Dublin-based golfer Barrie Trainor learned much from his runner-up place in last year's final of the Powerade PGA Assistants' Championship, in association with FootJoy.
Trainor, of South County Golf Club, finished in a share of second place at The London Club, one stroke behind champion Jonathan Lupton.
And despite coming so close Trainor was happy with his maiden appearance in the final.
But now the two-time reigning Irish Assistants champion is targeting the title, a bid which starts at the qualifier at Ardee Golf Club on May 27.
"To shoot 69 in the last round (of the final) was pretty good, although to miss out by one was disappointing," said the 27-year-old, who has already won twice this season with victories at the St Helen's Bay Assistants event and the Luttrellstown Pro-Am.
"I was several shots back and I gave it a little bit of a go. I bogeyed the last but I was very happy with my round.
"It is all more experience for me and I learned to handle the pressure coming down the last couple of holes.
"That is a big part of my season now. I have won the Irish assistants the last two years and I hope to add the British equivalent to my list.
"It would be a string to my bow. It is probably the biggest tournament - with the Irish championship - of my season."
Having the qualifier at Ardee will only increase Trainor's hopes of making August's final at The London Club.
"I was assistant at Ardee for six months up until March. I know the golf course pretty well and I played a couple of Scratch Cups there as an amateur," said Trainor.
"I moved from Bray to South County and then the opportunity came to be closer to home at Ardee.
"It took it but then I just found that in Dublin in the summer there were a lot of pro-ams and me being further away I couldn't get there.
"But I'm not moving any more. I go into the qualifier quite confident."
County Sligo Golf Club's Martin McTernan is playing in his first Powerade qualifier having only turned professional last October.
"I don't know much about it but I've looked at the results last year and a couple of the Irish lads did quite well," said the 24-year-old, who last year returned from a golf scholarship at the University of Toledo in Ohio.
"I know the standard is very high but I'm looking forward to it."
McTernan is also relishing the prospect of a first full season as a professional.
"I just hope to get in as many tournaments as possible, try to get a feel for the professional game and try to see what standard I can achieve to be competitive for the next few years," he said.
McTernan also believes his spell in America will aid his transition to the professional ranks.
"It was a fantastic experience and I was delighted I did it," he said.
"The golf was very competitive and the standard was very strong. I definitely think it will help me as I played a lot of golf with some of the guys who came out of college and went straight on to tour."
The PGA Assistants' Championship, which has a £5,000 first prize, has had some notable winners with former Ryder Cup captain Dai Rees winning in 1935 and 1936, the 'Voice of Golf' Peter Alliss claiming the title in '52, Open and US Open champion Tony Jacklin in '65 and Barry Lane in '83.