Forty’s from Dougie and Apple lead the way

PSC golf from McAllister’s

As usual, a fair crowd of thirty-nine regulars turned out for the popular weekly event even with a few notables unable to participate due to other commitments.
A muggy day was in store for the players but minor discomfort didn’t seem to affect the scores in any way. As the course is still under heavy maintenance the organizers posted relief for the day of “lift, clean, place” with a view to avoid unnecessary hardship. This met with the approval of all players after seeing the conditions the week before.
Many people questioned the whereabouts of the “Haggis”; answer it is still in jail in the trunk of Dennis’s car until he returns from the US of A after getting his daughter married off. There will be a nearest the “Haggis” award for the next outing.
Fine food awaited all at McAllister’s once the golf was finished and the placings were announced with Panom (Apple) Jitchana pulling down first in A flight again with a fine 40 points. The B flight was taken by Dougie Powell for the first time with a like 40 points.
Full results, handicaps in parenthesis.
A flight. 1st Panom (Apple) Jitchana (18) 40 points, 2nd Eddis Blackwell (10) 39 points, 3rd Mikael Andersson (7) 38 points beating Klaus on count back.
B flight: 1st Dougie Powell (26) 40 points, 2nd Andy Evans (31) 39 points, 3rd Graham Hiskett (19) 39 points losing 2nd on count back.

Sports Quiz

Congratulations to Steve Johnson who was the winner of our last quiz. Thank you to all who tried and better luck next time. In case you were wondering about the answers, here they are:
1) Who won the Women’s 2004 New York Marathon?
Answer: Paula Radcliffe
2) Which European became the heavyweight boxing champion in 1959?
Answer: Ingemar Johansson
3) In football, who made his debut for Scotland in 1967 at the age of 36?
Answer: Ronnie Simpson - the Celtic goalkeeper
This weeks Questions are:
1)Who captained Scotland to the 1990 Five Nations Grand Slam?
2)Who was the first black player to play football for England?
3) Who won the men’s 200m Freestyle at the 2005 World Swimming Championship?

Suzuki peddles off into the setting sun

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday March 20,
Bangpra,
2 Person Better Ball
1st Trevor Schirmer & B J Smith, 44
2nd Kuni Wakabayashi & Masayuki Matsumoto, 40 c/b 19
3rd Dave Thomas & Reg Warner, 40 c/b 17
Another departure from the usual golf competitions and one that brought out 20 golfers to join together as 10 teams for one of Stephen’s favorite competition formats, just a pity the “Doc” could not join in the fun!
With each golfer playing off 3/4 handicap, scores were always expected to be close, but the Aussie pairing of Trevor & BJ proved too good for the Japanese and Brits, finishing clear winners by 4 points! In the “2”s competition, Norman Isherwood & Claus Nilsson shared the division 1 prize, whilst BJ Smith & Reg Warner shared the now rather small division 2 pot. Prior to the presentation, Richard Livingston welcomed Masayuki Matsumoto and welcomed back Kuni Wakabayashi.
Wednesday March 22,
Khao Kheaw A&B,
Monthly Medal
Division 1 (0-15)
1st Tom Sathrum, 72
2nd Trevor Schirmer, 74
3rd Al Rolnik, 75
Division 2 (16plus)
1st Dave Spendley, 80
2nd John Draper, 81 c/b 41
3rd B J Smith, 81 c/b 43
A slightly disappointing turnout for the coveted monthly medal and apart from the three excellent scores in division 1, the rest of the field found the course just too long off the yellow tees! Numerous scorecards in the 100’s and mid 90’s, together with a few NR’s were turned in and Dave Spendley was flabbergasted to take division 2 honors with a nett 80! His 3-ball with Micky Moore & BJ Smith managed to lose 17 balls in the water!
In division 1, Tom played splendidly for his nett 72 but Trevor & Al were right up there challenging to the end. Poor Suzuki San, playing in his last competition before returning to Japan, had a nightmare, losing 300 baht in the friendly 6’s and failing to make the squawk box on one occasion for which he still owes gin & tonics all round. So it was that Suzuki bowed out with a tear in his eye and murmuring that he may have to sell his bicycle!
As nobody managed to card a “2” there is a small rollover in both divisions. Prior to the prize giving, Richard Livingston, welcomed Markku Tynell and welcomed back Peter Henshaw & John White before bidding an emotional farewell to Yasuo Suzuki.
Friday March 24,
Green Valley,
Stableford
1st Brian Bruce, 40
2nd Peter Johansson, 36
3rd John Draper, 35
4th Brian Kelly, 34
5th Barry Traynor, 33
A much better turnout, but still just shy of the 30 required for two divisions. Scoring was generally good, considering the greens had been top-dressed which seemed to make uphill putts very slow and downhill putts very fast; particularly noticeable on the new par three 12th, where the average score carded was 4.2, (be above the hole at your peril).
Man of the day was Brian Bruce (manager & PR consultant to Steve Martin) who arrived several weeks ago with a 5 handicap, watched it rise to 6, then in his last competition shoots a magnificent 74 gross for his 40 points to comfortably take the days honors. Well done Brian and well done Peter, John, Brian & Barry. Commiserations to Peter Emslie & Barry Winton for just missing out on a placing on count back.
The small rollovers on the “2”s were won by Barry Winton & Rick Holmes in division 1 and Micky Moore in division 2. Prior to the presentation, Richard, welcomed Bill Lennie and welcomed back Tony O’Neill & Chris Davisson before bidding goodbye to Roar Berger, Steve Martin & Brian Bruce. Guess Scotland & Norway are about the same temperature right now, so good luck guys!
Footnote: occasionally, as happened last week, the Pattaya Mail have to cut the report to fit available space in the newspaper. This is a reminder that the full reports can be read at www.thehaven-hotel.com under golf reports.

