Racked with illness, having dropped almost 20 per cent of his body weight because of a rare bowel disorder, golfer James Hamilton considered 2011 a write-off, even considering chucking the game away after losing any desire to swing a club.
Hamilton has struggled for 12 months with ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease that saw him drop to 70kg and killed off plans this year to turn professional.
But, with the illness now under control, Hamilton gave Omanu a home club champion for the first time in 34 years after his runaway win at the 72-hole Omanu Classic strokeplay tournament.
With rounds of 68, 69, 67 and 72 for a total of 12-under par, Hamilton blew a quality field apart, finishing a comfortable 10 shots clear of Srixon Academy member Fraser Wilkin with Taranaki No1 Brad Hayward a further shot back in third.
The 22-year-old set up the win with three superb under-par rounds and took a massive nine shot lead into the final round - although even then he didn't feel completely safe.
"It wasn't a bad lead to have and would have taken something fairly superb from someone to catch me, but still it wasn't as comfortable as I would have liked. Let's just say I was quietly optimistic but cautious, particularly with the weather the way it was."
After an aborted attempt to play college golf in the US, Hamilton was lining up a crack at getting his New Zealand PGA card last summer when the bowel disease struck.
He bombed at Q-school in Taupo, sick and lacking energy, and has spent most of the year trying to get well.
"Looking back it's been a crazy year but I'm finally at the stage where I can say my health's good now, back to full fitness and putting weight back on although it's likely I'll be on prescribed medicine for the rest of my life."
Hamilton consulted a naturopath, who changed his diet dramatically with the desired effect.
"I'm completely off all caffeine and stuff like potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums - pretty much it's been chicken and green vegetables. But I'm on top of it and finally started to feel in the middle of the year as though I was on top of it.
"There was an energy change and my desire and drive to play again is back. I lost a lot of that at the beginning of the year, especially with not making it as a pro, but the passion's back now."
His timing couldn't be better with the Bay of Plenty team for the New Zealand interprovincial being selected after this weekend's Garrard Shield matchplay tournament at Tauranga.
Picked at No6 for Bay of Plenty for the recent Central North Island quadrangular in Taupo, Hamilton won all three of his matches as Bay won on countback from Manawatu-Wanganui. Victory at Omanu has thrust him even further into contention.
"I set a goal to make the team for the interprovincial but it didn't look like I'd get in. Then I had a good weekend at the CNI, and hopefully the weekend at Omanu has made it that bit harder to leave me out."
Omanu was the first time Hamilton, the player of the tournament when he made his interprovincial debut in Nelson two years ago, had gone double-digits under par over four rounds.
He dropped shots in the rain with two bogeys on each nine in his final round but balanced that with four birdies to hold strong and increase his lead by a shot. Being the first Omanu player to win in the 34-year history of the event made the day that bit more special.
Rotorua's Peter Lee, in finishing fourth, secured the northern region order of merit while Mt Maunganui's Ben Taylor made a welcome return from a knee injury to finish fifth.
New Zealand rep Emily Perry, who arrived at Omanu on the back of becoming the first woman to win three Charles Tour titles in succession, won the women's title by five shots from Grace Senior.
Omanu Classic final scores:
Men:
Women: