Stamford Bridge Is Falling Down

No prizes on offer for this week’s topic of discussion. By now I’m sure you’ll know all about the departure of Jose Mourinho from his post at Chelsea and his replacement by the relatively unknown Israeli Avram Grant, so instead of going over old ground let’s speculate on what is really going on behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.
Yet no doubt some of you haven’t been paying attention during the last nine days, so first the big story. After three memorable years the turbulent relationship between Jose Mourinho and Chelsea Football Club ended on Wednesday of last week. Naturally in this day and age the official line was that the decision was arrived at by ‘mutual consent’. For anyone living in cuckoo land this actually means that the manager has been sacked or asked to leave a football club but also paid a sum of money to keep his mouth shut about the circumstances.
That payoff is somewhere in the region of ten million pounds, so on this occasion I’ll excuse Mourinho from failing to reveal the full details of the affair. And anyway, Chelsea are renowned for players eagerly shooting their mouth off to the media at the quietest of times, so it came as no surprise to hear the gossip and rumours immediately begin to circulate on a story of this scale.
As we’d suspected, it was the meddling boardroom that had finally got their way. Everything was rosy in Mourinho’s first season as the side amassed a record points total in the then Premiership. The second time around the league was won again, but importantly the club again failed to make the desired impact in the European Champions League. Billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovic felt compelled to act and financed two ‘presents’ for his manager in the shape his friend Andriy Shevchenko, a 30 million pound purchase from Milan, and German skipper Michael Ballack. Mourinho wanted neither.
It was the beginning of the end. Mourinho steadfastly stuck to his principles and barely played the two additions. Importantly the side continued to play their efficient and yet unattractive brand of football that whilst bringing trophies to Stamford Bridge didn’t bring the admiration of the neutral fans or, it seems, from Abramovic.
Yet last season’s League Cup and FA Cup wins brought a thaw in the relationship between owner and manager - or so it seemed. The cracks began to appear after Chelsea’s dodgy start to their league campaign, and the Russian owner revealed his frustration not through words but by leaving his seat towards the end of the defeat at Aston Villa - a telling sign if ever there was.
Add that to the failure to win the league last season, more disappointment in Europe and the inability to play the attractive football that Abramovic so desperately wanted and it becomes clear that the writing was on the wall for the Portuguese manager long before last Wednesday. Mourinho left with his head held high, and into his rather large shoes stepped the club’s director of football Avram Grant.
Then the real revelations came.
We are told that, during the 1-1 draw with Rosenborg last week at Stamford Bridge, Abramovic handed midfielder Michael Essien a half-time lesson in tactical play, telling the Ghanaian to play the ball wider rather than through the middle. The message was delivered by striker-turned-interpreter Andriy Shevchenko. Mourinho, conducting a press conference at the time, was unaware of this.
Now you don’t need me to tell you that this is completely and utterly insane. Abramovic knows comparatively nothing about football, and to be lecturing one of the world’s top midfielders on where he should be passing the ball seems absolutely unbelievable, but apparently this is what happened. Apparently.
Add Abramovic’s frustration to the increasing number of egos floating around the club and surely this spells nothing but disaster for the Blues in the short term. Along with Abramovic himself, the personalities of chief executive Peter Kenyon, former director of football Avram Grant, chief scout Frank Arnesen and several outside influences must all be accommodated in the running of the club. Just where things are headed, nobody knows, but there are a few too many chiefs at Stamford Bridge. .
Avram Grant’s record in Israeli football is impressive, but with the greatest of respect to Israeli football the concept of him taking over at Chelsea is a bit like suggesting Vietnam’s premier rugby coach could take over the All Blacks tomorrow. Grant’s experience and knowledge may make him the world’s best manager, but football management is subjective and Grant faces a battle to win respect inside his own dressing room, let alone from the club’s fans, the rest of the world and, just as importantly in today’s game, the media.
More likely is that Grant is merely a puppet installed by Abramovic to carry out the owner’s wishes on the football pitch in a way that Mourinho would never agree to.
But then consider this for a moment. Imagine you were a multi-billionaire all of a sudden. Assuming that you wouldn’t just live a more lavish lifestyle in Pattaya with a slightly nicer motorbike and a live-in maid, what exactly would you do with the money? Personally I’d buy myself a football team, and I think I’d quite fancy choosing a player here and there to keep me entertained. After all, what’s the use in having all that money if you can’t treat yourself once in a while? Hell, I might even demand that my side play with a bit of style from time to time.
Like you and me, Abramovic is simply a fan who thinks he knows about football. Can we really blame him for wanting a bit more involvement in the action?
That said this whole story is really only likely to have a sad conclusion for Chelsea fans. I’m not too concerned for their welfare as considering Abramovic’s resources they’ll probably have more to celebrate in the coming years. No, the more worrying aspect is the infiltration of the Premier League by egotistical club owners who think they know better than the manager. Indeed, it’s noteworthy that Grant’s official position - however long it lasts - is that of ‘Head Coach’. Surely this says everything.
Every soap opera needs a bad guy, and in the departure of Jose Mourinho the Premier League may have lost theirs. He made a few mistakes - the incidents with Barcelona and lying about his whereabouts in the Ashley Cole affair spring to mind - but Mourinho injected something into the English game at the right time, particularly as we began to become thoroughly tired of Ferguson versus Wenger and their pathetic “mind games”.
However his sides might play football, Mourinho’s results were truly magnificent as the two championships, two FA Cups and a League Cup show, not to mention the 60-plus unbeaten home record. He has a bright future in football wherever he should choose to go. As for Roman Abramovic and the fortunes of Chelsea Football Club, let’s just say that there is no guarantee of the same.
Mourinho has gone but like any good soap opera ‘the show must go on’. Abramovic has done the equivalent of leaving his unattractive yet sensible and pragmatic wife for a move to Pattaya in the hope of finding something exotic and beautiful that also panders to his every wish. But is there real happiness on the other side of the fence?
All eyes will be on Chelsea for the rest of this season and only time will accurately judge Abramovic’s actions, but for the moment it seems to be another case of “a fool in paradise”.
See you next week.

