Ryan Fox was looking forward to making his Masters Tournament debut after coming within touching distance of history in the 2022 DP World Tour season.
The Kiwi won twice and had eight other top tens to enter the season-ending DP World Tour Championship just over 128 points behind Rory McIlroy in the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
There were a host of scenarios that could have made him the first player from New Zealand to lift the Harry Vardon Trophy at Jumeirah Golf Estates but he ended up second to Rory McIlroy in the year-long contest after finishing 19th over the Earth Course.
His excellent season sees him firmly placed inside the top 30 on Official World Golf Ranking and with the top 50 at the end of the year earning an invite to Augusta National, Fox was left to reflect on the positives of his campaign.
"That's one I've been wanting for a long time, since before I turned pro," he said. "I guess a couple of years ago, I probably thought I was getting a bit old and it was going to be a little bit too hard.
"But to get it done this year is amazing and I have a few mates who are looking forward to a trip to Augusta next year, that's for sure."
He added: "The big goal at the start of the year was to get a win and to get in that top 50 and I knocked those off pretty quickly this year.
"Probably felt like a year I may have let a couple of other chances to win slip. But it's pretty hard to win out here and to get a couple is pretty cool.
"It's just a great experience to be in contention all the time. I started to feel a lot more comfortable in that position than I had in previous years, so hopefully I can build on it a little bit more for next year."
The 35-year-old will now head closer to home for the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS Handa Australian Open, and he is relishing the start of the 2023 season.
"I have a nice finish to the year, playing in Aussie fields and going home. Aussie PGA, Aussie Open is two great events and over three really good golf courses.
"I've got a lot of mates down there, a lot of Kiwis that will be playing which will be nice. You get kind of lonely as a Kiwi out here sometimes, although we're going to have Dan Hillier out here next year which is going to be great.
"I'm just looking forward to catching up with some friends and enjoying some hopefully nice weather and good golf courses Down Under."
