Omanu's James Hamilton feels ready to bid the amateur game goodbye and have a crack at the pro ranks after his second national men's interprovincial for Bay of Plenty ended in success and failure at Gisborne's Poverty Bay Golf Club on Saturday.
Three years after his interprovincial debut ended in a national title win and player of the tournament in Nelson, the 22-year-old sizzled on the coast to record a remarkable eight wins from eight matches as Bay of Plenty marched into the final. But Bay's title run ended against a rampant Southland, who won the interprovincial for the first time in 61 years with a 3-2 result that was more decisive than the margin suggests.
Hamilton was pipped for player of the tournament by undefeated Southland No5 Matt Tautari but has turned his sights to another possible tilt at New Zealand PGA Q-school in Taupo in mid-January.
Hamilton had a crack 10 months ago but was second-last, 24-over par, with his stomach in the grip of a rare bowel disorder that saw him lose 20 per cent of his body weight and forced him to consider chucking the game away.
If there's a silver lining to the cloud of Saturday's loss it's that the week has shown Hamilton exactly what shape he's in, mentally and physically.
"I was kidding myself in Taupo earlier this year and in hindsight I would have been better off not going I was so sick," he said. "Even though I was a mess physically I still felt I had the game to do it, but I've had a taste and if I do decide to go again, which I probably will, then I'll go in a far better frame of mind."
Hamilton's game was immense at the interprovincial. He was taken to the final hole just twice in eight rounds and was two-under par on average for each round.
"Personally my game's come on a lot and really accelerated back to where it was. I feel back in control and I'm playing the best golf I ever have in terms of results and scoring. Considering what state I was in a year ago it's a nice feeling."
Bay, who had won the interprovincial title six times since 2002, amassed a perfect six wins from six in round-robin, winning 24 of the 30 possible points on offer. Southland were beaten by Bay of Plenty on the opening morning but rebounded to win 4 points from their six matches.
Bay of Plenty were comfortable winners over Canterbury 3 to 1 in Saturday morning's semfinal while Southland stunned Auckland by the same margin.
Bay were slow out of the blocks in the final, with No5 Craig Hamilton (against Tautari), No4 Sam Davis (1down against Scott Hellier) and No1 Brad Kendall, who was playing international Vaughan McCall, all down at the turn.
Tautari made crucial birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to sink Hamilton 3 and 2 but Davis edged Scott Hellier 1up and James Hamilton hung tough to Liam Balneaves on the 17th.
Bay were relying on miracle comebacks from Landyn Edwards and Kendall but Edwards inexplicably missed short putts on the 14th and 15th, while Kendall fought hard but couldn't match McCall's touch on the greens, giving Southland their first win. They'd never played in a final before Saturday and their previous best result was third in 2008.
Bay coach Jay Carter agreed it would have taken something akin to a miracle to halt Southland. "To be fair we weren't in it this afternoon and even though the boys will look back and say 'I could have done this, I could have done that', they were beaten by a team that played better.
"As a unit they were a fantastic group to work with and really exemplified courage and belief, our two key words. I'd love to take this group away next year because we've got the talent."
Whether Hamilton is there is unclear, although you'd suspect not on last week's form.
"It's pretty gutting to get all this way then not win it but I was more disappointed for the team and the guys (Davis and Craig Hamilton) who haven't tasted victory yet at this level. I'm sure they'll do it, and who knows, we might even do it together as a team."
Results
Men's Interprovincial semifinals:Bay of Plenty 3 Canterbury 1 : Brad Kendall bt Keelan Kilpatrick 5/4, Landyn Edwards halved with Jordan Bakermans, James Hamilton bt Tom Turner 4/3, Sam Davis bt Mark O'Malley 4/3, Craig Hamilton lost to Harry Bateman 3/2.Southland 3 Auckland 1 : Vaughan McCall bt Ryan Fox 4/3, Cody Harper lost to Fraser Wilkin 2/1, Liam Balneaves halved with Sam An, Scott Hellier bt Jonathan Ratcliffe 1up, Matt Tautari bt Tae Koh 1up.
Final:Southland 3 Bay of Plenty 2Vaughan McCall bt Brad Kendall 2/1, Cody Harper bt Landyn Edwards 2/1, Liam Balneaves lost to James Hamilton 2/1, Scott Hellier lost to Sam Davis 1 down, Matt Tautari bt Craig Hamilton 3/2.