The ‘Mechanic’ shoots his grandson’s age - 43

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday March 19,
Green Valley - White Tees, Stableford
White A Flight
1st Klaus Schackt, 38 points
2nd Sonny Crawford, 38 points
3rd Gary Blackburne, 37 points
White B Flight
1st Colin Davis, 39 points
2nd An Kaesavane, 39 points
3rd Thierry Petrement, 36 points
White C Flight
1st Seamus Cotter, 39 points
2nd Dave Porter, 37 points
3rd Frank Pilkington, 36 points
White D Flight
1st Nat Meesuk, 37 points
2nd David Foulk, 36 points
3rd Kurt-Erik Persson, 35 points
NP’s: #2 - Jim Wickstrom; #9 - Sonny Crawford; #12 - Charles Sheppard, #16 - Terry Phur
2’s: Sonny Crawford, Gary Blackburne, Jim Wickstrom, Adi Mayer, Thierry Petrement, George Jackson, Ray Dell, Norm Robinson, Lek Gramatke, Trudy Chadbourn
Non-2’s: John Barrett
A trio of 39 point efforts were knotted for Person of Match, as B Flight put forward both The Donkey and the divine Ms. An, and C Flight countered with one of its Irishman, Seamus Cotter. It was unfortunate that young An should be the only one of the three to suffer only a silver, but what have you come to expect from The Diabolical Donkey who unabashedly relegated her to such, with a count back. Monsieur Petrement tidied up the second estate with a retreating 36 points. Seamus and fellow Emerald Islander, Frankie “The Pilk”, served to sandwich one of the Queen’s finest, David Porter, to tell the C Flight story. Ian Grout tried to come to David’s aide but was counted back.
For the second time in three Sundays, the premier flight’s Volkscomputer brought home the bratwurst, this time with a smart 38 points. He did, however, need to bring his astute powers of computation to bear on the unsuspecting Yank, Sonny “with an ‘o’ and a ‘y’ Crawford”. Whilst Sonny had to reluctantly settle for A Flight silver, nice guy Gary Blackburne was pleased to have the sole 37 in the Flight, good for the bronze.
The ladies were to get their gold on the day as The Nat(ural) topped the Shack’s David Foulk and the redoubtable viking, Kurt-Erik. A word about the venerable septuagenarian, he went to the practice green to further hone his always dangerous short game and failed, as many of us have, to see the thin boundary ropes. Poor K-E did a face plant along with putting a good scrape on both arms and legs. Undeterred, he set out to play and true to his heritage he fought his way around for 35 points and third place in D Flight. This was as courageous an effort as the Society has seen. And given the tie for Person of the Match, the Scribe, invoking his literary license, gives K-E the Man-of-the-Match honors.
Monday March 20,
Burapha A & B - Blue Tees, 2-Person Better Ball,
Stroke/Medal
1st David Porter & Julian Clarke, net 67
2nd Gary Blackburne & Mike Gerrard, net 69
3rd Adam Schoenfeld & Dave Tanner, net 69
4th Roy Thornton & Rick Holmes, net 70
2’s: Dave Porter, Roy Thornton
Dave Porter repatriated U.S. resident Julian Clarke for a little Two man Better Ball at Burapha on the nearly prophetic American Wood and British Link nines. The combination tallied a two stroke gap on the field with a tidy net 67.
These two man games seem to suit those from the Empire where the sun doesn’t set for 6 hours (in the winter) (unless, of course, you count the Falklands) as evidenced by their performance in the Ryder Cup and in the fact that there was the aforementioned First, and that the teams of Nice Guy Gary and Elvis Gerrard took second and Roy MBE and Rick Holmes took fourth.
The Colonials, in the persons of “Texas Hold ‘Em” Schoenfled and the Big Easy were thwarted from ascending to second, only by a count back done in pounds and schillings, something, like cricket, we still don’t understand.
Wednesday March 22,
Mountain Shadow - Blue Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Dave Tanner, 39 points
2nd Jay McNair, 37 points
3rd Tik Mayer, 36 points
B Flight
