After tasting success on the European Tour, Michael Hoey is determined to keep making good progress.
To look at his career on paper, it would appear that this Belfast native was on an upward curve for some time.
Success at amateur level was followed by glory with the Great Britain & Ireland team in the Walker Cup before he joined the Challenge Tour, where he won three events.
The soft-spoken 30-year-old is quite ambitious, so it was not surprising when he switched over to the European Tour in 2006 and even though his star was rising all of the time, Hoey kept a low profile throughout.
However, he could no longer evade the spotlight after he clinched the Estoril Open de Portugal in April having come through a gripping play-off with Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
When asked whether he thought he was in with a chance of winning the tournament, he laughed nervously before revealing that he was plagued by mixed feelings for the duration of that competition and felt fortuitous to have reached a play-off.
"After the first round I did, as I was in second place. Then I had a poor second round and I was a few shots behind in the last round," admitted Hoey in an exclusive interview with setanta.com.
"With the conditions, it was difficult for the leaders and they didn't really do that well. I shot a good score and was lucky to get into a play-off, if I'm honest.
"My confidence was affected a little bit after the second round, although I didn't play that badly. It was more down to it being extremely windy and a difficult tee time. I knew that anything could happen in conditions like that.
"At that stage, I was thinking that if I played well in the last round I would have a chance of finishing top five or top ten. So to win it was fantastic."
That first European Tour victory felt like it was a long time coming for Hoey, who has had to be patient in his attempt to climb higher up the career ladder.
He wants to be regularly competing for tournaments though, and many of those who have watched him through the years believe he has the ability to do just that.
"I've known Michael for years as we have practiced together for a long time and he was a Walker Cup compatriot of mine in 2001," Graeme McDowell told setanta.com about his fellow countryman.
"I was delighted to see him winning earlier on in the season and hopefully his game will keep going from strength to strength.
"He has always been a player that likes to take on a challenge and I think the future is bright for him."
Hoey quickly deflects such praise, even though he respects the opinion of someone like McDowell, because he feels that he still has to achieve a lot more before he can be mentioned in such glowing terms.
In a way, Hoey has yet to convince himself of his own talent - he knows that he has talent, but consistency has been his downfall thus far and he thinks that that side of his game needs to be perfected - or at least improved on.
"My initial goal at the start of the year was to build up enough money, so I can afford to keep going into next year," said Hoey.
"When going into tournaments, I set myself targets of finishing inside the top ten or top fifteen.
"If I can finish in those sort of positions, then it is just a matter of building on it and adding consistency to my game so that I can regularly be in contention."
One of the things that has helped him stay focused and kept him looking to improve is playing alongside top professionals, who have a track record of winning some of the best events.
"To play with guys like Retief Goosen, Angel Cabrera, and Charl Schwartzel gives you a lot of confidence, especially if you are managing to keep up with them," he stated.
"I did have to remind myself at some stages that I was playing alongside some of the top guys in the world, but when you are keeping up with them you feel that you belong there.
"Then it comes down to being in that position on a regular basis. If I can do that, then I will be in with a chance of winning more tournaments."
For now, Hoey will continue to perfect the little parts of his game with the hope that it helps him to move up to the next level, where he can enjoy futher success in his career. Maybe then he will feel that he belongs amongst those that he admires so much.