But don't tell Mark Brown that.
The classy Wellington professional saw another opportunity to win the title he covets most slip by when he finished second at the New Zealand Open at The Hills yesterday.
Brown (39) played well - he carded a 3-under-par 69 to finish 14-under for the tournament - but it was not enough to halt runaway winner Dimitrios Papadatos.
''It was just a tough day,'' Brown said last night.
''I didn't play particularly well tee to green and sort of hung in there, but Dimi played a great round.
''You go out with a one-shot lead and you shoot a 66, it's tough to beat. It would have taken 7-under just to tie. The way I played, I didn't have it in me.
''He deserves it. He went out and did what he had to do and I couldn't quite match it.''
Brown spoke at length before the tournament about the importance, for a top New Zealand golfer, of winning the Open.
He has now gone extremely close twice in succession. At the last Open, at Clearwater in 2012, he gave up a three-shot advantage in the final round.
''It's all about winning, particularly this tournament, so I take no solace in finishing second at all.
''It wasn't what I wanted so it's just really disappointing.''
Te Anau professional David Klein, one of the lowest-profile New Zealanders in the field, was ''more than stoked'' to shoot 5-under yesterday to finish third and claim a $57,000 payday.
He had friends and family around him, so felt as if he was playing at home.
Like Brown, Klein hoped to capitalise on a Papadatos mistake, but none came.
''I was only four back so I definitely had a chance but it required the leader to have an off day and that obviously didn't happen,'' Klein said.
''There was no chance of stopping him.''
Klein, who turns 23 on Wednesday, has missed out three times on qualifying for the OneAsia Tour. He is hoping to perform well enough in future Australasian events to get into Asia.
Of the other Kiwis, Richard Lee maintained a steady pace to tie for fourth at 12-under, Ryan Fox posted his third consecutive 69 to tie for sixth at 11-under, qualifier Kieran Muir tied for 10th at 9-under, and Gareth Paddison faded to a tie for 13th.
There was no joy for pre-tournament favourite Michael Hendry. The two-time New Zealand PGA winner scraped into the weekend on the cut line, and back-to-back rounds of 70 were only good enough to get him into a tie for 32nd.