Singing in the rain - Max scores 49

PSC golf from Tropical Berts

Derek Brook
Tuesday, September 18, Greenwood, Stableford
We drove up to the course with rain falling and under dark skies, the biggest worry was not whether we would get wet, but if we would be able to play.
Arriving on the first tee, it was still raining and the course was waterlogged. It was going to be difficult to find a place to even put the ball, if relief from casual water was to be taken. Still A & B have always been a fair test.
Whilst we could take a cart, we could not take it off the path so it was usually a case of sloshing across the fairway and finding a dry place in the midst of a sea of water. Then it stopped raining and it became quite pleasant, then hot, then very hot and humid, then unpleasant. Still, the fairways dried up and we were able to get around a lot better. Surely with the weather like this no one would play a great round.
This really is a fine course, with three good nines, and at present with little use, it is in excellent condition. With a good ‘rate’ this is a great day out, and at present they have a deal on a free meal, which makes it even better.
Sat in the restaurant later we saw that the scores were really good, and Bill Knight immediately went into a big lead with a fine 43 points. Surely he couldn’t be beaten.
Back at Bert’s, however, some time later, we found out he could be beaten. Max has not played for several months, been very ill and generally not well. After a break in the U.K. he returned and decided to have a day out with us.
So the winner with 49 points, yes the total is correct, was Max Matthews. Must be the pressure off his shoulders and the break. Second on 43 points was Bill Knight with Robin Lennon in third with 39 points.
Just to show you how silly golf can be some times, Robin shot a gross 75 and was beaten by 10 points!! Still that’s golf for you.
T.T.F.N.