1st Emiel Van de Wiele, 39 points
2nd Poo Supaporn, 38 points
3rd Jorn Finnerup, 35 points
2’s: Gordon Kerr, Simon Philbrook, Nat Heitmann
Non-2: John Barrett
A special mention to a fine round by Society standards, but given his +0.3 handicap, probably not of overwhelming note to its author, Jay McNair, who took down the Blues at the more than formidable Mountain Shadow with a Gross 71. Jay, a high school teacher and golf teaching pro from Tampa, FL, visits us in Pattaya a couple times a year and even wows the Society’s big bombers.
But handicaps are there for a reason, and Jay’s 37 points was second to The Big Easy’s 39 points, one of two such efforts on the day. Before alluding to that other fine effort, it warrants mention that Tik Mayer had the better of the Shack’s Steve Mulberry on A Flight’s third place count back. That was fine with all, because Tik, Adi’s better half, is easy on the eye and an ever-improving 14 handicap, and Steve is from Blackpool. Or is it Blackburn?
That second 39 was produced by B Flight’s Emiel “The Night Vistor” who relegated the First Lady to second, herself with a fine 38 points. Scandahoovian Jorn Finnerup will be able to brag to his son Christian, who regrettably did not make this trip, of his third in B Flight.
Only one player in the whole field chose not to enter the 2’s honey pot and who can blame 28-handicapper John Barrett. Well, Murphy has a law about such things. John notched a two and it wasn’t worth a satang. But John can still have a draft with that 50 baht entry fee. Bit of hard luck ol’ boy! I know the Boys at the Shack will show you sympathy.
Friday March 24,
Eastern Star - Blue or White Tees, Stableford
Blue Flight
1st Sonny Crawford, 34 points
White A Flight
1st Arthur Hancock, 40 points
2nd Per Aschan, 39 points
3rd Adi Mayer, 37 points
White B Flight
1st Dave Porter, 38 points
2nd Joe McArdle, 36 points
3rd Jan Eriksen, 35 points
White C Flight
1st Mike Craighead, 43 points
2nd Cees Bosman, 36 points
3rd Kurt-Erik Persson, 36 points
NP’s: Blues: None. Whites: #13 - Adi Mayer; #17 - Norm Robinson
2’s: Blues: None. Whites: Arthur Hancock, Adi Mayer, Dave Porter, Mike Craighead, Dave Marriott, Emiel Van de Wiele, John White
It has been awhile since you have had to wade through this much bull to finally hear the story of the Title Boy. Well the story of the week was a gross 85, 43 point, outburst by Mike “The Mechanic” Craighead. Anyway, all jokes aside, Mike continues to play at a high level and gives away strokes to people half his age....and twice his height (sorry, couldn’t put the jokes too far aside.) Further to C Flight, it was nice to have an old friend visit, in the person of Cees Bosman, who showed no shyness as he sent Kurt-Erik to his second bronze of the week
Ban Chang’s Arthur Hancock, another friend we don’t see enough of, shot a fine 40 points in A Flight to thwart the 39 point bid by Per Aschan. The last slot in the premier flight was settled by count back as Adi Mayer bettered the Big Easy and Dispatch Rider on count back.
The interim Flight’s podium lost some luster as Adi’s fortune above exhausted the family’s account and left poor Tik to count back oblivion. The Quiet One was the rogue that did this unchivalrous act, but, could he be blamed? Why not? Anyway, as we walk up the podium, we find Jan on third, The Leprechaun, Joltin’ Joe, on second and the Queen’s most loyal subject, Dave Porter atop it. That means Dave had a solo first and second, and a team first on the week. How come he didn’t own the title slot? The first reason is I had already wrote the article when I noted the fine effort and the second reason is that there is no limit to the times this Scribe can cover a gaffe with literary license.
This is not a case of saving the best until last, but Sonny “Give me an ‘O’” Crawford did have a fine 34 points off the prodigious Blues of Eastern Star to better Tampa Bay Jay in a two-man brawl.

