A champagne shower was the only normal celebration Meghan MacLaren had time to enjoy after clinching back to back women's NSW Open titles at the Queanbeyan Golf Club on Sunday.
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But a three-hour road trip to Sydney and then a 14-hour flight to South Africa gave her a chance to savour a thrilling victory, which has set her up for the rest of the European season.
MacLaren charged to the lead in the final holes of the final round at Queanbeyan, pushing aside the pressure of being the defending champion and a three-way challenge of her title to secure a three-stroke win.
The 24-year-old finished the tournament at 12-under par, hitting the front with an eagle on the 16th hole and rolling in a birdie on the 18th to put the icing on the cake.
The celebration party started on the 18th green when some of her rivals popped champagne bottles, but soon after it was into a car to start the journey to the next tournament in Cape Town.
"Just the moment on the 18th when you get your friends over and there's champagne ... you just enjoy being in the moment. That's what you play golf for," MacLaren said.
"I've known my game is going in the right direction for the last few weeks, but to win is something else because you can play for a long time without winning.
"I needed something at the end and I did it. As much as you want it to be controlled, it just wasn't like that. I just had to hang in there to be honest, even though I dropped a couple of shots. I knew it would be close.
"I just hoped for a moment of magic somewhere, and it happened [on the 16th]."
MacLaren was 188 metres from the par-five 16th green when she had her moment of magic. She curled her three wood around the trees and holed a close-range putt for eagle.
Her approach to the 18th was equally as impressive and made no mistake with a 12-foot putt to win the title.
"Last year was my first win, so that was a pretty big deal and I don't think anything can compare to that," MacLaren said.
"But you don't want to be one-win wonder. There was a bit more pressure this week, to come through that feels amazing."
There was a four-way battle for most of the final round, with big crowds following the leaders in a see-saw battle for the top spot.
MacLaren was in the same group as Lynn Carlsson (nine-under) and Christine Wolf (seven-under) and the trio were locked on the same score for most of the day.
But the real threat to MacLaren was lurking two groups ahead. New Zealand's pint-sized Munchin Keh was making a last-round charge after starting the day all but out of contention five shots behind the leaders.
Keh fired birdies on the second, third, seventh and 14th hole before an eagle on the 16th, which gave her a two-shot lead and was almost a knockout blow.
But she stumbled on the 18th, pushing her drive into the trees and then hitting another tree when she tried to recover. Keh had to settle for a double bogey, giving MacLaren a buffer on her final holes.
Keh, though, managed to smile at the end after finishing equal second with Carlsson.
"I'm happy with the 17 holes I played," Keh laughed. "To be in contention, it was an opportunity I hardly come across. At the start of the day I was just hoping to climb a few spots.
"I guess my luck run out on the 18th when I hit that tree. Up until the last hole I really felt like I proved to myself I can play on these tours, so it has given me a confidence boost.
"This is not my last opportunity. I've got plenty more to come so I'm looking forward to it."
NSW OPEN LEADERBOARD
12-under: Meghan MacLaren (England)
Nine-under: Munchin Keh (New Zealand), Lynn Carlsson (Sweden)
Seven-under: Christine Wolf (Austria)