Bad weather makes it a double visit to Phoenix

PSC golf from the Travellers Rest

Barry Hooper
The heavy rains this week caused much consternation for the organiser of the golf outings. This resulted in him having to make a quick change of venues for the Thursday outing and go back to Phoenix for a second time in the week. A thank you must go out to the their management for accommodating us at very short notice
Tuesday, September 18, Phoenix Mountain & Ocean - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Amphan North (14) 40pts
2nd Fergus Brennan (10) 38pts
3rd Ebrahim (17) 37pts
4th Mike Wardman (13) 34pts
B Flight (scores not available)
1st Phensri Chankham
2nd Bob Short
3rd Rungtip Fronsdal
4th Graham Buckingham
Near Pins: Amphan North, Del Croft, Mike Wardman, Jack Mooney
2’s: Amphan North, Mike Wardman
It was the ladies to the fore again and in A Flight it was a good win by two points for Amphan North, over Fergus Brennan in second and Ebrahim in third.
The B Flight gave Phensri Chankham a win with twenty-seven points over Bob Short in second and Rungtip Fronsdal in third. It is nice see so many new faces joining us and to see them having success.
Thursday, September 13, Phoenix, Stableford
1st Fergus Brennan (10) 40pts
2nd Steve Compton (25) 36pts
3rd Alan Evans (27) 34pts
4th Dick Warburg (12) 33pts
c/b Jack Mooney & Ken
A diminished turnout due to the weather problems and a quick change of venue meant a second visit to Phoenix in three days. However, it did not affect the golf played or the enjoyment of those who made the trip.
Fergus Brennan came out on top, a solid forty points forcing Steve Compton into second spot on thirty six and Alan Evans in third with thirty four. Fourth place was a count back decision between three players all on thirty-three, with Dick Warburg coming out at the top of the pack.
Saturday, September 15, The Emerald - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight (Medal)
1st Chaten Patel (16) net 72
2nd Fergus Brennan (10) net 73
3rd David Arrowsmith (4) net 73
4th Colin Cronin (18) net 74
B Flight (Stableford)
1st Steve Gould (20) 35pts
2nd Ray Bloom (21) 33pts
3rd Henry O’Brien (24) 32pts
4th Mod Chouraksa (24) 31pts
Near Pins: Amphan North, Henry O’Brien, Fergus Brennan, Frank Kelly
2’s: Colin Cronin, Henry O’Brien, Fergus Brennan, Joe O’Driscoll, Frank Kelly, David Arrowsmith
We had a very big turnout on the day with two full flights. The 2’s comp saw more winners than I can remember with a share by six players.
In the B Flight stableford comp, H’cap 19-up, Steve Gould took the top place with thirty-five points in what I think is his first win. Ray Bloom was second on thirty-three, with Henry O’Brien in third and Mod Chouraksa fourth.
The A Flight Medal comp saw a good day for Chaten Patel with a round of seventy two to win. Fergus Brennan was just one back on seventy-three for another second place, and David Arrowsmith came third with the same score, pushing Colin Cronin into forth on seventy-four.
Reminder: If anyone is interested in golfing with the “Travellers Rest” we play every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We meet at 7:45 am for breakfast and transportation and new players are always made to feel welcome. Just call Tewin on 086 056 7019 for further information. Golfers please remember that as from the October 1 it will be four outings a week with a new Monday trip added to the schedule.

Pearce on the podium as Herb rests up

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

To start the month it was Sus Ige who took names and took our money. Playing off his 13-handicap, the lowest in our group, Sus was focused and shot 40/40. Not bad for an old man!

Sus Ige (left) and Bob Pearce (right) were the men to beat in September.

The bandits, Bob Benda and Dale Murphy, could not keep up and Herb was left sucking the hind teat to bring up the rear of the group. Both Bob’s (Benda and Pearce) came in joint second with 38 points each.
The second week brought a new winner. As Herb languished in his hospital room in Bangkok, the others teed off without him. Bob Pearce took top honors with 40 points, with a distant Paul Kraft in second on 36 points.
Next week will be a different story as the field hopefully increases. It is just a fun tournament but no cheating is allowed. We will be watching, so if you play be ready to pay. Hope to see you all next week.

O’Conner and Hiskett head the field

Phoenix Golf Club Members Group

Wednesday’s winners: Terry O’Conner, Brian Jacks, Graham Hiskett and Paul Lavender with a Phoenix staff member.

Mike Gerrard
Wednesday, September 19, Stableford
I had heard that the Mountain course had perhaps been opened a little too early after preparation work for the coming high season. If that was the case a few days ago, then full marks to the weather in making the grass grow very quickly. Although a little untidy in places the general condition of the tees, fairways and greens are still a joy to play on.
A good field of 23 turned up today for an individual stableford competition, with again one solitary latecomer. Please take note that all of our days start at 12.16 and registration will close at 11.45am.
With the large turn out we decided to have two flights, 0 to 17 and 18 up.
The winner of the A flight with a score of 39 points was Terry (Del Boy) O’Conner, with Brian (Judo Boy) Jacks coming in second with 37 points.
In the B flight the winner was Graham (van Gogh) Hiskett with 39 points, and Paul (Pike) Lavender came in second on 38 points, just pipping Jeff Cargill on count back.
Technical awards went to Ken Graham, Jeff Cargill, Paul Taylor, and J.C. (no not Jesus Christ or Jasper Carrot) but John Cunningham, with Terry O’Conner just pipping yours truly for the longest putt on the 18th.
Friday, September 21, Medal
It was a really tough day after the overnight rain, which made the course very long from the tiger tees. In the words of our chairman it was very long and wet.
Terry Turner, playing off 27, recorded a good score of net 69 to take the top honours, with Jeff Cargill claiming second place with net 72 and Brian Jacks in third on net 73.
Brian went on to scoop the three-week old 2’s pot.
Sunday, September 23, Stableford
It was a welcome return for our Sunday captain Ben Hogstrom after a brief visit to his homeland of Sweden.
With the weather getting a little better it was not a good turn out today with only 11 players tackling the Mountain and Ocean courses.
The winner with a superb score, which will mean a cut of 11 shots next week, was David Czernie (his name is much longer than that, but I aint gonna try). I am told he achieved his score even after incurring a 2-shot penalty for playing the wrong ball and then going out of bounds on the 18th.
In second place, and I would assume a little disappointed, was Alastair Aitken, who in turn had returned a very respectable score, (sometimes life ain’t fair) and in third place was David Smith.
Technicals awards went to Terry O’Conner (2), David Smith and Ben Hogstrom.