The Butter Cup 2006

The Butter Cup teams 2006 (photo by Chatchaya)

There was more polo action at Siam Polo Park this past weekend. The Butter Cup is not just a pretty yellow flower; it is also one of Thailand’s most colorful polo tournaments sponsored by one of the most well known players in the Kingdom - Mr. Eric Butter. It was Eric Butter who pioneered the concept of shaving one’s armpits for a smoother stroke on the polo field. He calls this the “sanfter schlag.” He swore his teammates to secrecy after revealing this intrepid new technique, but some secrets are just too good to keep.
The Butter Cup was full of colorful people this year. The Butter team fielded Eric as captain, with Tom, Susy, Pepin and Gallego in yellow jerseys. The Siam polo team was co-captained by Khun Un and Robin with William, Frances and a brace of Indonesians. The competition was fierce, as always, but the Butter team surged into the lead in the first two chukkas 5-0. It was the third chukka, where the Siam team began to capitalize on Gallego’s unique ability to cross the line of the ball. The 3 penalty goals brought the Siam team up to 5-3 by the end of the chukka.
The fourth and final chukka saw the Siam team closing the gap to only one goal, until Eric Butter charged down the field and split the goal posts like a ‘knife through butter’ leaving the final score at 7-5 for the Butter team. It was a splendid victory and great fun followed by a traditional Argentine Asado sponsored by Khun Susy. The King Power Cup is coming soon. Updates will be posted on www.siampolonews.com

Riley wins close contest

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

Tuesday, March 21, the Pattaya Golf Society braved the potential thunderstorms and traveled to Khao Kheow for their weekly medal event, which was held under heavily overcast skies in steamy, sultry conditions. Generally the course was in good “nick” and the “A” and “B” nines were to prove very long on a day when there was no run.
The field was cut at twenty and under and in the second flight the notorious Island Hole was again the “undoing” for Len Jones, but his net 81 held out for third place! Andy Haycox went one better securing second place with a net 80. The flight winner was Jim Parkinson who makes a habit of winning just before he returns to UK. His net 78 was a fine return for some strong commitment.
In the top flight Les Hall and Dale Shier tied for runner-up with excellent net 77’s and it was gratifying to see Dale’s hard work and application bearing fruit again in the shape of the day’s best gross. Lording it over the field was Harry Riley; currently so much in form, and his net 76 brought him his third consecutive victory with the group. There were no birdie twos but there was no escape for Phil Burton as he found his ‘adventurous’ net 91 was earmarked for the Booby Bevy. Back at the OK Corral the odds were shortening on Harry Riley winning through to the final of the PGS Match-play Championship later in the week. He is very much the man in form.
Brothers in form at the Riverside
The Pattaya Golf Society revisited the scrumptious course at Bangpakong Riverside on Thursday, March 23 after an absence of almost two years, to play a stableford competition. Nothing had changed. The course was in excellent condition and for those on top of their game there were good scores awaiting. The track can be a very forgiving one and the wide fairways, good lies and consistent greens all contributed to a fine golfing day for the majority of the twenty-five golfers.
The field was cut at twenty and under and in the second flight Jim Bell and Rob Heath, the latter distracted by his PGS Match-play semi-final, posted good scores of 37 points each to share third place. Les Winch returned to form with a vengeance firing 39 points to grab second place, his first podium finish for a long while. Winning the flight was Jim Parkinson, the elder of two brothers playing the competition and his 40-point total was a fine reward on his first visit to the course.
In a tight top flight Dale Shier and Les Hall returned scores of 39 to take a share of third place, only one point behind Saranya Chaiyanont who had played the first nine in gross 37, her best ever nine-hole haul. Sitting proudly on top of the leaderboard was Parkinson junior, Andy, and his score of 41 points will leave him with a warm memory of the day as he was soon to return to UK, this being his final round.
The day’s only birdie two was bagged by David Thomas on the fourth hole and the rolled over pot brought a tear to his new “super sighted” eyes! There were others not so “au fait” with their game and of the seven players who failed to make the magic thirty-point mark, big Robert Knutsson had the honour of receiving the Booby Bevy.
In the simultaneous Match-play ties, Rob Heath shaded Harry Riley 2 & 1 to reach the final round and he will be joined there by Saranya Chaiyanont who blew away the challenge of Len Jones with a blistering first nine show which saw her opponent finally surrender on the thirteenth. The return to the Riverside had been an enjoyable one.

