It was billed as the Pattaya Sports Club’s last golf “major” this century. It could have been billed as the PSC’s most fun golf tournament this century. It was certainly the largest. One hundred and fifty-eight golfers teed it up in the 1999 Rossie’s New Year’s Eve-Eve Scramble. Held on Thursday, December 30, at Rayong Green Valley, the large field eclipsed the old mark of 153 set in the Delaney’s Irish Open back in October.

With twenty teams going off each tee, the inevitable slow-down required patience to be squeezed out of the golfers like the last bit of toothpaste in the tube. Unless, of course, they were playing so well and having so much fun, that they never noticed the pace of play. That was true of the winning team. Inspired by their success in the Siam Ryder Cup, Russell “Pin High” Finch, Bill Thompson, and Dennis and Larry Willett entered the Rossie Scramble wearing the same team golf shirts they had worn in that earlier competition.

The winning team at Rossie’s Scrameble (L to R) Russell Finch, Larry Willet, Dennis Willet and Bill Thompson.

Had there been an auction before the Scramble, these four Americans would not have come cheap. They can all blast a tee shot over the moon and their strategy was to take advantage of that edge by having straight hitting Bill Thompson set the table on every driving hole by putting it down the middle. The plan worked a charm, but like most scrambles, putting is what won the tournament. Larry Willett always putted first and he made four birdie putts, only one of which was less than 10 feet. “Pin High” always putted second and he made six long birdie putts including a thirty footer on the ninth hole. “I didn’t have to putt very often, and I didn’t want to putt at all,” declared Dennis Willett. Dennis was spending his time on the green resting up from some bodacious drives and approach shots. They finished with the Low Gross of the day, and their net score of 55.7 won them each a large bronze Championship Trophy.

If the winners were among the pre-tournament favorites, the second place team was a Dark Horse. England’s Terry Summers and John Eyers paired up with Ireland’s Peter Kelly and Ivan Plunkett and showed what great chemistry can do in a team format. It didn’t look that way in the beginning with Ivan jumping up and down and yelling at Peter to get off the driving range and hurry up to the tee box. Peter did a Happy Gilmore imitation with his first drive and the momentum carried on for another seventeen holes. They finished with a gross 65 and with a 10% handicap allowance from the team’s total handicap, they finished with a net 57.9.

The international team of Norway’s Svend Berthelsen, England’s Stan Fry, American Steve Mascari, and Sweden’s Ray Matti lived up to their star billing and shot a ten under par 62, the second best gross of the day. With an average handicap of nine, that only allowed them 3.6 strokes and their net 58.4 was good for third place.

The awards ceremony was held in Green Valley’s dining room and it was a long wait for golfers who had teed it up at 9:30 in the morning. Steve Ross was in that first foursome, but he looked pretty happy. He had every right to be happy. This is his tournament and it had been a huge success. The last group didn’t make the long walk up Green Valley’s eighteenth hole until the sun was already starting to get low, but it was a beautiful view from the dining room and the beer was ice cold. Steve probably never imagined this many golfers, even on the morning of the tournament. Ged Mason deserves a huge round of applause for patiently handling the unexpected late comers and dealing with all the team changes that golfers had done without first asking. In the end it all worked out. The weather had been perfect and as Mike Franklin noted in a thank you to the folks at Green Valley, the course had been wonderfully presented.

If the Wayne Tischbern Memorial on January 12 and the Charity Classic 2000 on January 21 begin the New Year as successfully as Rossie’s Scramble ended the old, it will be a banner year for Pattaya Sports Club Golf.

1st: Russell Finch, Bill Thompson, Dennis Willett, Larry Willett, Hcp 5.3, Gross 61, Net 55.7.

2nd: John Eyers, Peter Kelly, Ivan Plunkett, Terry Summers, Hcp 7.1, Gross 65, Net 57.9.

3rd: Svend Berthelsen, Stan Fry, Steve Mascari, Ray Matti, Hcp 3.6, Gross 62, Net 58.4

4th: Steve Donovan, Stefan Hoge, Jimmy Little, Paul Whitlock, Hcp 7.4, Gross 66, Net 58.6

Near pins: #4 Nic Hadden, #7 Bill Hewitt, #11 John Braham, #15 K. Hontanieni.

Also on Sunday January 9th, the 2000 Great Laser Island Race will be run, beginning with a briefing at 9:00 a.m. Race begins at 11:00 a.m. All members of the RVYC and their invited guests are eligible. The course starts at RVYC flagpole, windward mark to port, Koh Larn, leeward mark to port, finish at RVYC flagpole. There will be a 6 hour time limit. Richard van den Heuvel will be the race officer for this one as well.

Third place went to George “One Ball” Jackson, whose handicap has bottomed out at 13, and Stefan Hoge, who for now plays off 23 but is heading fast for the teens. They had a gross 75, good for a 67.8 net.

The full January Schedule can be seen at all PSC Golf Venues, at Delaney’s, in Pattaya Mail and on the PSC Web Site at www.pattayasports.org.