Leona Maguire is setting up her 2024 schedule to be super-charged for a massive summer.
Maguire, 28, captured a second LPGA title this year - the Meijer Classic - and played a starring role again in Europe's retention of the Solheim Cup.
She also came close to winning her first major in June, having led the Women's PGA championship at Baltusrol going into the final round.
READ MORE:Tom McKibbin wants PGA Tour golden ticket in 2024 as Alex Maguire turns pro
So it was another big campaign for the Cavan woman, who was at the K Club yesterday to collect her Irish Golf Writers' Women's Player of the Year award.
Her season came to an end last Sunday with a sixth place finish with Lucas Glover in the Grant Thornton Invitation. But her thoughts are already turning to what could be a phenomenal year ahead.
Not only is she motivated to claim that first major title after Baltusrol but there is also the small matter of a third Olympics appearance - and the chance to retain the Solheim Cup on US soil.
With all that to come, Maguire stresses that getting the schedule right is crucial.
Reflecting on that near miss at the US Open, she said: "The big thing was I think I probably underestimated how much (winning) Meijer had taken out of me the week before.
"Obviously, Baltusrol, I'd like to probably have that final round back, but at the same time, it's a big sort of learning curve for next year - and also knowing that I can contend on arguably the hardest golf course of the year.
"I mean, I would say I got my schedule wrong this summer.
"I ended up having to take quite a big break before the Irish Open and missed some of the events of the year and then it was a bit stop-start and I didn’t get any momentum to finish off the year.
"So I think I’m going to have to very carefully plan out next year with five majors and the Olympics, and the Solheim Cup again. It's going to be a big big summer, and it's not easy to get the schedule right.
"Just when you think you have it all figured out and how many events you need to play and how to work into the majors and all the rest, you're still sort of figuring that out. I haven't quite got that piece of the puzzle yet.
"The Chevron's the first major of the year and it’s nice to be starting off again in Lake Nona at the start of the year. That's always the goal of every year, to make sure you're there and have two in Florida to start.
"I haven't decided what I'm going to do after that, but there are a few scheduling changes and yeah, it's going to be a very, very busy summer.
"So, I need to figure out to make sure there's plenty of energy in the tank."
Maguire has plotted her way through her career with precision, the target each year to be better than the previous one.
That tactic has worked very well to date but getting the balance right can be tricky and it will be crucial next year.
She explained: "Any year you win, it's obviously a really good year. You've seen in the last five years, even on the LPGA, how hard it is to win.
"I know when I have my A game, it's good - good enough to compete with the best. It's just a case of getting that a little bit more consistent, week in and week out.
"Generally, the weeks I putted the best this year were the weeks I contended the most. So it’s just making sure that's consistent as well.
"I struggled this year, transferring from the fast greens in America to the slower greens in Europe in the summer. So that's something I have to do a better job next year."
That struggle occurred at the Irish Open and the British Open, but she was able to work it out in time for Europe's draw with the US in at Finca in September.
Maguire earned three points towards her team's total and revelled in the experience.
"It was the Irish people that went over in their droves," she recalled. "That was one of the most impressive things, to see that sort of support - it felt like we were almost in Ireland rather than the south of Spain.
"That was really cool. That was really good to see, I think for Mom and Dad as well, because they didn't get to experience that the last time.
"They really enjoyed having people coming up to them and seeing where everybody was from and all that and the posters and the outfits."
The battle resumes in Virginia next September.
"It was a great week - and there's another one next year, I think we’ll have a very tough task," Maguire predicted. "I imagine the Americans will pull out all the stops.
"The first job is to make sure I'm on the plane going to DC. To win would be four in a row, and that’s never been done before by Europe, so you're moving into new territory all the time.
"It’s a challenge, but Suzann (Pettersen) loves a challenge more than anybody. She's already asked for feedback from this time around.
"So I know she's already getting ready."
*****
Leona Maguire enjoyed having Lucas Glover as her playing partner last week but believes it would be "tricky" to add more mixed events to the calendar.
Maguire and former US Open winner Glover finished in joint sixth place in the Grant Thornton Invitational event that officially closed out the season in the States.
The Irish star returned home yesterday to begin her Christmas break and reflected on an interesting week in Florida, with the switch on the last day to a modified fourball forcing the players to switch balls.
"It was a weird format," said Maguire.
"It meant that I was actually going into the greens further back than I would have been if I'd have been playing my own ball - so I ended up maybe not having as many chances as we would have liked.
"But you couldn't really ask for a nicer guy than Lucas Glover, a US Open champion. He was a gent and he played very well. He was very consistent and very straight.
"The nice thing with a lot of the lads was that they were very humble. You see the PGA tour guys, and obviously making tons and tons of money and all the rest. But they were all very humble, they were very happy to be there.
"We're just happy to have the opportunity to play in something like that. I think you see what the uptake on the girls' side was that was there last week.
"Brooke (Henderson) was there, all the major winners from this year - everybody was very excited to be a part of it and get to play with the lads.
"That's the thing, we watch them every week and it was nice to see them and hear their positive comments about our games. It wasn't just, 'Oh, you're here to make up the numbers'.
"They were impressed by seeing us hit or putt, whatever it was. So hopefully, we could do a bit more stuff like that - I know it's obviously a bit of a novelty to finish off the year like that."
There is also the Scandinavian Mixed event in Europe but Maguire acknowledges the difficulty in finding room in the schedule for more.
"I think they're very tricky," she said. "It's very tricky to have to have two courses and big fields.
"Last week there were only 16 teams, it was all very compact. But when you start getting into the big, big events, then it does logistically become very challenging.
"And you’ve got to set up the golf course to match both. In theory, it's a very nice idea and the equal prize-winning and all that, but it is just logistically, I think, very tricky."
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