King shines at Crystal Bay

Golf from The Caddyshack

Tuesday, September 18, Crystal Bay, Medal
Today the venue was Crystal Bay and it was to be a Medal round. The scores were very high with two golfers, John King and Clive Bruce, battling it out for the win after both players came in with under par rounds. Clive posted a great score of net 69 but John managed three better with a net 66 to record the win.
Mike Alidi was in third place with the lowest gross of the day, a superb gross 73, and with his handicap of 1 he shot par for the course. Clive Bruce was the only player to manage a ‘2’ on the day and was relieved to take the prize as his past form in lucky numbers was not good.
Friday, September 21, Green Valley, Stableford
A stableford competition was played at Green Valley and the morning started very wet with grey skies and full of rain. Luckily the closer we got to the course the clearer it got and finally at tee-off time it cleared and we had a very dry round. There were a few wet patches on the course and getting any run with the ball was hard and the scores on the day reflected this.
No golfers managed to break par, and in third place was Peter Davies with 34 points. Beating him on count back, also with 34 points, was Clive Bruce, but the winner today was Bruce Tollitt with a very nice 36 points to record his first win at The Caddyshack.
The par 3’s were sponsored by The Caddyshack and the winners were Clive Bruce (2), Peter Henderson and Chris Platten. Meanwhile Les Hall got the only ‘2’ of the day to take the grand prize.
Attention All Golfers: Please note that Roy Mitchell (Mr. Loy) no longer runs the golf or has anything to do with The Caddyshack. As from the October 1, Mr. Bruce Tollitt will be running golf from The Caddyshack under the Pattaya Sports Club, I hope this does not inconvenience or stop any golfers from playing here as we accept I.P.G.C. handicaps as well as any current handicaps, we will take the lowest updated handicap.
We will be playing golf here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, (Monday and Friday will be assortment of different courses, Green Valley will be every Wednesday).
Please take notice of the sign up sheets in The Caddyshack for the days in question. We hope to be running a very well and respected golf society and with your cooperation and support I’m sure it will work well. We look forward to playing golf with you all in the very near future.

Friday’s winner and the new golf organizer Bruce Tollitt poses with some of the staff at The Caddyshack.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

