For a man who views the glass as half full, who is as comfortable with a Guinness in his hands as he is a wedge, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell would be hard pressed to top his current state.

Married in the fall in a ceremony in the Bahamas, the proud owner of a restaurant near his Florida home that opened last year and caters to diners of all tastes is ready to take another large bite out of life after a 10-week break of relaxation, reflection and recharging.

G-Mac, as his friends call him, is back for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Monterey Peninsula off California’s central coast, site of his greatest triumph – the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

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McDowell has his new bride, Kristin Stape, by his side and his father, Kenny, as his amateur partner. And he has a clear view of his future intentions – to make a major impact in the year’s biggest tournaments, including the major championships, the FedExCup and Ryder Cup.

“I’m not going to put Pebble up there on a pedestal and say that is the highlight of my career,” McDowell, 34, said of his lone major victory. “I want more Pebbles, I want more major championships, I want more things. Hopefully it will not define my career. I’m hoping to keep defining my career as I go.”

With that in mind, McDowell has reorganized his approach. Although he’s coming off a season with three victories – two on the European Tour and the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour – McDowell wrote on his new blog for BBC that he hit a wall after last year’s U.S. Open and didn’t have much in the tank the rest of the season.

“While my heart was beating,” he wrote, “the body wasn’t responding.”

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McDowell, ranked No. 15 in the official world golf rankings, will cut back on his off-course activities “a bit” to stay fresh throughout the year. He’ll limit the number of corporate outings and call it a day early in the evening from time to time.

And the man who is this year’s recipient of ASAP Sports Jim Murray Award for being accommodating to the media as bestowed by the Golf Writers Association of America might reduce exchanges with reporters. Like say, from 200 to 175.

“I’m just really trying to put the emphasis back on my golf,” McDowell said. “I’ve had a lot of things going on, but I feel like my life is quieting down off the golf course now as I achieve some balance and start to move on to some sort of new chapters in my life personally. And I guess I feel like I’m in a better place to play golf now.”

Heading to Pebble, McDowell worked extensively with coach Pete Cowen to simplify his thoughts and find a consistent swing path. When he arrived in the Golden State, his game was in shape and he was raring to go. He quickly headed to the course, and, with his father, McDowell played four of the world’s gems – the San Francisco Golf Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Cypress Point Club and Pebble Beach in successive days.

“It has not been a tough three or four days,” McDowell said. “It’s been a lot of fun and just getting some course time and chucking the rust off the game a little bit and gearing up, really, for the year.”

And he’s geared up for the AT&T.

“I think this is a special golf tournament,” McDowell said. “It’s got a lot of tradition. A lot of great players have been through this golf tournament and a lot of very famous people.

“We’re having fun, embracing it. I think my dad’s goal for the week is really to have a beer with Clint Eastwood. If we achieve that, we’ll be happy.”