In ten years' time we will likely look back on 2022 as the year that Waterford golf announced itself to the world.
While Seamus Power may have cracked the PGA Tour cookie in 2021, it was 2022 when he made hay as the sun shined.
Not only Power, but his West Waterford comrade Gary Hurley also put in some life-changing performances.
To sum it all up, West Waterford will boast two touring pros on the world stage next season - Power on the PGA Tour, and Hurley on the DP World Tour.
Seamus began his year Sentry Tournament of Champions having qualified owing to his win at the Barbasol the previous year. We may now have gotten used to results like it, but finishing T15 at Kapalua was a massive result.
A week later at the Sony Open in Hawaii he would go close yet again when he finished T3.
It was to be the year of the Majors for Power who would line out all four of golf's biggest events, as well as the "unofficial major" Players Championship.
Power ended up tied for 33rd at the Players, T27 in Augusta and T9 at the PGA Championship. Remember that this was Seamus' first time ever playing at this level. Up against the best of the best, the heaviest stocked fields in golf and he was carding rounds to mix it with the whos who of pro golf.
The Majors, however, weren't the only talking point from the year. A fifth-place finish at the WGC Matchplay, another T5 finish at the RSM Classic and a T3 end to the World Wide Technologies Championship at Mayakoba have all added to his growing reputation as a consistent and reliable shot maker
As the season was coming to a close, Seamus was in the running for more success. His second-ever win on the PGA Tour came at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. While it may not have been to the same rapturous applause as his first win, it was no less important. He showed that it can be done against the grain.
Benjamin Griffin had been his main sparring partner on the final day and while the young American had been looking for his first win, sometimes it's not meant to be. The wheels came off the cart around the 12th hole and Griffin dropped shots on 12, 13, 13, 15 and a double on 16.
Griffin's challenge was over and Seamus had to just play his final two holes to secure the win. As these things tend to go, it didn't quite go as smoothly as one might have hoped.
Seamus dropped shots at 12, 15 and 16. His saving grace though was the chip in from the first cut on 17 to leave a yard for birdie, with another shot picked up on 14 when he rolled a putt in from right to left - the ball circling around the lip before dropping.
The West Waterford player said he made "hard work of it" when describing his battle with Griffin. Having already won the Barbasol Championship last summer, Power told Sky Sports Golf that this one felt "completely different, but just as special. I've played a lot of tournaments and it's only my second win in I don't know how many events. It's amazing, it's special - it's going to take a little while to sink in, but I'm absolutely over the moon".
One man who would easily be missed is the Belgian Thomas Detry. Detry was already in the clubhouse when Power and Griffin were finishing their rounds, but he had jumped up thanks to Griffin's untimely demise.
When Power hit the front-facing slope on the 18th with his ball rolling all the way back the lengthy hill, you can be sure that Detry started to stretch and get ready for a playoff hole. Power however wasn't going to have it, and when facing his putt for bogey on 18, he gave it the most gentle of taps - no sense in chancing it at that stage.
With all the year's action now behind him, Power can look forward to returning in the new year for what may well be his biggest year to date. Not only will he continue to hold his PGA Tour exemption, but Seamus has an outside chance of getting in the mix for the Ryder Cup.
He is now 28th in the world rankings - a jump of 35 places since the year began - he is top of the FedEx Cup Standings and clear of second place by 111 points and holds his exemption until 2025. He is becoming a real live possibility to represent Team Europe in Rome next Autumn.
While we may have become accustomed to Seamus in the last couple of years, another golfer has been quietly chipping away at the rock blocking his path and finally, the damned thing rolled out of his way this year. The fact that these two golfers are clubmates in West Waterford makes their achievements all the more interesting.
Starting 2022 on the Alps Tour with little to no standing on the Challenge Tour, Gary Hurley will bring an end to the year as a player on the DP World Tour in what was a whirlwind 12 months.
We recently spoke to Gary at length where he elaborated on his changing mindset in the pro game. The man who is often remembered as a member of the 2015 Walker Cup made a massive push this calendar year. He was in action on the Alps Tour late in the summer where he would secure a top-5 place on the Order of Merit at the Grand Final. That result earned him a Challenge Tour card in what would have been a huge step up in calibre.
While Hurley could have accepted his new standing, he instead opted to head to Q-School in Spain for one last roll of the dice before the winter break. Bear in mind that Q-School Final Round Qualifying is a horrid slog. 6 rounds of golf with the cut introduced after four rounds. More than 130 golfers begin the event and only the top 25 will earn cards for the DP World Tour at the far end. It is an event that separates the men from the boys, but across 108 holes Hurley did not waiver. He played steady and calm shots to stake a claim for a T13 finish.
Easily the best year of his career to date. Hurley is now a DP World Tour player and much the same as Power is now ready to make hay while the sun shines.
With himself and Power both touring on opposite sides of the globe in 2023, we have a lot to look forward to over the next twelve months.
