Well, this posting is both satisfying and painful to write, so get your Kleenex out and read on! I played in a Sunbelt tournament in Myrtle Beach this past week at Long Bay, a Nicklaus course that was tough and in great shape with really good bermuda greens. I have been playing well and fully expected to compete for a good finish. I was paired with two guys who have won on the Nationwide tour, Tim Conley and Javier Sanchez so I was very fired up.

I'll give the good news first. I made 17 birdies in the three days, a personal best, and I putted beautifully. For the first time this year I averaged under 30 putts per round. (28.67). The bad news is I shot 80-73-70 to finish 7 over and in 13th place. You might be wondering how this is possible with that many birdies. Well, there were two holes on this golf course that I did not get along with, and I was 14 over par on those two holes!!! Let me take you through my play.

I tee off the first day and birdie the first hole and shoot 33 on the front. I arrive at the par 3 13th 2 under after a stupid bogey at 11, and the island hole got the best of me. The hole was playing about 155 and I hit an 8 iron just left of the flag long and into the water. From the drop area I chipped on and 3 putted for 6. I parred 14, and from the middle of the fairway on the par 5 15th I made a 13! That's right a 13. There is a stream running down the right side of the fairway all the way to the green, and I hit my 2nd, 4th,6th,8th and 10th into this hazard. I hit the last 4 balls into the hazard from the opposite side from the rough and fatted each one. To make things worse, I could have dropped on the other side of the hazard (lateral) after my second ball went into the hazard if I had been thinking better, and that would have saved me about 6 shots. That mistake will not happen again!! I birdied 17 coming in and shot 80 with 5 birdies, a triple and a 13.

Day two I also got off to a good start. I began on the back and birdied 11 and 12, and then I promptly hit another ball in the water at 13, this time with a 9 iron. I birdied 14 to get back to 1 under, and I layed way back on 15 this time to take going for the green out of the equation. Well, this time I hooked my rescue out of bounds left! Talk about playing it safe. I had 3 more birdies and 3 bogeys on the front to shoot the 73.

The final day I did not get off to a great start, standing 3 over after 4 holes but playing well. I righted the ship by making consecutive birdies at 8,9,10,11,and 12 to get to 2 under. I was able to par 13 for a change, and actually played 15 correctly and made an easy birdie there. I reached the 18th still 3 under and ended up with basically no chance at a two putt, and 3 whipped the final hole for a 70.

After all that you might think I was devastated with my play. While disappointed with those 4 holes, (14 over) I have more confidence than at any time this year, maybe ever. I outplayed 2 guys that have been career touring pros and winners, and I made more putts and more birdies than the 2 of them combined. I can't wait until the Tour Championship next week! Feel free to comment on this posting...I can take the abuse!!! More later.