Bob scorches the ‘back-nine’ as Dick takes a tumble.

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

With overcast skies and drizzling rain on the first few holes the golfers took off shortly after 7am on Tuesday. The competition was hot for the lead, but Bob Benda got hot on the back nine and came in with a blazing 23 points to carry the day with 41 total points.
Coming in second with 39 points was Herb Ishinaga. He scored 20 on the front nine but could not match Bob’s play on the back. Paul Kraft, who won in Banchang on Friday, came in with a creditable 36 but not enough to win.
Bringing up the rear was Tully and Dick Kerr. Not to worry as they had a good time and enjoyed the scenery. Last week Dick had a great game posting 42 points to win but slipped back this week. What a difference a week makes.

The Beautiful Game?: Mission accomplished for Royals

Riz Taylor
It’s taken 135 years, but last week Reading finally achieved what their fans have craved for so long. After an astonishing season it might have been something of an anticlimax to secure top flight football through an away draw at Leicester City’s Walkers Stadium, but nobody seemed to care as the long-awaited party finally kicked off.
Reading are one of those sides that have persistently threatened to get promoted in recent seasons, but have never quite managed that extra step. But no more. Along with Sheffield United, who also look like securing automatic promotion and another crack at the big time, the Royals will finally grace the Premiership next season after so often being the bridesmaid. Their persistence has finally paid off.
The Championship (I still hate that name) is a notoriously difficult division to escape from, as we’re all told by people who know lots about football. An altogether different style is required to succeed, and the fancy passing game of the Premiership’s relegated sides is often undone by the hustle and bustle of Championship football. Just ask Southampton.
But let that take nothing away from Reading’s achievements. Berkshire’s finest have won more games, accrued more points, scored more goals and lost fewer matches than any side in England’s top four divisions this year. After a 33-game unbeaten run that was only ended last month by Luton, it was only a matter of time before automatic promotion was sealed.
For chairman John Madejski, the former publishing tycoon who has invested 40 million pounds since taking over the struggling club in 1990 and built the 25,000 capacity stadium that bears his name, it’s a fitting reward for determination, patience and investment. “It’s an ambition fulfilled,” he said. “This was my mission when I set out in 1990 and I have achieved it.”
American international Bobby Convey, a revelation on the left wing for the Royals this year, said: “This has been the best 12 months of my life. I’m going to the World Cup too and I’ve been really blessed.”
Yet it’s manager Steve Coppell that will reluctantly take most of the credit. It was Coppell that took the helm after Alan Pardew’s controversial exit two years ago, and he who has quietly achieved the maximum from the players available to him. After all, Reading’s front pairing cost only 80,000 pounds between them.
The understated former Crystal Palace manager said: “This has been dream-like in many ways, but a dream based on hard work and players of tremendous ability. They’re a small squad who give everything for the club and we’ve had a tremendous year.
Coppell was asked about the step up to the Premiership that involves a huge test for any side. “To be honest, we have been looking at next season for about a month so now the work will begin in earnest on Monday,” he said. “Our last game of last season we were at Wigan when they were celebrating. Now it’s our turn.”
Fans bombard Pattaya Mail
You’ve been flooding our postbox in the last two weeks (well alright, two letters, one of which was an e-mail) with your comments on ‘The Beautiful Game’. Thanks for your thoughts. It’s always great to hear from readers, even more so when they agree with my point of view.
“I would just like to say that was another excellent piece from Riz Taylor. As a Tottenham fan I could not agree more with the report about Robbie Keane. He is one player I have always admired and he knows how to entertain the fans and torment defenders. Once again, another great report Riz and keep up the good work.”
Mark Biggs
Thanks Mark. But just as I was about to instruct my agent to demand a huge pay increase whilst I began eyeing mock-Tudor mansions on the outskirts of Pattaya, along comes 82-year-old Pattaya resident Vincent Dolan to bring me back to earth with a sickening thud.
“Riz Taylor - In lieu of rubbishing the English teams “Adios for another year”, Pattaya Mail 7/3/06, he would best be advised to rubbish Thailand’s infamous football ‘teams’. They would not even qualify for the third division of English teams. Riz, remember who it was that made the Premiership league. Mention the Premiership and the world would recognize the quality of who you are talking about. Where on earth could you possibly compare the Premiership? Where do you get the Rooneys and Owens from, the Lampards, Coles etc. And Liverpool “ridiculously” capture Champions League crown? Riz give some credit to Liverpool achieving this. I smell a strong scent of jealously. C’mon Riz - credit where credit is due. You will find out when the World Cup starts. Watch this space.
Kind regards
Vincent Dolan, an 82-year old footie fanatic.
Oh no, not again!
Last week’s series of FA Cup quarter finals, crowded into midweek slots to accommodate Sven Goran Eriksson’s plea for one month with his England squad before the World Cup, brought a mixed bag of games. Charlton and Middlesbrough bored us to tears; Liverpool’s forwards went on a goal-fest against sorry Birmingham; West Ham scraped past Manchester City and Chelsea took care of Newcastle, ending Alan Shearer’s chances of ever claiming an FA Cup winner’s medal. I’m so upset for multi-millionaire Alan that I can barely type as I sit here in floods of tears. It’s all too much.
In the semi final draw, once again we’ll have to sit through ninety minutes of (and I risk upsetting Mr. Dolan once again here) defensive hell after Liverpool were drawn against Chelsea. It will be the ninth time the two sides have met in the last two years, and if it’s anything like the majority of the other encounters it might be a night to say to the wife: “Tee-rak, I love you too much, I miss football for you.”
Alan Pardew’s West Ham will take on either Middlesbrough or Charlton Athletic in the other semi final, which means at least one English manager will be leading a side out on FA Cup Final day. Can you remember the last Englishman who did that? The answer next week, where, unless something really exciting happens or I forget, we’ll be taking a look into the complete mess that is German football ahead of the World Cup. I bet Mr. Dolan never thought he’d hear those words. Until next week then, dear readers, “Auf Wiedersehen”.

