not even just the Europeans, it's the other guys, the Kiwis or the South Africans. I think everyone has a want for the European Ryder Cup team to win this Ryder Cup."
Lowry slipped out of the final automatic qualification spot for Team Europe when Ryder Cup rookie Rasmus Hojgaard did enough at the British Masters to claim the sixth and final place while Lowry was playing in the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour.
However, the Irishman - who will now feature in his third Ryder Cup - says he was always "semi-confident" of being picked by Donald and "knew what I could add to the team".
Speaking on Wednesday, ahead of the Amgen Irish Open, Donald said of Lowry: "Shane is someone who has experienced an away Ryder Cup, which is helpful. He is one of the best iron players in the world and he'll be pretty solid off the tee."
On what victory at Bethpage Black would mean to him, Lowry added: "If we win the Ryder Cup I don't really care what's gone on the rest of the season. It's a big thing for me.
"You go through the whole year and you're trying to win, trying to play well but a big goal for me was to win the Ryder Cup this year and that hasn't changed.
"As I get older, it's getting even more and more important. I just love to do it.
"I think we have a better chance. It's going to be hard. It's not as easy as just copy and paste from what we did in Rome because there's a lot of different challenges, and the golf course plays differently."
Watch the Amgen Irish Open live from 8am on Thursday on SportNews Golf.