There is a chat show radio host in the USA who claims that he can, “read the stitches on a fast ball.” Well The Square Ring isn’t too far behind when it comes to boxing promotions, and especially those held in conjunction with Las Vegas casinos.
Last week it was written in this space that tickets for Mayweather-Hatton would be gone shortly before they went on sale. It was further suggested that most UK fans, who had already “purchased” transpiration, would come over the Pond anyway and be forced to watch the fight on closed circuit pay-per-view, conveniently setup by the casino.
As our deadline is Sunday evening, all this was written and sealed in type before the fact. Within hours of the tickets going on sale the following was “officially” released.
“Tickets were gone within minutes when today’s public sale of Ricky Hatton vs Floyd Mayweather tickets went on sale for the December 8 bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Thousands of Hatton fans are planning to make the trek to Las Vegas without tickets and organizers are making plans to set up closed circuit locations around Las Vegas to accommodate them.”
Gosh, what swell folks there are in Las Vegas!
One of the marks of most of today’s boxing champions is that they believe, “they have to take your title.” That phrase today is interpreted to mean, “do as little as possible, act like a jerk and pat yourself on the back.” One of the exceptions (sometimes) is WBC/WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (27-0-1). Sunday morning in Land of Smiles (to say nothing of grins, chuckles and hangovers) Taylor will defend his titles against Kelly Pavlik (31-0).
For old time fight fans this battle on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City may actually be “one hell of a box fight.” Most fans are probably tired of hearing some blathering idiot tell them that “styles make fights.” While in fact this is true, the other fact is that many boxers today have little or no style. Kelly Pavlik’s style is that of an all-out brawler, which should bring back the Jermain Taylor who captured the imagination of sports fans and held such promise.
Pavlik’s aggressiveness will force Taylor to forget about ‘jab, run and hold’, which may cause some consternation to trainer Emanuel Stewart, but will reward fans with a “ding dong battle.”
Also on tap Sunday from EWE Arena in Oldenburg, Germany is Nikolay Valuev (46-1) vs. Jean-Francois Bergeron (27-0). Valuev you may remember, although why would be a mystery, was the WBA heavyweight champion until he lost a majority decision to fellow “Ruskie” Ruslan Chagaev. It was a strange majority decision with scores of 111-117, 113-115 and a 114-114.
Valuev, the 7-foot transplanted Russian, won the title against John Ruiz then defended against Owen “What the Heck” Beck, Monte “No Punch” Barrett and the soon to be mentioned Jameel McCline, before losing to Chagaev.
The most interesting thing about this fight? They’re fighting in an arena named after a lady sheep.
Under the heading of no style (or class for that matter), comes the upcoming battle between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee slated for some future date in Las Vegas. For those that have been out of the loop, they’ll be fighting for the love and affections of one Pamela Anderson whose claim to fame is starring in TV’s Baywatch - a show which entailed her running at full speed on the beach causing giggling of gigantic proportions.
Lee, formally the drummer for Motley Crue, was married to Anderson a couple of times, with documentation via a famous underground video tape.
Kid Rock’s claim to fame seems to be that he knows Hank Williams Jr. and is “involved” with Ms. Anderson. The pair, Lee and Rock (not Anderson), got into a one-punch conflagration at a recent Vegas outing. The judges (Paris, Britney, and other assorted spaced-out airheads) had Rock the one-punch winner.
But then in stepped promoters “Buffalo” Bob Arum and Jeff Beacher with a pay-per-view offer for a rematch. It’s been “reported” the $5 million is up for grabs with the winner taking all in this match to the death - or first deep breath.
“If we get it on it’s not going to be a lot of dancing, a lot of boring stuff,” (of which boxing promoter Arum is very familiar) intoned same Arum. So the winner gets $5 million dollars but what does the loser get you ask? Answer - Pamela Anderson!
Fight over Pamela Anderson? That’s like two dyslectic morons fighting over last week’s Bangkok Post.
Last week The Square Ring made jest of the upcoming Jameel McCline - DaVarryl Williamson heavyweight tussle. The bout would have provided support for what may have been the best heavyweight fight since Klitschko almost knocked the crown off the “Imperial One” Lennox Lewis.
Maskaev - Peter was an entrée waiting to be served. That inviting dish is going to be put under the warming lights as Maskaev has been injured and the fight delayed. Oleg, according to his manager, “came back in pain and tilted over to one side after his roadwork yesterday. An MRI showed several herniated discs and a couple bulging discs in his back. In addition, Maskaev had a contusion on his ankle. Oleg wanted to work through the pain but the doctor told him no,” said Kesch, “he’s never backed out of a fight.”
Well he has now, and with the three or four month postponement Maskaev will have even less a chance of beating the up and coming Peter. Funny how these “Ruskie” fighters always get hurt. Must be a coincidence.
Now back to McCline - Williamson, which will probably support heavyweight Peter against “someone”. The reason for the change of heart and mind with regards to the McCline - Williamson fight are some comments coming out of promoter Don King and McCline himself.
As reported in “fightnews. com”, which is a great web site for boxing stuff once the promoter “BS” is wedded out, promoter King had a few chosen words: “Williamson versus McCline is a fight made by Vitali Klitschko. Vitali’s people couldn’t come to terms with me for Williamson, and Vitali himself did what he usually does, he backed out of a fight, this time with McCline. Now I’ve brought Williamson and McCline together to prove they are worthy of a world title shot.”
Proving either is worthy of a heavyweight tile shot is not the same as a mountain climber reaching Everest.
The same source reports that McCline was confused when asked by a female relative to explain why his fight with Klitachko was cancelled.
“I had no idea what she was talking about,” he says.
When Klitschko had back surgery, McCline was surprised. “They didn’t call us or anything.” McCline states. “ Klitschko would be better served by seeing a cardiologist or perhaps the Wizard of Oz, rather than a back specialist. People in training camps talk. I had heard that he was having some difficulties in camp. He wasn’t sharp.”
McCline has hit on something that The Square Ring has known and written about for some time. Both Klitschko’s pick their spots - which is not unusual in boxing. The problem today is that with a really thin heavyweight division there isn’t a heck of a lot to pick from.
It may come as news to most boxing fans but Antonio Tarver (25-4) is the IBO (I B Ordinary) light heavyweight champion. Since 2004 Tarver has fought either Roy Jones jr., Bernard Hopkins or Glenn Johnson. Against Jones he’s 1-2, Johnson 1-1 and Hopkins 0-1, but he’s still the IBO champ.
Tarver gained that dubious honor by beating Elvir Murigi (34-4) in June. Murigi lost to Oleksandr Garashchenko (13-8) and Danny Santiago (23-2), which probably qualified him to fight for the vacant IBO title.
Next up for Tarver is good guy from the ‘Land of Oz’, Danny Green (24-3). The fight is slated for December 1 at a site and time to be determined later.
“I’m not going to blow my own horn too much,” Green said. “I’m just confident I can beat Antonio Tarver.”
All things considered, Green has a shot. His three losses come to good boxers with two at the hands of Markus Beyer and once to Anthony Mundine. Go Danny Boy!
Jeeves, I see you’ve arrived with the column ending tribute to my excellence but there seems to be a problem. As I get paid the big Baht by the word, I seem to be a little short of words. Do you have some news?
“Your Lordship, I’m glad you ask because there was a really big fight in the Kingdom last Thursday. At the Bangplama School in Suphanburi Province, WBC #2 super-bantam Napapol Kiattisakchokchai (44-2) and WBC #4 Saenghiran Singwancha (20-1) went at it for 10 grueling rounds. It was a case of age and experience against youth and exuberance.
“Early in the match youth was controlling the bout with Saenghiran easily taking the first three rounds while Napapol won the 4th, but when the scores were announced at the end of that round, as by WBC rules, Saenghiran led on all three cards with a 40-38 and two at 39-37.
“Your Lordship in rounds 5-8, age and experience along with some good body work took control as Napapol climbed back in the fight, leading on one card 78-77, trailing on one at 77-75 with one level at 77. Sometimes youth is too exuberant, which may have been the case with Saenghiran as in the 9th round Napapol’s body assault had him exhausted. “Entering the 10th it was merely a matter of when the knockout would come, not if. It came at 1:55 of the 10th.
“The win puts Napapol in line for a WBC title shot against Israel Vazquez (42-4) sometime down the road. My opinion, your Lordship, is that they will never fight. Napapol has never been out of Thailand to fight and Vazquez isn’t going to leave the friendly confines of Alta Mexico, which some call California, to fight in Land of Smiles.
“One more note your Lordship and then I’ll pour the lager, light the cigars and distribute the party hats. One Thai boxing writer called Napapol Kiattisakchokchai at 44-2 and Saenghiran Singwancha at 20-1 “prospects.” For Singwancha maybe a case could be made but Napapol? If you’ve had 46 bouts and you aren’t there then to quote the ‘Old Bag’ Gertrude Stein ‘there is no “there.”
“Let the party begin.”

