Kiwi Michael Hendry overcome a potentially calamitous quadruple bogey on the 70th hole to hold off overnight leader Australian Andrew Martin by two strokes and claim the inaugural NZ PGA Pro-Am title at The Hills near Queenstown.
Heading to the tricky par-three 16th with a seemingly insurmountable three-stroke lead over Martin, Hendry got himself in all sorts of trouble and eventually walked off with a one-shot deficit.
But he recovered brilliantly with a birdie at the par-five 17th, where Martin made a bogey, and was able to keep his composure to par the 18th and secure the victory.
Hendry's final round 68 included nine birdies, a bogey on the eighth and his 16th hole nightmare for a four-round total of 16-under 272.
Martin had a five-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the tournament and was ahead by one on Sunday morning.
But he could only manage an even-par 72 in ideal scoring conditions, and bogeyed the final hole when he needed a birdie for a play-off.
Martin shared second with Mark Brown at 14-under, one ahead of young Kiwi professional Ryan Fox who completed a fine tournament with rounds of 64 and 68 over the weekend.
South Korean Jin Jeong had fifth on his own, with a second round 10-under 62 - an equal course record - being the highlight of his week. The NZ PGA Pro-Am's top-ranked player, world No.80 Brendan Jones, was equal sixth along with countrymen Nick Cullen and Adam Crawford.
Hendry's success sits behind his 2010 Indonesian Open win as one of his finest achievements, a tournament where he also lit up the final round with a barrage of birdies.
He set the tone for the day with a blistering start, making five straight birdies and another at the ninth for an outward nine of five-under 31.
Two more at the 14th and 15th gave him a comfortable buffer heading to the 16th tee. The tricky par-three has given headaches to plenty of professionals before with a shallow green flanked by a stream on the right and Hendry became its latest victim.
It meant he couldn't bask in the achievement of amateur playing partner Don Cheadle, the American actor-producer playing alongside Hendry in the new Pro-Am format. Cheadle, a proficient 10-handicapper, made a hole-in-one - the first of his life - and may forever speak of the time he walked off with a score six strokes lower than a tournament-winning professional.
Hendry is renowned as a mentally-tough competitor and he showed it in spades by bouncing back at the 17th to make birdie.
Par was secured at 18 and he walked off to sign his card, keep warm in case of a play-off and let Martin decide his destiny from there.
Martin had birdied the 18th on day one but couldn't manage it again and cost himself a bit more prize money when his bogey denied him second on his own.
Brown made five birdies on the back nine to put himself in contention and could have found himself in a play-off had Hendry not gutsed his way to glory.
The biggest disappointment on Sunday was Australian Brody Ninyette, who went to sleep on Saturday night one stroke off Martin's lead.
He birdied the par-five 1st then made a triple at the 2nd, and further bogeys at the 4th, 9th and 12th counted him out.
He did bounce back to birdie four in a row from the 13th but spent some more money at the 18th with a double bogey, signing for a 75 and a tie for 9th.