Old Westbury, New York …

Four-time Major winning Rory McIlroy is desperate to end an injury-plagued season with a victory and keep alive a nine-year streak of having won at least one event a year since 2009.

Despite the uncertainty following last fortnight’s PGA Championship, McIlroy will return to competition at this week’s Northern Trust and the opening event of the FedEx Cup Play-Off Series.

It has also been a fortnight short of a year since McIlroy captured the Deutsche Bank Championship and then go onto the capture the Tour Championship.

Rory McIlroy under the watchful eye of putting coach, Phil Kenyon on the Glen Oaks putting green.

And while McIlroy is sure to attract a huge following around the Glen Oaks course on New York’s Long Island, it also all about next year.

“I intend to be hitting the ground running heading into 2018”, he said.

“I feel like I am going to have a good bit of time at the end of the year to work n my fitness, to work on my game.

“For guys who play on both Tours you don’t get this opportunity to take a couple of months off and really work on what you need to work on in your game, work on your fitness so you can have a proper off-season, and like every other sport has.

“So, I am excited for that and it means I play through the FedEx Cup Play-Offs and I will play one more event back in Europe and shut it down for the remainder of the year.

“I am happy to do that and that is an exciting prospect for me being able to do that and to then turn-up in 2018 ready to go.”

However first and foremost, McIlroy has to get himself back into the winner’s enclosure and in what would be a first time since winning last year’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.

In the intervening period McIlroy has had to deal with adapting to new clubs, dealing with two separate rib injuries, losing his long-term caddie and also getting used to being married.

But then there is no doubting his enthusiasm to keep alive what would be, in successful, a nine-year run of having won at least one event a season since his debut pro victory at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic.

“I am jacked-up about the next four weeks as I want to successfully defend my FedEx Cup title and I want to play well and I want to finish this year with a win,” he said.

“But at the same time these three months or so leading up to the end of 2017 is going to be huge going forward for me and I am excited about that.”

But there’s also anther contest McIlroy would like to see result in an Irish victory and that is Saturday’s Las Vegas historic showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Irishman Conor McGregor.

“No, I am not going to Vegas”, said McIlroy.

“But I will be glued to the TV and it is going to be good”.