Brother D takes over at the top

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

The past 2 weeks 200 bowlers gather for a group shot.

Results & Standings September 21
(week 22)
Konrad bowled a 554 series to lead his Brother D team into first place after a three-point win over Café Kronborg. Mai’s Thai Restaurant dropped to second place after losing three to Montana: Barry led Montana with a 213 game and 562 series.
Mai knocked down 564 pins and Somrak added 522 to lead Jack & Tar to a four-point sweep over VFW Post 9876. La bowled a 203 game and 581 series to give Three Sisters a three and one half win over Beaver Bar & Grill: Bill Key had games of 223 and 201 for a 563 series for Beaver.
Diamond Shop won four points from Café Ole with Nual leading the way with a 203 game and 561 series. Morn knocked down 523 pins for Café Ole but it was not enough to get a point.

Pattaya Bowling Green News

League Standings September 19

Wednesday, September 19 saw the mid-week games in the 1st Division of the Pattaya lawn bowls league.
The previous leaders, Keith and Merv from the team Caddyshack knew they had to keep their winning streak going to stay top and the game against the Windmills Denis and Frank was never going to be easy. The Caddyshack led most of the game only to lose the last few ends and lose the game 18-12. All credit to The Windmills who are still in with a shout for the league title.
The team of Billy and Alex known as Panac played Alan and Kevin from Chaplins. The game started with Chaplins taking a great lead of 7-0, but the Scots team of Panac fought back fiercely to gain the win 17-10 and put them back on the top of the division.
In the other game in was Ianbern and the Anzacs which was a very close match; Ian and Bernhard were leading by one point going into the last end only to drop a point and the game ended honors even for a point each.