‘Loy’ Kratong and Songkran at Eastern Star

I.P.G.C. golf with The Caddy Shack

Tuesday March 21, the golfers from the Caddy Shack traveled to Eastern Star for a medal round. After a very pleasant day’s golf, the scores and stories started arriving: in 3rd place was Paul Davies with a net round of 73, in 2nd place was Roy Mitchell with a net 70, but way ahead was this year’s reigning ‘Classroom Classic’ champion with another great round of net 68. Although there were some good scores none of the golfers managed a two.

Thursday winner David Lightfoot, far right, with some friends on the tee at Sattahip

The big story of the day was of someone who thought he could play a cheeky shot from the waters edge, and after losing his balance and getting drenched, he also lost his hat which floated away on the pond. It was like Songkran and Loy Kratong all mixed together. He then ordered his Caddy to retrieve his Kratong (hat) from the lake and she ended up drenched as well. Quite a crowd had built up to see this ridiculous attempt at playing golf, and after all this commotion Mr ‘Loy’ Mitchell still managed 2nd place.
Thursday March 23 saw us visit Sattahip naval course for a stableford competition. The golfers were split into two groups and in the second division, ex rugby star Phil Smith managed 2nd place with 38 points whilst in 1st place was Mr ‘Loy’ with 40 points. In division one Jan Eriksen and Peter Le Noury tied for 2nd place with 38 points and David Lightfoot came in with 40 points for 1st place; David also achieved the only ‘two’ of the day to take the rollover pot of gold. At the other end of the results, Danny Greer played his best shot ever only to find out it was not his ball: the caddy was very confused, she was convinced it was her fault and refused to take any tip at the end of the day. Maybe she thought Danny needed the money to see an optician. All in all it was a very good and enjoyable weeks golf.
The Caddy Shack is situated on the second part of Soi 17 on the same road as the Harley Bar. We play every Tuesday and Thursday and all are welcome.

