Darren Clarke wants to provide Colin Montgomerie with a Ryder Cup headache and is hoping to reproduce the form that saw him finish second in the Barclays Scottish Open early this month.
Montgomerie unveiled Clarke as one of his three vice-captains for the Ryder Cup in September, but the Ulsterman still has an outside chance of qualifying for the team following confidence-boosting performances in the Scottish and British Opens.
While Clarke is honoured to be part of Montgomerie's backroom team for Celtic Manor, he would relish the chance to play in the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2006 and he is hoping for another good weekend at the 3 Irish Open.
"Monty said he wanted me there one way or the other, that's fine by me," Clarke is quoted as saying in the Irish Daily Mirror.
"I still haven't given up on my aspirations; it might be possible for me to qualify for the team.
"There's no way I would give up that. I would love to play. I want to play and play better - like I did just around Loch Lomond time. Play better is always the bottom line.
"Certainly my confidence is a lot better than it was pre-Adare (when he won the JP McManus Pro-Am)."
Clarke has an outside chance of being handed a late invitation to the USPGA Championship and until he knows for certain he cannot confirm his schedule.
Should he not get the chance to play in the final Major of the year he is likely to compete in the Czech Open to keep alive his hopes of making the Ryder Cup.
"All I know at the moment is that I'm being considered. It's tough at the moment for me to plan a schedule for that reason," Clarke clarified.
"I'm committed to Gleneagles because Monty wants us there whenever the picks are announced.
"Whether I play the Czech Open, I don't know. It's a bit up in the air. I'll play if I still have a chance of making the team.
"If I don't, I won't play - and I'll be delighted to be there, trying."