Between them, they saved the New Zealand Open. But the honeymoon is over for Michael Hill and Bob Tuohy.
Hill wants to become the permanent host of the Open at his spectacular Hills course near Arrowtown, and have a bigger say in how the event is run.
But promoter Tuohy, the crafty veteran of a lifetime in golf, has no interest in giving up control of a tournament he assumed all the financial risk for when he bailed out New Zealand Golf three years ago.
A source told the Otago Daily Times the battle was going to lead to the Open moving to the Clearwater course, near Christchurch. The source also predicted Hill, in response, would establish his own tournament.
Hill: "I don't want the Open as it was. I can't just bankroll it all along."
Tuohy: "Michael might want more control but it's a matter of whether his club has the ability to manage and market a tournament like the New Zealand Open."
The tournament's future has become increasingly cloudy since the contracts between Hill, Tuohy, New Zealand Golf and the Nationwide Tour expired when lanky American Bobby Gates sank his winning putt on January 31, in the third Open to be held at The Hills.
There is still no venue, no date and no sanctioning agreement for the 2011 Open, even though they were supposed to have been settled by April.
Wind the clock back three years. The New Zealand Open is in disarray, with losses of $1 million across two tournaments. New Zealand Golf has been badly burned and does not want the risk of hosting the tournament again.
It enlists Australian promoter Tuohy to run the event, arrange sponsorship and take all the financial hit if it does not work. Hill contributes the venue and, later, naming rights money.
All is hunky-dory. The stunning course knocks everybody's socks off, Sir Bob Charles, Danny Lee, Richard Finch and others provide some great golf, and all the bills are paid.
Tourism New Zealand comes out as a big supporter of the tournament staying in Arrowtown, while the Queenstown economy is estimated to have benefited by about $30 million each time it is held.
Happy days. But what happened?
The three-year deal ran out, Hill started agitating for more support and more direction, Tuohy said patience was needed, New Zealand Golf said it needed to negotiate with all possible co-sanctioning partners, and the months rolled by.
There was talk of Cape Kidnappers, the playground of millionaire American Julian Robertson, staging a bid, but that rumour quickly died out.
Now, according to both an Otago Daily Times source and widespread speculation in the golfing community, the Open is going to Clearwater.
Apart from the wealthy clientele, you could not find two more contrasting golf courses. Surrounded by mountains, The Hills is arguably the most spectacular course in the country.
But Clearwater, as flat as The Hills is hilly, can counter with magnificent facilities, a lush green course and Christchurch's broader infrastructure, not least of which is a significantly bigger airport.
The people at The Hills are not waving the white flag yet. While there is a suggestion Hill could investigate hosting his own tournament if he loses the Open - or even, ironically, pinch the New Zealand PGA off Clearwater - his right-hand woman says the focus remains on the top event.
"We are still confident we can host the Open and we are focusing all our energy on that at this point," Sam Gent said.
As well as a change in venue, it seems likely the Open will abandon its links with the United States-based Nationwide Tour and will become part of the fledgling OneAsia Tour.
The prize purse will double, to a minimum of $US1 million ($NZ1.4 million), the tournament will move from January-February to November, and the field will include dozens of Korean and Japanese golfers instead of young Americans.
Tuohy said it was "premature" to assume the Open was joining OneAsia next year but confirmed he saw the new tour as the natural home of the tournament.
New Zealand Golf appears to favour a retention of the Nationwide Tour link but a source said the organisation was coming under extreme pressure from the Australian PGA, which wants another tournament under the OneAsia banner.
With the Moonah Classic, which has linked with the New Zealand Open, looking sickly, it may be that the Nationwide has no choice but to pull out of the Open anyway. It would not be economic for the Americans to travel so far for only one tournament.