Thong makes short work of Treasure Hill

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Tuesday, September 18, Treasure Hill, Stableford
Seven players (again) turned out for our trip to Treasure Hill - but not a Stetson in sight. There had been so much rain the previous night that the course’s management politely called us and asked if we still wanted to play?
Starting in gentle drizzle, conditions quickly improved although because of the wet this already long course was playing even longer, and this was reflected by an average score of 28 points.
Thong Pimblett (Hcp 35) won the day with 39 points, with the ubiquitous Jeff Wylie (Hcp 4) in second on 31 points.
Thong also had two near pins and Jeff one but Neil Duncan managed to avoid a complete Thong & Jeff mop-up with the longest first putt (8 inches) on the 18th green.
Thursday, September 20, The Emerald, Stableford
A dozen players (again) defied the rain falling in Nongphrue and made the trip to The Emerald where the weather was almost perfect for golf. The Emerald off the white tees is not as long as many of the other courses we play, perhaps reflected in the average score for the day of 30.
David Gardner (Hcp 9) came out on top today with 38 points. He was followed home by Jim Fortune (Hcp 29) in second place on a 19/17 count back over Barry Quirk (Hcp 15) in third, after both players finished with 35 points.
Jeff Wylie picked up two near pins and the longest 18th green first putt – a monster – with Neil Duncan managing to grasp one of the other two near pins that Jeff left behind. If a prize for neatest scorecard completion were to be awarded unquestionably this would go to Willie Nachbur.
Note: If any golfers are seeking to play with our group and wish to know about the format please visit P J Pool Bar & Restaurant on Soi Watboonsamphan (Soi Kanoi) or phone Neil on 089 511 0575.

Tony Oakes records five birdies at The Emerald

PSC golf from the Beaver Bar & Grill

Friday, September 21, The Emerald, Stableford
Although it looked like another washout at the Emerald last Friday, 26 players were able to brave the drizzle on a course that drained surprisingly well.
In “A” flight Tony Oakes, now playing off a handicap of 9, played brilliant golf recording five birdies and 42 points to take out first prize. Second was Eddie Blackwell (Hcp 12) with 37 points, beating Sus Ige (Hcp 13) on count back into third place.
The scores in “B” flight were perhaps more indicative of the course conditions with winner Paul Taylor (Hcp 17) scoring 34 points, followed by Trevor Whittle (Hcp 33) with 33 points, and Ken Graham (Hcp 18) taking third place with 32 points. It is nice to see one of the Whittle brothers with his name in print again – and in the sports section for a change. The ‘near pin’ was won by Bill Thompson.
Monday 17 September, Green Valley, Stableford
The regular Beaver Bar Monday golf outing at Green Valley was also well attended. Dennis Willett (Hcp 10) applied himself and his new Ping G5 irons impressively to shoot 78 off the stick and score 40 points winning first prize.
Trevor Carnahoff (Hcp 23) showed rare glimpses of his under-rated golfing prowess to take out second with 39 points, while the ubiquitous Apple Jitchana (Hcp 11) came in third with 35 points.
Note: All golfers are welcome every Friday at The Emerald—show up with a recognized handicap before 7:45, pay a 200 Baht entrance fee and get set for an entertaining day on and off the course. The Beaver Bar also has a permanent booking at Green Valley for four groups on Mondays and those wishing to play should check tee times at the bar a few days beforehand.

Friday’s A Flight winners (L-R): Sus, Eddie,
and Tony with Beaverettes Belle and Jang.

Martindale makes ‘dazzling’ return

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

The Pattaya Golf Society played its 100th competition of the year at Plutaluang on Sunday, September 16, this time a stableford event over the South and East nines.
The day marked the return of a couple of old friends, Daz Martindale and Chris Hardy and both were to have something to contribute to the competition. Chris in fact fired 35 points to show he had lost nothing of his sharpness when he last played in June and was “Player of the Month”. He shared second place with Kazuo Takimoto who also fired the day’s best gross of net 76.
The winner, with an astounding round indeed, was Daz Martindale who used the occasion to shoot his best ever round, 45 points! His 23-22 split did nothing to indicate to his single-figure playing partners that he was out of his depth at that level and his round was one of the best this year with the group. Needless to say Daz also picked up a birdie ‘2’ to share the pot with David Thomas.
The Booby Bevy went to Chris Hardy for neglecting his duty as custodian of the cards for his group, having protested loudly that he did not have them, only to find them in his golf bag later. But, there again, he’s from Essex, and never short of a word or two!
All potential golfers are reminded that the group now leaves the OK Corral on Soi Rungland at 9am on golf days for a 10:30am tee-off.
Masashi posts
popular win
Tuesday, September 18, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to the sumptuous course at Mountain Shadow to play a stableford event on a fine day and on an empty golf course. The large undulating greens were particularly testing and, of course, the trees were still there!
The competition saw the debut appearance of Aussie David Grist, and he showed no fear of a course he had not played before posting 31 points to take a surprise third place. One point ahead was the ubiquitous Joop Medze, occupying the role allegedly designed for him, i.e. runner-up.
The day’s winner was the “Smiling Samurai”, Masashi Iizumi, and his creditable 35 points gave the popular Japanese golfer a thoroughly deserved victory.
There were no birdie 2’s and the Booby Bevy was shared by Ray Underwood and Len Jones, who after nine holes were sharing their third golf cart, the other two being consigned to the scrap yard. The new, souped-up, turbo-charged vehicle, sporting full stereo “surround-sound”, air-con, GPS and a drinks cabinet, did little to improve their golf as they still continued playing like two old farts, eventually amassing a total of only forty points!
Indeed it takes all sorts for a pleasant day’s golf with the Pattaya Golf Society.
Scramble fun
at Emerald
The Pattaya Golf Society’s monthly scramble took place at The Emerald on Thursday, September 20, this time in a pairs format which made for a competitive day. The course was in good condition with some teasing pin positions and the day stayed mainly dry under the heavily laden skies.
Every team was to break par on the day and there was a tense duel for the major places with a mere 0.2 of a shot separating the second and third placed teams.
In third was the pairing of Mikael Andersson and Paul Quodomine who recorded 62.6. Just ahead as runners-up were the Finnish pairing of Niilo Olonen and lady Na Srionrod with a finely crafted score of 62.4. The best team performance on the day was that comprising Kazuo Takimoto, the fine Japanese golfer and Brit Ian Hart and their impeccable teamwork allowed them to edge to the top of the leaderboard with an excellent 61.4 net total.
The best team gross of the day was returned by the antipodean duo of David Thomas and David Grist whose 71 bore testimony to their length and accuracy. In fact David Thomas recorded the only individual ‘2’ of the day, on the par-three seventh to take the rolled-over 2’s pot. It had been a good day at the office for the Kiwi golfer.
The Booby Bevy went to the last minute pairing of Richard Newman and Werner Pausch but they still had the satisfaction of breaking par for the course, which was tough on the day. But Emerald is Emerald and scrambles are such fun.

