Glean Dragland earns eclectic victory

1999 PSC President’s Bowl Eclectic

Pattaya Country Club - May 10, 12, 18, & 21

The Pattaya Sports Club President’s Bowl Eclectic is a golf tournament with a name so big it took four days to play it. Starting on May 10, with subsequent rounds being played on the 12th, 18th, and 21st, the competition was held at Pattaya Country Club. The format was stroke play with a big twist. In every subsequent round, on any hole that the gross score was better than any previous round, the lower score was entered on the "eclectic" card. The hope, of course, was as the tournament progressed, those double bogeys and bogeys would be replaced by pars and birdies.

Glen “Lassie” Dragland, shown here after winning his first knotted putter from the Hare House, earned his biggest victory to date - the 1999 Pattaya Sports Club President’s Bowl Ecletic Tournament.

The 1999 title holder of Best Eclectic belongs to Canada’s Glen "Lassie" Dragland. "Lassie", playing off 32, (handicaps were frozen for the duration of the tournament) led the entire field from day one. By the end of the second round he was already down to an eclectic net score of 58. At this time, the feeling among his fellow golfers was that "Lassie" would hit a wall and his game would prove to be too erratic for any great improvement in his score. That proved to be dead wrong. In the third round he cut another three strokes off his score and was down to a net 55. His lead was now three strokes over his nearest competitors George Jackson and Dale Drader. After the tournament, "Lassie" admitted to being so nervous that he wasn’t sure he could play in this competition again. "I felt sick as a dog" ( no pun intended). Sick or not, "Lassie" went out on the fourth day and took off another two strokes to end the tournament at net 53. Ironically, his score after the third day would have won the whole shebang anyway.

For those who know him well, it was very interesting to see how one of Pattaya’s genuinely nice guys responded to all this pressure. He obviously responded very well. He has been red hot in the competitions played out of the Hare House and his game has shown steady improvement. In this tournament, he was one of only two golfers in the B Flight to get a natural birdie. When Pattaya Sports Club President Peter Malhotra presented the winning trophy, "Lassie" Dragland was the happiest, proudest, and most relieved man in Pattaya.

Well maybe not the "most relieved". That tag may be best given to George "One Ball" Jackson who won the A Flight with an eclectic net score of 57. Like "Lassie", George was on top of the leader board from the git go. And again like "Lassie", ol’ "One Ball" could not comprehend the pressure. "It was suffocating," declared George. "And it went on and on. Most of tournaments we play are one day. Poof! It’s over and you forget it. Mate, I tell you, I can’t believe I won this and I can’t believe it’s over."

All that pressure George was talking about wasn’t just in his head. Ray Matti, Gez Tracey, and Russell Finch had been nipping at George’s heels from day one. This trio all finished the tournament at net 58, with Gez taking second place and Ray taking third place in a count back. Rounding out the top five in the A Flight was Stephen Beard who finished at net 59. All five of the leaders in this flight were playing off handicaps of either 15, 16, or 17.

One guy who definitely did not feel the pressure was Peter Engwall. Peter, who plays off 23, came out of nowhere and won the B Flight with an eclectic net score of 56. Going into the final round, Peter had ten golfers and eight strokes to overcome. He didn’t have a chance. Feeling obviously loose as a goose, Peter bettered his eclectic net score by ten strokes in the final round and blew by a bunch of guys who were starting to level off.

In second place was Mike Spear who also made up a lot of ground on the final day. Mike improved by seven shots in the final found and took second place in a count back over Bob Westendorf, who also finished with a net 57 and took third place.

The Westendorf Family did real well in this tournament. Bob’s wife Donna won the Ladies Best Eclectic with a score of 65 and the two Canadians now have a couple more trophies to add to their condo in Jomtien.

Ray Matti had four birdies, but lost out on the trophy for Most Birdies in a count back to Gary Parkinson. Gary, who plays off a seven handicap, had a net score for the tournament of 61. His gross score of 68, however, was the President’s Bowl Eclectic Low Gross and he accepted his trophies from Peter Malhotra and PSC Golf Chairman Mike Franklin at the post tournament buffet at the Pattaya Country Club.

The trophies presented, the food eaten, the golfers headed back to their respective venues to celebrate another fine day in the Land of Smiles. Probably no place was louder or more raucous than the Hare House, where regulars had won seven out of the ten trophies. The second annual President’s Bowl Eclectic had seen a big jump in the number of participants and the general consensus was that they would definitely play in it next year. They seemed appreciative that this tournament had been yet another example of the Pattaya Sports Club trying to give its golfers a wide range in tournament formats. This had been a good one.

