KEY POINTS:
Much has changed for Australian golfer Steven Bowditch since he last enthralled New Zealand galleries - but not all for the better.
Bowditch, 23, returns to Christchurch for the $US600,000 ($867,000) New Zealand PGA Championship which started yesterday at Clearwater a determined young man after a particularly trying season in the United States last year.
He hit a downward spiral on the course, missing 19 of 22 cuts in his rookie season on the PGA Tour. But that was the least of his concerns.
More worrying was the state of his mental health after the broad-shouldered Queenslander was diagnosed with clinical depression midway through 2005.
The bad news came barely six months after he won the Jacob's Creek Open in Adelaide then set a course-record 63 in the closing round to thrust himself into a play-off at Clearwater, which he lost at the fourth extra hole to fellow Aussie Peter O'Malley.
It is little wonder high numbers started littering his scorecards. Golfers require clarity of thought when at work - and one symptom of clinical depression is scattered thought patterns.
He has gone 13 days without sleep, and two weeks without eating before bingeing for the next seven days.
Such unpredictable behaviour has stunted Bowditch's development as a golfer, but he now feels he's on the road to recovery which can only spell good news for his game. He is undergoing counselling and has been put on medication to stabilise the condition.
"Depression is a chemical imbalance in your brain," said Bowditch, ahead of his opening round at a Clearwater course he likes.
"You have to get the balance back, start thinking clearly and enjoying life again. It is something that obviously made my life tougher but we are getting on top of it now and moving in the right direction.
"I'm still in the process of fixing it and it will be a long process. It's a gradual thing that you have to keep on top of."
The inconsistencies that bedevilled his game were apparent at last week's Jacob's Cree* k Open, where Bowditch finished second-last of those who made the cut, after a third-round 81 ensured he tumbled out of contention.
But he feels as if he is practising well enough and is trying to remain patient as he waits for that to seep into his game on the course.
He remains upbeat and is determined to get back on the PGA Tour in 2008, where he feels he has unfinished business to attend to. "It's my dream to be out there. I've qualified for the tour before, so there's no reason I can't do it again. It's a matter of getting the confidence back, starting from scratch again and gradually building."
He does not consider last year to be a write-off, saying there is much he has stored away for future reference. "You don't tend to learn too much when you are playing well and winning. You tend to learn more when you're playing badly and it's all going against you."
A big lesson learned was the need to pull back in certain situations, to temper his natural instinct to attack and instead plot his way to the hole.
"I am wanting to tone it down a little bit. You have to find smart aggression as distinct to pure aggression all the time. I still have a lot of aggression in my game but I'm wanting to harness it and use it more wisely.
"I've always been the type of player who would try to attack the hole from the tee rather than the fairway. Putting yourself in position on the fairway is a big thing that I'm still learning."
He may have had his distractions in 2006 but Bowditch had the presence of mind to observe how PGA Tour regulars go about their business.
One thing which has left a lasting impression is their ability to nut out respectable scores when clearly playing below their best. "They are just really good when they play bad. Everyone plays well when they are hitting it good; it comes down to how good your bad days are."
- NZPA
