At the weekend this little story was going to go in the thread for āThe Little annoyances of Everyday Lifeā, but everyone loves a happy ending and this just about qualifies for oneā¦
This is a bit of a long one as I wanted to milk the situation for all its worthā¦
Soā¦a little backdrop:
Every year the golf club has the Annual club championship which is played over 4 rounds on consecutive Saturdays.
Itās split into 3 Grades : A - the good golfers B: The golfers who think they arenāt bad (this includes me) and C: The hackers (this used to be meā¦)
Everybody in each grade plays āoff scratchā - ie no handicaps are taken into account.
After week 3 Iām sitting in 9th place (out of about 60), 9 shots off the lead, thinking Iām out of the running (yet againā¦).
Friday night we discover the B Grade Leader has signed for a wrong score and has been disqualified (not as harsh as it sounds - he knocked 10 strokes off his score after the card had been signed and thought nobody would noticeā¦)
Suddenly the gap has narrowed to 6 shots with him out of the way.
Saturday morning I tee off nice and early with slim hopes that I might be able to work my way up the pack and get a āpodium finishā. None of this going out in reverse order with the leaders going out last - we all still tee off with our mates at the normal time. In my case, 7am so that I can get finished, get a few beers in and still by home by lunch time 
1st hole goes to plan with a bogey 5 (at my level, thatās still a reasonable achievement).
2nd hole is a par 3 with water all down the right hand side. Disaster strikes, my tee shot goes in the water and I finish the hole with a triple bogey 6.
At this point Iām thinking I figure Iām back to 9 shots off the pace and accept my fate. Itās now out of my hands and itās just pride Iām playing for.
The next 13 holes actually go pretty well, and considering the pressure of it being the final round of the club championship Iām pretty pleased with how itās gone. I may yet end up in the top 3 or 4 as at least a couple of those above me may crack under the pressure (donāt knock it - this is our own version of āThe Mastersā!)
The 16th hole is another Par 3. Water in front of the tee and then all down the right hand side. A pressure shot if ever there was one. I safely knock it on to the green but leave myself about a 30 footer. I have no expectations of holing it, but Iām happy to knock it up close and then tap in for an easy par.
The first part goes to plan and I leave myself a putt of about 18 inches.
ā¦and hereās the part where it goes wrongā¦but the scale of the error gets worse later on.
I go to mark my ball as itās the3 done thing to do as if I putt I will be standing on the line of one of my colleagues putt. He tells me not to worry, just take my normal stance and tap it in. Fair enough itās his call.
One of my other colleagues decides to heckle and tell me I couldnāt stand normal if I triedā¦
I laugh. Step away. Recompose myself and line my little tap in putt up.
Iām ready to putt. I take the club backā¦ and just as I start my stroke, the original colleague decides to pipe up with the identical same comment āNo, stand normalā he says. I twitch. The putt veers left and misses the cup by an inch.
I tap it in for a bogey 4 and then retreat to the back of the green before I wrap my putter around his neck.
2 holes to go. a REALLY tough Par 5 with the approach to the green across a lake. I have to recompose myself, as I am determined not to let the jerk ruin what had become a decent round.
Surprisingly, I end up with pars on both the last 2 holes and end up signing for a reasonable score (considering my lack of talentā¦lol).
Fast forward to the eveningā¦and where the scale of the issue multipliesā¦
Iām checking all the scores to try and work out where I might have finished and whether I might have done enough to get in the top 3.
I check them all, and one by one the realisation dawns that no-one has had a decent round.
As I tot up the totals, itās becoming clear that I have indeed, got a podium finish. I have finished joint 2nd, ONE shot off the top spot.
This is the point when I was going to post in other aforementioned thread.
My one (albeit unlikely) chance of top spot ruined by the jerk who thought it was funny to put me off while I was putting. To say I was a bit miffed is an understatement, but at the end of the day the BLAME was on me, for losing concentration. Oh wellā¦ there is always next year!
Now hereās the bit where it gets moved into āThe Home of Happy Golf Storiesā thread
Apparently the guy who I thought had top spot actually had one horror hole (shameā¦happens to the best of usā¦) which doesnāt get reflected on the score sheet I looked at (long story and this one has already been long enough), but actually meant his score was 2 worse than I had calculated.
As a result the two people who had finished joint second actually finished joint first.
Of course, if I hadnāt missed the putt I would have won it outright, but at the end of the day, 1st is 1st. I got a trophy, my name in the history books and on the honour board in the clubhouse. I had the lowest score on the day (even if the total after 4 rounds was the same) and feel morally, like I deserve it 
Phil - can you put a word in with the committee - I can make myself available as a Captainās pick if required!