Ian and Andy take the honours at Noble Place

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Tuesday March 21, Noble Place, Stableford
People like to play at Noble Place. It was not always so, but the course at present seems to be in fine condition, the rates are really good, it has a more than adequate restaurant, and the road there seems to be improving by the week.

Ian Colville and Andy Evans with the ‘new girl’

So a well-liked course meant a good turnout, and after a fine breakfast, up the road we went, and congregated on the first tee, then A & B watch out. A fine day on a fine course meant a happy group in the restaurant afterwards, testing the wares, until all were in and the trek could begin back to Bert’s. Back on home ground we had to get Tim fed before he would do the presentation; that usually takes time as Tim is like a bottomless pit, although it has to be said he usually hurries through his food so he can crack on with the awards.
On this night we had two divisions: the first, 0 to 19, was won by Ian Colville with Bill Knight in second and John Vincent in third. In the higher handicap division, the winner was Andy Evans with Henry Cignac in second and Grant Dawson in third.
So to the important part, getting to grips with a few cold ones, and replaying the round.
T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Stu Thompson, Donald Hendry, Derek Brook, Cees Bosman, Bill Knight, Mike Wing, Joop Jasperse, Dave Swaine
Long Put: Mike Hulkes, Tewin Lampthong, Andy Evans, Bill Knight, Don MacPherson

