I should have won the Norfolk Am last weekend.

Played my best golf of the year both days and ended up with 73-74 and tied for 7th - I was a three-putting machine on the front nine Saturday, shot 39 with three 3-jacks and missed four birds inside 10 ft (two inside 5ft on the par fives), came back with a 34 on the back with a birdie on 18 that could have damn well been an eagle had my chip up onto the green not gotten a crappy bounce (short par 4).  Before that, I lipped out at least five birdie putts inside of 15ft.  If I make half of my birdie chances and don't three-putt my way around the front, I shoot anywhere from 64 to 67 and I'm in the last group Sunday.

On Sunday, they cut and rolled the greens that were already putting about a 11-12 and tucked almost every single pin on the course.  Went out in 39 again thanks to a missed short par putt on 6 (par 3 that blew a lot of guys up), a bogey on 7 after being pin-high in two on a par 5 (got too aggressive with a LW and ran it past the pin, off the green and onto a steep hill, short siding myself), and then I had my glove rip when I was swinging my driver on the 9th tee, lost control of the club, and hit a low hook into the water.  Took my drop and pulled my 3rd shot to about 40ft and almost made the par putt.  No huge mistakes, but just couldn't make any birdies.

10 is a short dogleg-right par 4 with some trees that are about 70-80ft tall protecting the dogleg - if you can hit a high power fade, you can get to the green.  There's no point in laying up on that hole since the green slopes from left to right, making anything coming in from the left side want to bounce off the green.  I drilled a driver toward the right side of the hole, and the ball ends up pin-high, but it's sitting right against a dead tree branch that's at least an inch in diameter.  If I move the branch, the ball's going to move, so I have to play the ball off the dead branch.  I opened the blade on my LW and tried to flop one, ball hits the branch and goes dead-left to the front left side of the green, leaving me with about a 30yd chip.  Chip it to 5ft and make the putt for par.  11's a mid-length par 4 (about 425) with trees left and a pond right, I take the 'don't hit in the pond' swing and hit one about 320 down the left side, only problem is, I'm right behind a tree, about 90y to a front pin sitting on a crown behind a bunker, water right.  I look at the shot, look at my fellow-competitor, and said 'I've always wanted to try this shot' (that shot being a hard LW with a shut face, try to hook it around the tree and onto the green, making it hold and stay out of the water).  I step up, make a good swing, ball goes exactly where it's supposed to, and I have a 15ft uphill birdie putt which I proceed to lip out.  Get up and down for par on 12 from a divot in the middle of the fairway (had to gouge one over the green and make another par save).

13 is about a 155y par-3 that has a severely sloped green from back-left to front-right, and the pin is tucked behind a bunker that's about 8-10ft deep.  I take a 9i, put it on the right fringe about 15ft, and drain the putt.  That spot is the only flat spot on this green, as the other guys in my group went bogey-bogey-double.  Also, I was told after the round there were several four-putts on that green because of the placement of the pin.  I hit driver-LW to about 15ft on 14, birdie putt goes halfway around the hole and spins out.

On 15, they are having a hole-in-one prize of a new car.  It's about 175y, downwind, pin is up against a backstop.  I pull a 7i, hit it dead-freaking-on the pin, ball bounces once, grazes the pin, and goes 5ft past, giving me a lightning downhill putt that I am afraid I will have 10ft coming back if I get too aggressive.  I barely tap the ball and almost made the putt, but it comes up 6in short, tap in for par.  A guy in the NEXT GROUP aces the hole and drives away in a new Nissan Altima.

16's a short par 5 (490y) with OB and trees left and trees right.  I hit a hard draw, ball hits a sprinkler head about 200y out, and shoots dead-left into a bunch of hard dirt and gravel.  There's a ground-under-repair line painted about 6 inches away from my ball, but I'm on the wrong side and don't get relief.  Had I gotten relief, I would have had a clean 7-8i in and a shot at eagle, instead I have to hit a hooded 5i around a tree trunk - I put it to about 60y, and the ball is sitting right on top of a mound in the fairway that got scalped by the guy mowing the grass today - another bad lie.  I hit my 60 to about 20ft.  Birdie putt was dead on line, but came up a foot short.

Had about 40ft on 17, ran it right past the hole and had to make a 4-footer coming back.  On 18 (same hole I almost eagled Saturday), I hit my drive into a greenside bunker that gave me about a 50y bunker shot.  I decided to make a bunker swing with my gap wedge over taking a hard swing with the 60 (I normally use my 60 out of traps).  I caught the 52 too good, it goes over the green onto a severe upslope, blade it back over to the front of the green, chip to 5ft, and miss the bogey putt for 74.

A lot of good players got blown up Sunday by the difficulty of the pin placements (several guys were in the 80s, including a former mini-tour player that got his amateur status back last year) - winning score ended up being 137 and I came in with 147.  I know finishing 10 shots back may not look close on paper, but I really had a shot this time and just couldn't get the ball to go in the hole.

"Missed 4 birdies, all inside 10-feet" ----- there's your winning trophy right there.  I would have melted down worse than you if so many good approaches gained me nothing.

Nonetheless, I bet you've learned a lot.