Leona Maguire is reaping the rewards of some hard graft over the winter, with the Cavan golfer admitting her ultimate aiming now is to some day become world No 1.
The 26-year-old has made an impressive start to 2021 on the LPGA Tour, finishing in a tie for 16th at the Gainbridge Championship two weeks ago before following that up with tied sixth at the Drive On Championship in Florida.
Maguire has put in serious work to put length on her drive and that effort has paid off quite spectacularly.
Her swing speed has gone from around 90 to 92 mph at the end of last year up to 96 to 98 mph. Added to her excellent putting and improved iron play, it's put Maguire - currently based in Lake Nona in Florida - in a very positive place.
"I'm delighted with how the season has gone," she told RTÉ's Saturday Sport.
"I put some nice work in during the off-season when I was home, we'd about a month off. It's nice to see those changes and that hard work paying off so quickly.
"I put on a little bit of distance over the winter which was nice. I made a couple of changes in my bag as well. I changed my driver and the shafts of my irons just to give myself a little bit of a higher ball flight going into the greens.
"The greens can be quite firm, they can be tough, so any sort of advantage you can get to try and get at those pins and try and make some birdies makes a big difference.
"[My swing speed] was about 92mph at the end of last year. Yesterday was the first day I got over 100mph. The goal was to get to a hundred by the end of the year. We've got there quicker than expected which is nice."
Maguire stressed that she's not obsessing about being able to consistently smash enormous drives, but is instead trying to put all aspects of her game together to reach that next level.
"It's very easy to get distracted by what other people are doing," she said. "I'm never going to be a Bryson DeChambeau. I'm probably never going to be a Nelly Korda. I'm not six foot. I just have to do what works for me and try to get the most out of my game and my skills.
"I don't need to be the longest, I just need to be long enough and then rely on my irons and wedges, getting into those scoring clubs.
"It goes back to that old GAA analogy: it's all about the forwards. Ultimately you have to get the ball in the hole, you have to score. The best way for me to do that is by getting the ball as close to the hole as possible.
"I've worked a lot on my putting the last few years. That's improved greatly as well. It's a jigsaw puzzle... it's about putting all the pieces together."
Maguire has recently played a few rounds with legendary ten-time Major winner Annika Sorenstam, who also lives at Lake Nona. Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew has been keeping an eye on the Irishwoman's progress too - Maguire may yet be one of Mathew's six wildcard picks for August's competition.
"I'll keep my head down, keep working hard let the results take care of themselves."
"I was fortunate enough to play with Annika a few times before the season started and get some advice off her. If nothing else it gave me a lot of confidence, being able to play with her. She was the one that asked me to play; I was a little bit starstruck!
"I'll just do what I always do. I'll keep my head down, keep working hard and let the results take care of themselves. If I qualify, great. If not then hopefully there will be many Solheim Cups ahead of me."
Maguire spent a record 135 weeks as the world No 1-ranked amateur before she turned pro. She's more than happy to put in the hard yards to keep getting better, but she's also not afraid to air lofty ambitions.
"I've never been someone to half-do anything. If [being the world No 1] isn't your goal I'm not really sure why you'd compete in sport. You want to be the best you can be. Whether that's the world No 1 or not, I suppose we'll have to find out. Hopefully I have quite a few years to try to get there.
"I get my confidence from knowing I'm the best prepared I possibly can be. That gives me the freedom to go out and play my game and see where I stand at the end of the day.
"Ultimately you try and give yourself possibilities and work hard. Outside of that there's not a whole lot you can do.
"It's not easy and it's probably not as glamorous a lifestyle as a lot of people think - definitely not on the ladies' side anyway compared to the men's. We're not flying around in our private jets and staying in fancy hotels and all the rest, but at the same time we are in a very privileged position to be able to do what we're doing."
