The ebullient left-hander claimed the biggest win of his golfing career when he won the Otago stroke play on home turf.
Patston (37) won the battle of the generations, pipping rising Clearwater star Cooper Moore (14) on the second playoff hole at the Otago Golf Club to claim an emotional victory after several top-five finishes.
Patston had fired rounds of 69, 68 and 72, and Moore 72, 70 and 67, as the pair finished tied on 4-under par 209, four shots clear of the field.
"It’s a bit of a sigh of relief, to be honest," Patston said after the tournament.
"Emotionally, it was a pretty big deal. As Mike Henderson [Otago professional] said, it was the big silver-backed gorilla off my back.
"Stroke play has always been a little bit of a downfall for me over the years. I back myself in match play but have always struggled with stroke play.
"It’s just such a relief. I’ve wanted this so much, and sometimes you want things too much."
Patston made his early sporting name as an exceptional rugby first five in his native England, and he guided North Otago to a famous Meads Cup victory in 2010.
Golf has presented a different challenge to the father of three.
"I’m proud of myself, to be honest. I’ve played rugby at Twickenham in front of 80,000 people and it didn’t give me the s...., but it can be tough playing in front of 30-40 of your peers at Balmacewen.
"I had to dig really deep, mentally, today. I thought of my family, and it took me to a good place, if that makes sense.
"My wife Lisa-Jayne has sacrificed a lot for me and really inspired me today."
Patston, who has worked for Mediaworks for 10 years and founded Patston Media, has been a solid performer on the Otago scene for the past decade but he missed interprovincial selection last year.
While his English accent is still strong, he oozes passion for the district and would dearly love to fight his way back into the top team.
"I bleed blue and yellow, and I am so passionate about this region. Hopefully this sets me up for the year.
"I’ve worked really hard in the last four or five months, and I’ve been targeting good performances in these tournaments to hopefully earn a recall to the Otago team."
Patston led by one shot from Jacob Bellamy heading into yesterday’s third and final round.
"He is an absolute prodigy, that kid. And my daughter is 15, so it was a bit scary to be playing someone that young.
"He was just so impressive."
Patston had started his final round well but had a dodgy patch on the back nine, and credited caddy Richard Kahn with keeping him on track.
"Golf is such a mental game, and anxiety can play such a big part.
"You start thinking about the end of the round and I just had a few poor swings."
Patston recovered with a nice 2.7m putt on 15, and both he and Moore parred 16.
Moore, remarkably nerveless for someone so young, chipped in for birdie on 17, but Patston replied with a nice birdie putt to take a one-shot lead to the final hole.
Patston hit 8-iron around the trees on 18 to 7.6m and missed the birdie putt, and Moore made his to force the sudden-death playoff.
Both golfers made par on 17 so moved back to 18, where the home favourite found the front right-hand bunker but then recovered beautifully, and Moore missed his 3m putt.
St Clair golfers Phil Bungard and Tony Giles had shared the lead after the opening round after each posted a 3-under-par 68.
Bungard, Bellamy and Duncan Croudis finished in a tie for third.
