A year where Cavan's Leona Maguire certainly made her mark on the LPGA Tour with a second-place finish at the Lotte Championship in April, and then matching that at the Meijer Classic in June. Four top-10 finishes, a further six top-20 finishes, while a career-best finish of joint-sixth in a major (Evian Championship) was further proof of Maguire's progression in only here second season on Tour.
In August, the 27-year-old was in Tokyo, competing in her second Olympics. And then a month later was to the fore as Europe edged out the USA to win the Solheim Cup. Maguire's singles victory over Jennifer Kupcho at the Inverness Club in Ohio gave her four-and-a-half points from five matches – a record for a rookie on either side – and provided the ideal springboard for a hard-fought 15-13 success.
Starting off the year at 177 in the world rankings, Maguire has now risen to 43. Speaking recently to RTÉ Sport from her base in Florida, she revealed that "breaking into the world's top 50 was definitely a big deal".
Not surprisingly, she wants to aim higher in 2022, to turn the top-20 finishes into top 10s, and make a greater push at the majors.
Her Solheim Cup experience, where she was the first Irish person to compete at the event, should stand to her.
"The Solheim Cup has probably been the highlight of my career, let alone my year," said Maguire, as she reflected on those three days in September.
"I couldn't really have asked for that week to go better. Considering it's something that I've dreamt about for a long time, for it to actually come together as it did made it a special week and one I'll not forget for a long time.
"You never know how you're going to react in those situations until you're there. You plan for them, and practice and prepare as well as you can, but the big thing for me is that I was able to pull off those shots - the drive off the first tee, or the putts - when I needed to and when my team needed me to.
"It's something I'll bring into the regular LPGA events, and try to feed off that confidence and draw on those experiences when I'm in those situations."
Joanne Cantwell and Darragh Maloney will present the RTÉ Sport Awards 2021 on Saturday 18 December on RTÉ One.
The Sportsperson of the Year is selected by a judging panel. The criteria can be read here.