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed

Too late for last week’s column was this “eye witness”, (does watching pictures that fly through the air qualify as eye witness?), account of the fight between Somsak and Monshipour. The writer is a retired professional boxer and restaurateur par excellence, Patrick “The Flying Frog” of Patrick’s Belgian Restaurant & Café, where the motto is “Stoofvlees met frieten”.
“What a fight on Sunday morning at 5am. I didn’t want to miss this fight, knowing the French/Iranian fighter Monshipour is a very aggressive boxer, always starting to attack from round one. But one thing he didn’t know was that Somsak is a hard nut to crack. As always Monshipour started the first round like a machine, hitting Somsak all the time, but Somsak showed him that he didn’t come to France for nothing and floored Monshipour with an uppercut. That was a wake up call for Monshipour and he continued trying harder with 4 and 5 punch combinations. Somsak was defending well and no punches really hurt him. This continued for nine very hard-hitting rounds from both boxers. Round 10 was the ‘crème de la crème’: this was what we call “the heart of a champion”. Monshipour and Somsak had nothing left but the Thai overwhelmed Monshipour, who had no more defence, with a series of punches, and the referee stopped the fight. What a fight! The heavyweight division should take note! It was well worthwhile to wake to see that fight.”
One thing about the sport of boxing is that sometimes the relationship between managers, promoters, trainer and boxer are lost on the public. Got a question from O.R. Cross of the Pattaya Cross’s. “My question is, how much does a trainer like (Freddie) Roach charge to work with a guy on the East coast and still train Mosely on the West? Is it a flat fee plus expenses or does he also get a percentage of the purse?”
This is one of the ‘depends’ answers. The usual fee is 15% but that can change in some instances of high profile boxers where the trainer is also paid expenses. At the lower levels some trainers charge a flat fee. Some have an arrangement with the gym where the gym fee includes training. In the case of Emanuel Stewart leaving Evander Holyfield it was a case of money. Stewart wanted “expenses” and noted skinflint (kee-neow) Holyfield bade him “Adios”. When you see Roach in a corner, many times he’s worked with the boxer only a few weeks leading up to a fight. That’s not an unusual situation.
O.R. continued: “I know that managers are notorious for taking most of a fighter’s payday, but how about a good trainer like Roach?”
One last bit of information on trainers. In some cases they are paid by the “promoter/manager” to work with a specific fighter. In boxing today the trainers are the Rolls Royces of the industry. Kenny Adams, Joe Goosen, Emanuel Stewart, Freddie Roach and others hold the sport together. They are, in many cases, mother, father, priest, best friend and teacher to the fighters. You might remember that it was Roach who took the unusual position of standing up for his fighter (Pacquiao) against an unscrupulous, low-down, bottom-feeding, stealing stunk promoter.
O.R. concludes his e-mail with: “ This could be fodder for your column sometime when you are thinking of writing about the educational requirements to be a ring card girl. The educational requirements for a ring girl are the same as those for a pole hanger. Walk without falling down and hold your hands over your head whilst wearing almost nothing... same, same.”
Veeraphol Sahaprom, (52-2-2), the former WBC bantam champion, took a step on what may have been a very interesting journey last Saturday in Kobe, Japan when he got his rematch with Hozumi Hasegawa (19-2). Veeraphol lost his title to Hasegawa last April in a close, unanimous decision. In the days before the first bell, Veeraphol told the Bangkok Post, “I know what to expect from him and I have worked out ways for me to be better this time. I certainly won’t be giving rounds away as easily as I did before.”
That proposed journey came to a screeching halt when the machine-gun like hands of ‘lefty’ Hozumi Hasegawa landed a right hook with the first punch of the 9th round. The fight was stopped only 19 seconds in. Veeraphol had been somewhat competitive as he was trailing only 77-75 on all three judges cards at the time the ‘lights went out’.
Those who viewed the fight ‘live’ in Land of Smiles may have missed the end. This from Pattaya correspondent O.R. Cross again: “One of the disadvantages in watching boxing here via a local Thai station is that their commercials always seem to run into the first several seconds of each round. That is exactly what happened in the 9th of the Hasegawa/Veeraphol fight and at first I thought that Veeraphol had quit on his stool because of the T.V. angle. Only after they did the rerun did I see the right hook that the southpaw Hasegawa hit him with. It didn’t look like a heavy punch but it sure took him out.”
I’m sure the commercials run into the opening minutes of the round on the theory that nothing happens. I once worked at a TV station that had no news people on duty on a Sunday. The general manager asked the news director why? “Because nothing ever happens on a Sunday,” replied the director. “Ever hear of December 7th?” the GM barked back.
The loss cancelled some future plans for Veeraphol which might have included a fight in America. “I would like to go ‘mano-y-mano’ with WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez. I’d love to go to America and fight Gonzalez. I’ve watched a lot of Thai fighters go over there and I would like to do it too.” Sometimes the first step is the hardest... back to the drawing board for Veeraphol.
WBC #3 super-bantam, Saenghiran Lookbanyai (18-0) took another step on his way to a world championship at Sukhothaithammathirat University. He had little trouble with Filipino Rico Genon, turning his lights out at 1:43 of the initial stanza with a “vicious” right hook. Heck, Genon was 0 and 5 going in so this is not really earth shaking news. WBA #1 Prawet Singwancha (30-2-1, 18KOs) won an eight round unanimous decision over light hitting Filipino Teofilo Tunacao (26-33, 7KOs). Also on the card was lady boxer Nongmai Sor Siriporn who got a first round KO win. She is listed as a “former WBC female title challenger” yet isn’t found in the top 10 of the rankings. How about that?
How good will Sunday’s Lamon Brewster (33-2) - Sergei Liakhovich (22-1) WBO heavyweight fight be? I don’t have any idea. Brewster is undefeated since 2004, which doesn’t mean a great deal. If you’ve never heard of Sergei Liakhovich you can join a very large club. Liakhovich’s one loss came at the hands of Maurice Harris (20-13). Those that are skeptics will write that this is just another heavyweight championship fight between two guys lacking power, basic boxing skills, stamina or ability. The odds are they would be right.
There are some things that are just not meant to be. Leading the top of any list is May to September romances (when the baht runs out) and sometimes mega fights. The ‘Land Down Under’ has been anticipating the April 19 showdown between former WBA champ Anthony “The Bum” Mundine and WBC 168 point interim champ Danny Green. Those that check for such things know that tickets were sold out long ago and a television ban listed in Sydney with hopes of the largest live gate in Australian boxing history. There was hope also that the fight would break the Aussie Stadium record of 43,967 for the 1993 World Cup qualifying match against Argentina. Time out. Fight on hold until at least May 17 as Green injured his back.
One fight that’s ‘on’ after about five cancellations is Manny Pacquiao against Oscar Larios. Got to love the flax that work in the boxing arena. After announcing that the fight is ‘on’ comes the official statement: “The bout is tentatively set for July 2 at the Araneta Coliseum.” That venue was also the site of the ‘Thriller in Manila’. This is a tune up for the September 16 outdoor fight with Erik Morales in Las Vegas and should have Pacquiao fit as a fiddle. Morales in the meantime will “spend time with his family”, which is probably another way of saying, “I’m a shot fighter and don’t want anyone to find out.”
Drive a man to drink. Drive on Jeeves and another cold one if you please.