It was another classy match in a week of some high-class tennis, with both players pulling off stunning winners. Few points were decided in dull baseline rallies.
Golmard was down 5-6 in the first set when the rain bucketed down, but he quickly levelled when the players returned to the court. He then raced through only his second tiebreak of the tournament, 7-0.
The first service break came in the third game of the second set and it was all the big-serving Rusedski needed. He took the set 6-4 and when he repeated the effort at the same point in the third, many felt it was all over.
But Golmard broke back in the 10th game for 5-5 before handing the initiative right back.
Rusedski knew what to do. He raced to 40-0 and finished off the 28-year-old Frenchman with an ace - a round dozen for the match.
"I planned to be aggressive and attack Jerome," Rusedski said. "I felt I was playing well, but when we came back after the break he won 11 of the next 12 points to take the first set.
"It was, in the end, a very good victory for me."
Sixth-seed Rusedski said that playing hard three-setters in every round - he had to come from a set down against Michal Tabara and Jiri Novak to get through - had been to his advantage.
Unseeded Golmard got through without dropping a set and was taken to just one tiebreak (won 7-5 against qualifier Gilles Elseneer) to book his place in the final.
Reflecting on his victory, Rusedski said: "A break is not a break until it is consolidated by winning the next game.
"I'm going to enjoy the rest of the day and then start thinking about the Australian Open.
"This is probably the best start to a year I've had. I can also take heart from the way players who have won here have gone on to do well at the Australian Open."
Rusedski admitted the ATP points were important.
"I'm not playing for the money," said the 28-year-old left-hander who has already banked close to $US7.5 million ($17.76 million) in 10 years on the Tour. "I want to win titles."
And he promised he would come back next year, "if they'll have me." Of that, there is no doubt.
Golmard, too, would be welcome again.
The unassuming Florida-based player, who has been as high as 22 on the ATP rankings and awaits the birth of his first child in May, won plenty of fans with his strong all-court game.
"I was nervous, especially at the end of the match," the left-handed Golmard said. "He played well and he read my game very well. There were no easy points.
"At the beginning I tried to play the same as I had all week. But it was difficult against another leftie. He read my serve better. He knows my game. He played many shots at my body. He is very strong, very powerful.
"But, for me, it is a dream to play in a final. I need more finals to get used to the pressure. I'm a bit tired in my mind."
The doubles final, played in front of a half-full but noisy stadium, was a typical arm wrestle, with top seeds Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman eventually beating fourth seeds Cyril Suk and Martin Garcia 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7).
The finals were a fitting finale to a great fortnight of top tennis.
The challenge for Auckland Tennis will be to continue the momentum. That will not be easy, but with Auckland such a popular and established stop on the WTA and ATP circuits, big-name players seem likely to continue to make the trip.
Next? Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras, Jennifer Capriati or Venus Williams? A big call, but surely not impossible.
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