Tataurangi shot to prominence in the early 1990s, when he was regarded as one of the world's best amateur golfers.
He lines up at the Hills course tomorrow for another swing at an elusive New Zealand Golf Open title.
A win would cement him a place in history as one of the New Zealand's golfing elite.
Tataurangi may have a few aces up his sleeve when it comes to tournament time at the Hills.
He was a regular visitor to the privately commissioned golf course during its construction stages.
Coached by Jacks Point professional John Griffin, Tataurangi often made trips to Queenstown and would swing by the Hills to check progress and help out with suggestions, based on his PGA course experience, for course designer John Darby.
During a practice round at the Hills on Monday, Tataurangi was asked for advice by his playing partners Ian Leggett, of Canada, plus Nationwide Tour card holders JJ Killeen and Drew Laning.
Tataurangi was like a club pro divulging tips about the lie of the fairways and rub of the greens, most notably on the troublesome par 3 signature 16th hole.
He admitted his own form needed improvement after a weekend where he missed the cut at the New Zealand PGA, at Clearwater, near Christchurch.
"All areas of my game need attention. I thought I played well but just didn't make the scores I needed to," he said.
He had wanted to continue with his recent form, where he finished for a tie in 8th place at the Moonah Classic, near Melbourne, two weeks ago.
"It was my first top-ten finish in a while," he said.
There is no denying Tataurangi's talent, but life in the professional ranks has been one of solid persistence, hampered by career-threatening injury fight-backs, compared with the bolting promise of his youth.
The boy from the King Country shot to sporting prominence in 1992, when he led a New Zealand team which included Michael Campbell, to success at the World Amateur Matchplay Championship.
The team won the Eisenhower Trophy, with Tataurangi carding the top score for the championship.
He went on to win the New Zealand amateur championships the following year and was subsequently honoured as New Zealand Sportsman of the Year at the Halberg Awards in 1993.
Tataurangi made it on to the gruelling US PGA Tour in 1994 in his first attempt and was the youngest player on the circuit - but missed his tour card in 1995 and 1996.
He spent those years on the Nike Tour, the forerunner to the Nationwide Tour, of which the 2009 New Zealand Open is now a co-sanctioned event. Tataurangi has been a regular on the PGA Tour since 1997.
In 2002, he won his maiden and only PGA event to date, the Invensys Classic in Las Vegas. The $900,000 win is the largest during a career in which he has earned $3,154,942.
The next year, a herniated disk at the base of his spine forced him out of the game for an extended period and hampered several comebacks.
Tataurangi finished in a share of 62nd place at the 2007 NZ Open. He made the cut with scores of 74 and 71 on the first two days.
He carded 68 for the third round and left himself well placed for a launch on the leaders. However, suspect putting on the final day led to his scoring a disappointing 7-over round of 79.
For Tataurangi 2008 was a tough year as he went on to miss the cut in all of the six PGA Tour events he entered.
A title win on Sunday would go a long way to turning the clock back, adding his name to a trophy to rank as one of a select group of home-grown New Zealand Open champions.