Brook falls at the last as Benda swoops

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, September 17, Pattana Sports Club, Stableford
The Pattana Sports Club B&C layouts were host to a stableford competition in one flight under hot and humid conditions. There was also a threat of rain, which came at the turn, but only held us up for about 40 minutes and even though the course was wet, it was in fine condition with no standing water on the greens after the rain.
Big Aussie Trevor Loersch beat everybody with a fine 40 points, while fellow Aussie Graham Myers was in second with 36 points. In third place was the just returned Walter Bachli with 35 points and Henry O’Brien was in fourth with 33 points on count back over P.Basi Singh inn fifth.
Thursday, September 20, Pattaya Country Club, Medal-Monthly Mug
Have you ever had the dream where you stand on the last green and have two for it? Well I have, and in reality this day it was not a dream and after my best round for some time I had two puts for a gross 78 and ‘The Mug’, but more later.

Derek Brook (right), the P.S.C. Vice President hands the Monthly Mug to Bob Benda, with a smile.

The day had started well with a look over the balcony confirming the comments of ‘her who shall be obeyed’, that it had been pouring down for the last few hours, that Beach Road was flooded and was I really going to play golf?
Downstairs my lift, Bob Benda was waiting with the same comments, however we decided to go to The Cafe Kronborg and ask the ‘Font of All golfing knowledge’, yes ‘The Admiral’ what he thought. ‘No Problem’, says Dave, ‘it will clear up and we will play.’ And who are we to argue with the ‘Old Sea Salt?
Mind on the way up there the rain persisted, and as we booked in it was still raining, and the group in front of us packed up and went home, but they did not have our secret weapon, ‘The Admiral’.
Stood on the first tee, it was still raining, but we started and the rain eased. Mind it was soggy underfoot but Pattaya Country Club does drain easily. Then the rain stopped and as we forged on it was nice and cool. We had wet fairways and wet greens, but there are rules to take care of most situations. Of course there were very few people on the course so we zoomed around.
So stood on the last green, as above, I felt really good, then came the fatal words, ‘Derek I have your ball here, you must have mine!’
Sat in the restaurant later and watching the scores come in my net 69 still led the way, but would it hold up, or as I feared had my indiscretion cost me.
Back in the Cafe Kronborg I declared the results: the winner of the A Flight with a net 69 was your truly with Per Olaf Baarli in second with a net 74 on count back over Ebrahim in third. In the B Flight the winner was P. Singh Basi with a net 73 on count back over Wayne Koch in second and Toy Theobald in third with a net 74.
So playing the wrong ball had actually cost me the Mug, on count back, and in fact cost my playing partner Norman the B Flight. So the winner of the Mug was Bob Bender with a net 67 - this was Bob’s 5th Mug win over the years and he only needs one more for a six-pack. Bob did once lose the Mug with a net 62 on count back, so what goes round, comes round, as they say.
The moral of this story? Well it is obvious, drive myself next time and leave Bob at home.
T.T.F.N.