Søren Kjeldsen has enjoyed a brilliant renaissance since his victory at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation 12 months ago - and he gives a lot of the credit for that success to caddie Alistair Matheson.
In 2014, Kjeldsen - who turned 41 on Tuesday - endured his lowest finish on the Race to Dubai since his maiden campaign in 1998 and was 367th in the Official World Golf Ranking when Matheson took up his bag for the first time at the 2015 Open de España.
A top ten finish followed and after a tie for 18th at the BMW PGA Championship a week later, Kjeldsen and Matheson arrived at Royal County Down Golf Club and took home the trophy after beating Eddie Pepperell and Bernd Wiesberger in a play-off.
Another seven top tens would come before the end of the 2015 season as Kjeldsen finished 15th in the Race to Dubai, and the Dane tees it up at the K Club 11th in the European Tour standings and 40th in the world.
"I think a big turning point for me was Alistair," he said. "He started two weeks prior to the Irish Open at the Spanish Open. I finished top ten there. I had not finished top ten for ages before that.
Alistair has been huge in everything that's happened in the last 12 months - Søren Kjeldsen
"He came in first day and he said, 'Why are you 350 in the world? You need to get back into the top 50'.
"After about five months or whatever, we are 40-something in the world and I text him. I'm like, 'Now we are whatever in the world', and he just texts back, 'Okay'.
"That's typical Alistair, downplaying it. But he's been incredible.
"Without being disrespectful to any other caddie I've had in my career, I've never felt the sense of being able to lean on a caddie like I do with Alistair.
"If I'm a little bit uptight or insecure or whatever that you experience on a golf course, I just know that he's always right there and he's always so clear and on the button on what we are trying to do."
While Kjeldsen gives Matheson a lot of credit for the upturn in form, he also cites a change in his own focus and attitude and he now has Major Championships and the Ryder Cup firmly in his sights.
"I go to the range and try to explore things, try to experience things that I haven't tried before," he said. "And the whole thing about getting away from right and wrong has freed me up tremendously.
"Therefore, I feel like I'm 40 in the world now, but basically I've really just been practising this for 12 to 18 months, so I'm just starting out, so the sky's the limit.
"I think if I had to give a number, I think I can improve about 30 per cent right now from where I am to what I can become. So 30 per cent is quite a big improvement and I think if I manage to do that, I think I'll be very close and hopefully win a few."
A successful defence this week would certainly be a step in the right direction and Kjeldsen believes Ireland suits his game and that of the other Scandinavian contingent on Tour.
"The golf that you need to play here is the golf that we played when we grew up," he added. "Conditions are the same: wet, soft, heavy and just the type of grass, everything, the strong winds, the four seasons in a day, all that stuff, is what we are used to.
"I think we feel very much at home when playing in Ireland, so I think that would be the main reason."
