Irish pro golfer Rory McIlroy believes his participation in the U.S. PGA Tour has made him stronger as a person and a player, and the 21 year old is confident it will play an important part in his overall development going forward.

'I found out a lot about myself at the PGA," McIlroy told the press. "I found out that the places that you like to go to has a lot to do with being happy. There is no point playing a tournament that you don’t want to be at.

"I am trying to pick and choose events where I am happy in the places I am, that I want to be there and want to give it a go. If you asked me this time last year where I would want to be now I would have said I would like to have had a couple more wins, I felt I have played good enough to have more wins but that is the way golf goes sometimes.

"So hopefully I will be able to get my first European Tour win this year in Hong Kong this week."

McIlroy has yet to win in Hong Kong but has come remarkably close in the past two years, just missing out in the end to Lin Wen-tang in 2008 and then Gregory Bourdy in 2009.

This year he has steeled himself to win. "I’ve come close the last couple of years and I was in a great play-off in 2008 and then Gregory played very very well to win last year, it was a very solid performance," he said.

"I love the golf course and I love Hong Kong and I love coming back here. I know the golf course well and I feel I’ve got a good idea of what I need to this week to try and get that win here."