Tataurangi happy to do the hard yards | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

Phil Tataurangi doesn't want to be considered a masochist but sometimes you can't help thinking if it didn't hurt, maybe he wouldn't do it.

The Taupo-based professional golfer is to tee it up in Sydney tomorrow for the Centenary Australian Open.

It is to be the first of three consecutive events the 33-year-old plans to play Down Under before Christmas. The other two are the Australian PGA - a title he won in 1996 - and the Mastercard Masters on the Sunshine Coast and in Melbourne respectively.

Tataurangi has been a touring professional since 1993 with wins in America and Australia to his name so the fact he's playing shouldn't be big news - but it is.

Tataurangi and his golfing game have become synonymous with injury and comeback attempts since he turned professional.

He has suffered neck, back and heart problems which have all taken him out of the game at some time.

None of that is lost on Tataurangi, husband to Melanie and father of pre-schoolers Kahurangi and Talia.

"I don't have any problems doing the hard yards. I don't want to be a masochist but I enjoy that side of it ... Doing what we do doesn't come easy," he told The Daily Post before leaving for Australia.

He joins fellow Kiwis Michael Campbell, Richard Best, Tony Christie, Kevin Chun, Travis O'Connell, Gareth Paddison and Mahal Pearce in the Centenary Australian Open field at Sydney's Australian Golf Club.

Tataurangi admits it's been frustrating taking steps up the ladder and then slipping back down but he has accepted it as part of who he is.

"It's just, like, life and that's been my career to date," said Tataurangi, coming off a seven-week break from his latest career-interrupting injury.

It was a worrying time for Tataurangi after he limped out of the US PGA Tour's Southern Farm Classic in October suffering similar symptoms to an earlier injury that saw him sidelined for over a year.

Tataurangi said he had felt a small twinge in his back which stopped him from playing.

He walked out of the tournament after one round and sought out his United States-based specialist.

Fortunately for Tataurangi, the problem wasn't as bad as first thought and he has been back in New Zealand gearing up for his third return in three years, with the help of his Queenstown-based coach John Griffin.

In July Tataurangi headed back to America on a Major Medical Extension after having time off for a partial lumber tear of the lower back.

His results were poor, making just three cuts from 11 completed events on the PGA (8) and Nationwide (4) tours and his international ranking slipped to 887th.

"I didn't play as well as I thought I would. Physically I was in good shape, quite happy with the body but I flat out didn't play as I thought I could ... It was disappointing," he said.

His only pay day on the big stage was for finishing 60th at the Reno Tahoe Classic where he pocketed $6540.

Tataurangi said he couldn't find "the right zone" and part of playing in Australia over the next few weeks is about a new approach.

"I kind of figured out the best way is to play more golf ... In the past I was probably guilty of practising too much rather than playing ... The plan is to play a little more," he said.

Tataurangi plans to play the first two events on the American tour next year.

He needs to make $616,722 in his next 21 events to secure his full US PGA Tour playing privileges, having survived on medical status this year.

Getting "game time" in the Australian events will play an important part in building up to the 2005 American tour.

After finishing 2002 in America on a high, winning the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas, Tataurangi missed most of the 2003 season with a herniated disc at the base of his spine.

His game became rusty and Tataurangi struggled to find his form.

"At the end of 2002 I was obviously playing well, a lot of things going automatically, and it wasn't like I flicked a switch after 14 months off, although you don't forget some things. The PGA Tour is a totally unsympathetic place to retrain yourself.

"If you've got some deficiencies in your game it's going to show up pretty soon. You only have to make a couple of mistakes ... It's an extremely fine line," Tataurangi said.

But for him, that's also the beauty of the game.