Prize Winners PSC Golf - President’s Bowl 1999

Best Net Eclectic Score: Glen Dragland, Net 53

A Flight - Best Net Eclectic Scores
Winner: George Jackson, Net 57
Runner-up: Gez Tracey, Net 58 C/B
3rd Place: Ray Matti, Net 58 C/B
4th Place: Russell Finch Net 58

B Flight - Best Net Eclectic Scores
Winner: Peter Engwall, Net 56
Runner-up: Mike Spear, Net 57 C/B
3rd Place: Bob Westendorf, Net 57
Low Gross Eclectic: Gary Parkinson, 68 Gross
Most Gross Birdies: Gary Parkinson, 4 C/B Ray Matti 4
Ladies Best Net Eclectic: Donna Westendorf, Net 65

Final Results - Top Ten

Category	Gross	Net	Birdies	H’cap
Best Eclectic
Glen Dragland	85	53**	1	32
A Flight
George Jackson Gez Tracey Ray Matti Russell Finch Stephen Beard Joe Smiley Gary Parkinson John Bullock Svein Vistung Anders Karlsson Ossi Viljanen	74 73 73 74 76 73 68* 75 75 76 81	57* 58* 58* 58 59 60 61 61 63 63 63	2 1 4 2 1 1 4* 3 1 2	17 15 15 16 17 13 7 14 12 13 18
B Flight
Peter Engwall Mike Spear Bob Westendorf Dale Drader Mark Gorda Peter Renggli Jim Little Norm Best Hannu Kemila Bill Jones	79 88 82 99 78 80 81 83 83 88	56* 57* 57* 58 59 59 59 60 60 63	1	23 31 25 36 19 21 22 23 23 25
Ladies
Donna Westendorf Gay Horan Toy Ryser Banjob Khong-Nork	102 85 112 109	65 69 72 73		37 16 40 36

Foolin’ around

The Chonburi Clowns and the Jomtien Jokers donned their greasepaint and sloshed their way around a soggy field at the weekly Pattaya Sports Club softball game on Sunday, May 23rd. Each team came away muddied but unbowed as the doubleheader ended in a split.

The Jokers opened the show with a lead off homer by Alan (Y.B.) Baa. Subsequent hits by Mike (Mr. Ice) Berg and Thai Nai added to the frivolity as they tallied four in the top of the first.

The Clowns picked up their cue and quickly scored four of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Vagabond Mike and Craig (The Hitman) Lewis provided the key hits.

As the festivities proceeded, the hits got harder to find. When the Jokers added one in the fourth, the Clowns put up two, as Mischievous Meena and C. F. (Fowl Ball) Macallen produced RBI.

The Jokers scored one in the fifth, but again the Clowns created their own merriment and added three more behind Aloha Tom and Copasetic Curt.

The Jokers failed to see the humor in all this but could only produce one more run and fell to the Clowns 10 to 7.

The nightcap saw the Jokers again tally four in the first as Mahalo Ken and Dick (The Stick) Cagg stroked key hits. And yet again the Clowns answered back with four in the top of the second as Kiwi Rick and M. J. (Coffee) Jim did the damage.

With the game tied at five going into the bottom of the fourth, the Jokers decided they’d fooled around enough and when Gordon Lightfoot and Leo (The Iron) smacked doubles to left, the Jokers were up by four.

The Clowns tried to bounce back but all their tricks were spent and the Jokers strutted away with an 11 - 7 victory.

You can join the big top, too, every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Pattaya School #7 on Sukhumvit Highway. Equipment is provided and refreshments are available. All are welcome.

Battling the drug problem with sports programs

Chonburi Chat Thai MPs give full support

The President of the Chonburi Athletic Association, Withaya Khunpleum announced that all seven Chonburi Chat Thai MPs are supporting the "Sports Campaign in the Fight Against Drugs". The campaign is being pushed in all Chonburi sub-districts.

The Bang Phra Athletics Committee joined with the Bang Phra Sanitation Department to become amongst the first to organize a "Sports Campaign against Drugs". The aim of the program is to turn kids away from drugs and introduce them to sports.

The leader of Bang Phra’s campaign, Anan Klinsukhon said that their campaign is the pilot for the province. Starting in June kids of both primary and secondary school ages will be able to join in the athletic program.

All kids from all locations in the province will have the opportunity to participate in sports such as football and takraw, with adults coaching and supervising. The activities will take place on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays at no cost to the kids participating.

The Chat Thai MPs see the importance of the campaign and the significance that society will gain in the future. They intend to continue giving their full support both in equipment and facilities.

Further information on the athletic program can be obtained from the Bang Phra Athletic Department or at the Ban Bang Phra School in Sriracha District.

