Leona Maguire admits it was a risk, but she’s hoping her decision to retool her swing under Tiger Woods’ former coach can make her better than she was when she reached 10th in the world less than two years ago.
The Co Cavan star has been working with Sean Foley since falling outside the world’s top 100 at the end of last year, and while her results have been mixed, she’s keeping her fingers crossed that the gamble will pay off with a fourth Solheim Cup appearance in the Netherlands in September.
"I suppose I was at a crossroads at the end of the year," Maguire told RTE Radio's Game On.
"I'd had a lot of middle-of-the-pack finishes last year, sort of scratching my head going, what's next? How do I improve?
"Do I settle for finishing 40th, 50th on the money list week in, week out, or do I want to actually get back into the top 10 and contend week on week?”
Still seeking that maiden Major win, she opted to make the difficult decision to tell her coach of 20 years, Shane O’Grady, that she was going to begin working with Foley at her Orlando base.
"There were no guarantees it was going to work,” she told RTE’s Greg Allen. “There's no guarantees it still has worked. But that was a risk I felt like I wanted to take to bring my game to the next level."
While results have been mixed, a runner-up finish at the Aramco Championship at punishing Shadow Creek n in Las Vegas last month has given her hope.
"There's been enough good in there to see the benefit of it, even if there is some growing pains," said the current world number 73, who must remain inside the top 75 when the rankings are updated next week to secure her place alongside qualifier Olivia Mehaffey in the US Women's Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles from June 4-7.
Maguire’s move to Foley is designed to create more width, a greater turn, higher ball flight, and added distance, which she believes she needs to reach the next level.
"It's nice to be going into some greens with a club less,” said the former world amateur number one, who has already added seven or eight yards to her drives.
“There's been a few golf courses we've gone back to this year that I've been able to carry a few bunkers that I wasn't able to carry before."
Getting to the US Women’s Open will help scale the world rankings, though she has a summer of Majors as well as August’s KMPG Women’s Irish Open at The K Club ahead of her.
"I'm still waiting on the cut-off for the world ranking category," she said of Riviera. "Hopefully that stays where it's at."
As for the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands in September, captain Anna Norqvist will have four picks to supplement the two automatic qualifiers from the European Solheim Cup rankings and the six highest-ranked Europeans in the world after the AIG Women's Open cut off on August 2.
"I'd love to be in Holland in September – a home Solheim Cup," she said.
"The goal is to try and get my overall ranking back up and make the team automatically, and not have to rely on a pick or anything like that."
Foley predicted that it could take up to six months to see significant results, and Maguire is hopeful she’s about to reap the benefits of their hard work.
"He's a very confident and positive person," she said. ”When things aren't going quite as well, it's nice to have that positivity."
The effort, she believes, is worth the risks involved.
"When I ultimately walk away from my career,” she said, "I want to know I've left no stone unturned – that I really tried to maximise every element of my game."