Matthew Southgate was hopeful that his fantastic finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship could be the springboard to power him to a career-best season and sixth appearance at The Open.
The Englishman led at one stage in the final round at St Andrews after picking up five shots in his first five holes but in the end could not keep pace with Matt Fitzpatrick, who won by three shots at 19 under.
The tie for second following a 66, however, moved Southgate up 20 places to 33rd in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, with his previous best finish being 38th in 2017.
The top 50 will secure a place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, while the top 30 after that event will seal a spot at next summer's Open Championship at Royal Troon, and Southgate is eyeing a big finish to the season.
"I'm over the moon with the week," he said. "I'm right on the button to get into Dubai and I'd love to finish top 30 to get into The Open Championship which everyone knows I love so dearly, so would be great to be exempt into that if I can.
"I think I've been working quite hard on my mental game where I try to embrace the challenge of the game and actually try and enjoy things when things don't quite go the way you want to.
"It is tough because you're trying your best and you never want to drop a shot but trying to tackle that head-on is a healthy place to be and I've been trying to embrace that challenge all year."
This was the first Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since the sad deaths of former DP World Tour player Bill McColl and renowned amateur player and administrator Sir Michael Bonallack.
Both men had extremely strong ties to St Andrews and Southgate admitted it was an emotional week without them.
"Quite an emotional week for me with Billy McColl passing away and Sir Michael Bonallack not being here for the first time in all the years I've played here," he said.
"It's a great shame and I wanted to fly the flag for the golf club and really give it a go this week."
