Leona Maguire will return to her native Cavan and savour an "early Christmas present" after she showed nerves of steel to secure a Ladies European Tour card in Morocco on Thursday.
The 24-year-old drained a 15-foot putt to win her play-off with Swede Sarah Nilsson and take the fifth and final spot on offer at Q-school.
It was the climax of a tense, stressful fortnight, but the exciting talent - who only turned pro last June - can put the feet up and reflect on a great year. After missing out on progression to the second stage of LPGA qualifying by a shot in October, this was just the tonic.
Here’s @Leona_maguire holing from 15 feet in the playoff to win her card at the @LATSchool @LETgolf That little fist pump will look familiar to quite a few in the years ahead. pic.twitter.com/riECeuUIM1
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) December 20, 2018
"I felt like I'd been playing for a while, it just hadn't sort of clicked," she told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.
"It all came together nicely this last two weeks when I needed it the most. I could see on the leaderboard that people were going low. I knew I had to keep with them and keep making birdies.
"I knew exactly what I needed to do coming here, but it's a lot easier said than done. It's been a marathon the last two weeks.
"I know what it's like to miss out. I missed out at the LPGA second stage by a shot. I didn't want to be in that boat going home again tonight. It's a nice early Christmas present."
The former amateur world No 1 has options for 2019. She has a Symetra Tour card in America, which acts as a pathway into the LPGA tour.
Maguire can therefore expect a few LPGA invites and she admits she now needs to weigh up her options and make a plan.
"I just have to sit down in the next week or two and map everything out, see where the LET schedule fits, see if I'm going to blend them together or focus on one rather than the other.
"I'll enjoy Christmas at home with the family and then sit down with my team at the end of December to see where I'm going to be going and where I'm going to be playing."