The Clayton’s day of rugby

As usual, the Pattaya Panthers excelled themselves in their organizational skills when they invited the British Club and Bangkok Japanese rugby clubs down for a match on Saturday, May 15th. Come Friday, the Pattaya crew realized that one vital ingredient was missing - i.e., the pitch!

Thanks to the contacts of the Bangkok Japanese, a field was gratefully found and organized by Mr. Takuzo Mikawa of Siam Asahi Technoglass at Laem Chabang.

All the players in last week’s round robin rugby tournament between the Pattaya Panthers, British Club and Bangkok Japanese.

But the next problem for the Panthers was to find enough people to play! Once again, the Panthers surprisingly came through, fielding 22 players on the day.

There was never any doubt that the first match against the Brits was going to be a bruising encounter, due to the previous week’s taunting article in the Pattaya Mail. The match went back and forward, and back and forward, with both sides making it to half time with no score. Another 20 minutes later and still no result, so a draw was reluctantly declared. The Panthers forwards put all the blame on their backs for this horrible result!

In the next match, the Bangkok Japanese played the Brits. This time each side managed a try, with a little help from Adrian and a few others from the Pattaya Panthers.

That left the last game to be between the Pattaya Panthers and the Bangkok Japanese. An interesting encounter, the rather stout Panther forward pack had great delight in pushing the opposition around the field. But to the forwards’ horror, the dreaded case of slippery hands by the backs failed to make any use of the large territorial advantage. But finally Adrian managed to touch down and the Panthers won by a try.

A rather tame day on the field which was more than made up for at the aftermath meeting at Delaney’s in Pattaya. The day’s captains of the 3 teams: Rob Kerr from the British Club, Mr. Mori from the Bangkok Japanese and Chris Bradshaw from the Pattaya Panthers eloquently spoke of the day with great finesse.

Then came the obligatory British tradition of imbibing at great speed, which has been perfected by Mr. Yoshi from the Bangkok Japanese and Steve Ritchie from the Panthers, who had to stand in for Eoin Quirke who missed the Long Island Ice Teas1.

Anyone interested in playing rugby, there are practices every Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Ambassador Hotel, or find out more info on the team on the rugby notice board at Delaney’s Pattaya. The next game is on Saturday, May 29th against the Bangkok Corsairs.

Honda makes the Big Decision

Honda Motor Company in Japan has finally made the decision regarding its future in F1. Despite the undoubted speed and race-worthiness of the new Honda F1 car, the factory has decided not to continue with its F1 project that was destined to hit the tracks in the year 2000.

The project had been in doubt following the death of chief designer Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite, although all those involved were hopeful that Honda would continue. Test driver Jos Verstappen had been setting more than competitive times all year and in fact had been running third against all-comers during testing at the Catalunya Circuit last week. The factory has said that the F1 project would cease immediately.

Verstappen in the doomed F1 Honda.

However, the good news for the Honda fans is that the company has signed an agreement with BAR to supply engines for the British American Racing team next year. The Honda company will also have an engineering design presence in the BAR racers.

It has become increasingly apparent that BAR has been unhappy with the Super-Tec engines they have been using this year, and they will no doubt be running experimental chassis’ with the Honda engine in practice before the year’s end.

The loser in the deal is unfortunately Verstappen who had been looking forward to returning to the F1 circus next year.

Kemila sweeps Hare House week

PSC TAGGS... golf from the Hare House

Wednesday, May 19 - Rayong Green Valley Country Club (Bogey)

1st: Hannu Kemila, 3 up
2nd: Mike Spear, 1 up
3rd: Jim Little, 1 down

Finland’s Hannu Kemila, competing in his first TAGGS tournament, quickly grabbed the attention of the golfers from the Hare House. Playing the Bogey format at Green Valley on Wednesday, May 19, Hannu shot a 92 off his twenty three handicap and won his match against the course three up. This gave the young, slight Finn his first Knotted Putter trophy and his first experience in watching his sweep go down the throats of the thirsty gang from the Hare House.

In second place and winning his match against the course one up, was Welshman Mike Spear. Mike was playing in the same foursome with Hannu Kemila and wisely steered his group to shelter when a huge and violent thunderstorm struck the course at Green Valley.

Others caught out in the open when the storm hit doggedly pressed on. Among them was American Jimmy Little, who came in third place at one down. Jimmy was on the seventeenth hole when all hell broke loose. Playing into gale force winds and horizontal rain, he somehow managed to win the hole when as Stephen Beard remarked, "it was so dark, had it not been for the lightning you wouldn’t have been able to see the ball".

The Pattaya Mail would like to strongly remind all golfers that when a thunderstorm hits, get off the course. A ten minute wait is a small price to pay to save someone from being struck by lightning.

Friday, May 21 - Pattaya Country Club (Medal)

1st: Hannu Kemila, 68 net
2nd: Gary Baxter, 70 net
3rd: Gary Parkinson, 72 net

Hannu Kemila made it two for two. He has entered two TAGGS (The Alternative Golf Gentlemen’s Society) tournaments in three days and won them both. On Friday, May 21, the setting was Pattaya Country Club and the format was Medal. The Finn shot a 91 off his twenty three handicap and won with a net score of 68. The Medal competition was being held in coincidence with the last leg of the President’s Eclectic. TAGGS had a large contingent of golfers who were doing very well in the Eclectic and were trying hard to better their standing. For Hannu to win against this field was especially impressive.

In second place with a net 70 was Canadian Gary Baxter who shot an 83 off thirteen. Mr. Baxter just got back to Pattaya after a cycle of work, and his form seems to be where it was when he won the Splinter Open back in March.

Australian Gary Parkinson shot a gross 79 off seven to take second place in a count back over American Russell Finch who shot an 87 off fifteen. Their net scores of even par 72 just edged out Mike Franklin and Mike Spear who finished at net 73.

PSC Golf for end of May & early June

May concludes on Sunday the 30th with Lewiinski’s playing Stableford at Great Lake, and on Monday the 31st with PSC Golf from the Café Kronborg playing stroke at Phoenix, and the PSC Splinter Group from the Green Bottle playing Stableford at Noble Place.

On Tuesday June 1st PSC Pattaya Golf Society from the Bunker play Stableford at Siam Country Club, while the Smokers from Lewiinski’s go to Bangpra.

On Wednesday the 2nd there is a visit to Natural Park Resort from the Green Bottle playing a two man scramble, or a better ball competition at Natural Park Hill from Hare House.

On Thursday June 3rd, PSC Golf Café Kronborg goes to Bangpra to play Stableford, and on Friday the 4th the Splinter Group go to excellent Bangpakong Riverside while Hare House stay local and play Stableford at Sattahip.

The June schedule can be seen at the PSC Golf venues, at Delaney’s, in Pattaya Mail and at our Web Site at www.pattayasports.org.

Jones & Engwall earn Stableford victories

Pattaya Sports Club Golf from the Café Kronborg

Phoenix - Monday 17th May (Stableford)

Bill Jones’s 37 Stableford points was the best of the day at Phoenix Country Club on Monday the 17th of May. Bill edged out a fine even par effort by the long-hitting Paul Kraft, second on 36 points.

Winner: Bill Jones, 37 points
2nd: Paul Kraft, 36 points
3rd: Anek, 35 points
Natural Park Resort - Thursday 20th May (Stableford)

Peter Engwall came in 3 below par for 39 Stableford points at Natural Park Resort on Thursday the 20th of May to win the run-up to the final eclectic round.

Winner: Peter Engwall, 39 points C/B
2nd: Jim Boyd, 39 points
3rd: Ebrahim, 34 points

Mitchell makes it three in a row

PSC Pattaya Golf Society from the Bunker

Pattaya Country Club - Tuesday, May 18 (Stableford)

On what could have been the hottest day of the summer at Pattaya Country Club, it was no sweat for Roy (Tiger) Mitchell to reel off his third win on the trot.

The Bunker Bar Stableford competition on Tuesday 18 May also embraced the third round of this year’s PSC Eclectic Major competition, which encouraged a few visiting players from the other PSC venues to come an play with the "Bunker boys".

With Roy winning A flight, Tommy (Mr. Consistent) Jeeves 5 ironed his way down every fairway to win B flight.

A Flight
Winner: Roy Mitchell, 38 points
2nd: Joe Smiley, 37 points

B Flight
Winner: Tommy Jeeves, 31 points
2nd: Joe Sparey, 29 points

Thai-Ger Line golf tournament

Thai-Ger Line Golf on Soi Chaiyapool, Pattaya, will be holding their third golf tournament on Saturday, June 5th at Khao Kheow Country Club.

To participate in this fun-filled day on the links meet at the Thai-Ger Line Golf shop at 9:00 a.m. or in the Khao Kheow clubhouse at 10:30 a.m.

The format for the competition will be Stableford. Entrance fee is 1500 THB.

Fabian, General Manager of Thai-Ger Line Golf said, "The first two of our tournaments were great fun. No doubt this one will be the best yet."

The awards presentation party will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Thai-Ger Line Golf shop, with free beer and a pig-on-a-spit.

Copyright 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Created by Andy Gombaz, assisted by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek.