PSC golf from the Travellers Rest

Barry Hooper
Monday, October 22, Bangpra, Stableford
1st Akitoshi Ito (8) 37pts
2nd Dick Warburg (14) 35pts
3rd Bob Short (24) 34ptsc/b
4th David Thomas (7) 34pts
2’s: David Thomas
Near Pins: Paul Challis, Jim Sykes, Darryl J. Wells, David Thomas
Monday saw a visit to Bangpra and yours truly had his first opportunity to visit the course and found that all that had been said of it was true. Akitoshi Ito was in great form and took first place with 37 points, Dick Warburg was second with 35 and Bob Short took third spot on count back from David Thomas.
Tuesday, October 23, Treasure Hill - Yellow Tees, Sableford
A Flight (0-17)
1st Jim Sykes (10) 38pts
2nd Tony Molloy (11) 37pts
3rd Akitoshi Ito (8) 35pts
4th Robert Avery (16) 33ptsc/b
B Flight (18 up)
1st Paul Challis (36) 35pts
2nd Kay Molloy (27) 34pts
3rd Ann Haranya (30) 31pts
4th Mod Chaviraksa (20) 30pts c/b
Near Pins: Lars Strom, Fergus Brennan, Tony Molloy, Tony Geeland
2’s: Jim Sykes, Tony Molloy, Akitoshi Ito
Tuesday and Treasure Hill was the venue for the day. We have some visitors from Ireland with us Tony and Kay Malloy and Noel and Rose Jackson. They quickly got down to business on the day with Tony taking a second in A Flight and wife Kay a second in the B flight. Noel waited until Saturday with a third place in the B flight to show his prowess at the game.
Both Tony and Jim Sykes, the A flight winner, rang the bell on return to the presentation at the bar.
Thursday, October 25, Bangpra, Stableford
A Flight (0-18)
1st Mashi Kaneta (12) 39pts
2nd Peter Seward (15) 38pts
3rd Roger Wilkinson (15) 36pts c/b
4th Mike Wardman (13) 36pts
B Flight (19 up)
1st Tony Geeland (21) 35pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (20) 34pts
3rd Lars Strom (24) 32pts
4th Seamus Farrell (36) 31pts
Near Pins: Lars Strom, Rob Herald, Tony Molloy, Mashi Kaneta
2’s: Barry Rothberg
Thursday saw us again at Bangpra where Mashi Kaneta’s 39 points took the A Flight title from Peter Seward by a single point. Meanwhile Tony Geeland with 35 points did the same to Mod Chaviraksa in the B Flight.
Saturday, October 27, Easter Star - White Tees, Stableford
A Flight (0-13)
1st Stepen Segrave (5) 37pts c/b
2nd David Thomas (7) 37pts
3rd Tony Oakes (9) 34pts c/b
4th Mashi Kaneta (12) 34pts
B Flight (14-24)
1st Stephen Gould (20) 36pts c/b
2nd Walter Bachli (15) 36pts
3rd Noel Jackson (20) 35pts
4th Frank Kelly (15) 34pts c/b
C Flight (25 up)
1st Kay Molloy (27) 33pts
2nd Paul Challis (36) 32pts
3rd Liu Gui Lan (28) 28pts
4th Alan Evans (28) 27pts
Near Pins: Stephen Segrave (2), Tony Molloy, Fergus Brennan
2’s: Stephen Segrave, Steven Gould, Frank Kelly, David Boran
Saturday was our second return visit to Eastern Star. The numbers entered were big and resulted in a three-flight event.
Stephen Segrave with 37 points won the A flight on count back from David Thomas, also on 37. Steven Gould’s 36 points took the B flight, again on count back, from Walter Bachli. C flight saw Kay Molloy win with 33 points from Paul Challis 32.
Reminder: If anyone is interested in golfing with the Travellers Rest we play every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We meet at 7:45am for breakfast and transportation and new players are always made to feel welcome. Call Tewin on 086 056 7019 for further information.

Jeff has a scorcher at Greenwood

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Monday, October 22, Green Valley - White Tees, Stableford
1st Neil Duncan (15) 36pts
2nd Jeff Wylie (6) 34pts
3rd Yves Philibert (23) 33pts c/b
4th Ian Campbell (26) 33pts
Near Pins: Keith Hodges, David Gardner, Barry Quirk
Long 1st Putt (#18): Jeff Wylie
Bringing our round forward to Monday to lessen pressure on the courses during the public holiday on Tuesday, eleven players made the trip to Green Valley courtesy of Yves Philibert. The course was in excellent condition evidenced by the high average score for the day of 33 points.
Thursday, October 25, Greenwood - White Tees, Stableford
1st Jeff Wylie (6) 41pts
2nd Ian Campbell (26) 38pts
Near Pins: David Gardner (2), Jeff Wylie
Yet another posse of seven for Greenwood on Thursday - a small field because several regular players chose to play southern courses this day. The very high average score of 37 indicates how receptive the course was to good play.
Many of the players in the group were left looking forward to visiting Siam Country Club to see the lady professionals demonstrate how to really strike the ball properly.
Note: Any golfers seeking to play with our group that wish to know about the group’s format, please visit P J Pool Bar & Restaurant on Soi Watboonsamphan (Soi Kanoi) or phone Neil on 089 511 0575.

Fergus breaks out of slump with 42

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, October 21, Green Valley – White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Mark Wood (6) 41pts
2nd Bill Gneiting (12) 40pts
3rd Claus Birk Thomsen (11) 37pts
B Flight
1st Terry Wagner (18) 38pts
2nd Fergus OBrien (18) 37pts
3rd Cotter Seamus (14) 36pts
C Flight
1st Keith McLachlan (19) 40pts
2nd Paul Ryan (26) 36pts
3rd John Scarsmo (20) 36pts
Ladies Flight
1st Yui Duangkaew (22) 40pts
2nd An Kaesavane (19) 31pts
Near Pins: Geoff Kubas; Kay Molloy, Fergus O’Brien; Dave Palmer
2’s: Dave Palmer, Max Wilson, George Jackson, Ray Dell, John Lawton, Geoff Doody, Geoff Kubas, Yui Duangkaew, An Kaesavane
The Pride of Aberdeen needed every point that his scant six handicap could provide to take A flight and MoM honors. Mark’s 41 points edged Billy the Kid Gnieting by a single Stableford point in both categories. CBT had the better of a count back over Irish Tony Molloy to secure the premier flight’s third spot.
Visiting Keith McLachlan, part of David Palmer’s traveling golf roadshow, tied for second best round of the day and it was good enough to top out the junior flight. It was four clear of the tandem of longtime friend Paul Ryan and another of Palmer’s Aussie lot, John Scarsmo. Those two found themselves knotted at 36 points. A count back broke in Paul’s favor.
In the interim B Flight, Hawaii’s Terry Wagner did in our Title Guy by a single point to take the gold. Seamus Cotter was yet another point adrift but still good for third.
The Gal’s Flight was won by Yui Duangkaew and her 40 points, a whopping 9 points clear of second place An Kaesavane.
Monday, October 22, Mountain Shadow – Blue Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Tony Molloy (11) 34pts
2nd Gareth Gill (12) 34pts
B Flight
1st Dave Timmons (22) 32pts
2nd Noel Jackson (20) 28pts
2’s: Gerry McCarthy, Seamus Cotter, Terry Wagner, Bob Lindborg, Fergus O’Brien
Montain Shadow bared its formidable teeth to only allow a top score on the day of a humble 34 points, shared by Irishman Tony Molloy and British Gareth Gill. Irish eyes were smiling as Tony avenged Sunday’s count back loss with a victory on this day.
In B Flight, the newest edition to the Corbin- Wagner- Melott- Gneiting convention, Dave Timmons, wrested the top spot with 32 points, still 4 clear of Irish visitor Noel Jackson
Wednesday, October 24,Crystal Bay A & B – White Tees,Stableford
A Flight
1st Chris Davisson (12) 37pts
2nd Colin Davis (13) 36pts
3rd Mike Shrosbree (13) 36pts
B Flight
1st Fergus O’Brien (18) 42pts
2nd Geoff Kubas (20) 36pts
3rd Larry Nicholas (18) 35pts
2’s: Tony Molloy, Jack Grindvold, Fergus O’Brien, Dave Schelling
And there is our Title Guy atop B flight with a superb 42 to break up some recently inconsistent play. It left the affable Irishman 6 points clear of Geoff Kubas and five clear of The Crustacean.
In A Flight quiet Chris Davisson let his clubs do his talking as he edged The Donkey GM and Mike Shrosbree, esq. by a single digit. The GM, as he does, won the count back over the Solicitor.
Friday, October 26, Eastern Star – White Tees,
2-person Better Ball, Stableford
1st Peter Hynard (11/8) & Larry Nicholas (19/14) – 43 points
2nd Seamus Cotter (15/11) & Joe McArdle (12/9) – 40 points
3rd Jason Moylan (14/11) & Mark Rossiter (10/8) – 40 points
2’s: Joe McArdle, Dan Archer
As is often the case, Friday’s are a bit of a lark and a good day for team events. Peter Hynard signed on with the Crustacean and the partnership was a good one as their 43 points topped out the 2-person Better Ball field. An all Irish team carried too much luck to lose a count back and such was the case for Seamus Cotter and the Wee Leprechaun as they put the math on old friends Jason Moylan and Mark Rossiter.

The Beautiful Game?: Riz Taylor

Barstool support suits me fine

First up this week it’s a big ‘welcome back’ to yours truly. As of course you’ll have noticed I’ve been away for a couple of weeks visiting the UK, and no doubt my absence has been the talk of the town during that time. Fear not football fans - your weekly diatribe of opinionated guff and rehashed stories from the internet is back for another round this week, and will continue to be here throughout the rest of the season. Or at least that’s the plan.
Not that it was a holiday. As many of you will already be well aware, visiting your home country after an extended period away isn’t the most relaxing experience. The combination of the cold weather, running around visiting relatives and the eye-watering expense of everyday goods and services has left me congratulating myself on the decision to leave in the first place.
And that’s not all. I’d forgotten how awkward it was to catch live Premier League football back in the division’s homeland. We should remember that the timings of the matches are far more convenient over this way than they are back in Europe, as they’re tailored perfectly to anyone fancying a quiet Saturday night perched on a barstool supping cheap liquor surrounded by the beauty that Thailand has to offer. Surely it’s a ‘no contest’.
And you can smoke, too. That’s a ‘pleasure’ denied to your average Brit, as smoking is now banned pretty much anywhere you care to mention. As a result – and going on the old ‘each cigarette takes five minutes off your life’ theory – I’ve added at least another 24 hours onto my time on God’s earth, and I’ve already allocated that time to sitting around a cheap bar on Soi Buakhow in a vest and flip-flops, supping beer in between choking myself to death on baht bus fumes. But by then it won’t matter.
Anyway I think I’m supposed to be talking about football, and much has been happening in the Premier League in the last few weeks. Bolton have a new manager in the shape of relegation specialist Gary Megson, and football’s worst kept secret has finally come to fruition as Martin Jol was last week relieved of his duties at White Hart Lane to be replaced with Juande Ramos. The Spaniard has presided over Sevilla winning five trophies over the last few years, a statistic that makes them the world’s most successful club over the period. Judging by the task ahead of him at Spurs, simply getting his new team to put a few points on the board looks like a more realistic target in the immediate future.
For all his talents, and it must be said he has a seriously impressive record to match his seriously impressive new salary, Ramos starts off in a difficult position. Martin Jol was loved by the Tottenham faithful and many blame the bungling board rather than the big Dutchman for the club’s current predicament.
They admitted as much earlier this week as chairman Daniel Levy admitted to making mistakes along the way.
“Several events clearly did not happen as we all would have wished and I am the first to admit that things could have been handled differently and better,” said Levy, before calling on supporters to get behind the new man. “We have made the changes, popular or unpopular, as we felt they were necessary and right. Please lend us your support as we move forward together.”
We’ll see what happens there, but don’t expect any miracles for a while as Tottenham are, to put it as eloquently as I possibly can, crap.
Anyway that’s enough about the bottom of the table, let’s focus on matters closer to the top. Liverpool and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw on Sunday that leaves both sides happy not to have lost their unbeaten records, which is lovely for everyone concerned.
Arsenal could afford it, but you have to fear for Liverpool’s chances of escaping their usual fourth place slot in the final league table. Rafa Benitez seems to have no idea of his best side, particularly up front, and whilst his nature will be to have been happy not to have lost the match, rivals Manchester United and Chelsea were bagging hatfuls of goals on their way to impressive wins. Chelsea stuck six past Manchester City and United managed four against Middlesbrough. Liverpool must find the back of the net more often if they’re going to make a decent fist of snatching the Premiership trophy for the first time in who knows how long.
This weekend Arsenal host Manchester United in Saturday’s early match, and if recent form is anything to go by – which plainly it is - this could be a real humdinger. Rooney and Tevez are starting to play some magical football for United, whilst Arsenal are turning everyone’s pre-season opinions of this being a ‘building year’ on their heads with some scintillating football. You could even suggest they’re a better side without Thierry Henry, which seemed an unimaginable prospect six months ago.
Anyway, the jetlag is getting the better of me so I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy the football this weekend and remember two things. First is that the clocks have changed in Europe and everything is now an hour later, and second and most importantly, don’t forget that ‘being there’ isn’t always everything it’s cracked up to be.
We’ve more games to watch for a start, no wife to take shopping that forces us into catching sneaky looks into television shop windows for score updates, no shelling out fortunes to get freezing cold, no plastic-tasting hamburgers, no three hour traffic jams … the list goes on. Yes, sometimes it would be nice be there in the flesh supporting your team, but I’m learning to be thankful for what I have.
‘Unprofessional’ Palestinians?
This week’s filler comes from the Asia and District Pub League, where angry Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic has slammed Palestine as ‘unprofessional’ after his side was forced to kick-off without an opponent in their World Cup qualifying match.
In a similar scenario to Scotland’s fixture with Estonia a few years back, Singapore had to take the field on Sunday despite Palestine failing to show up. They kicked off in an empty stadium before referee Sun Baojie then blew the whistle to abandon the tie.
FIFA match commissioner Shahir Ahmed of the Maldives was unable to officially call-off the game before then because Palestine had not indicated that they were not coming.
“We had to enact the farcical kick-off without them. It was unprofessional of the Palestine team,” Avramovic told Singapore newspaper the Straits Times. “They cannot simply pick and choose who they want to play. They had a duty to fulfil this fixture.”
It is not the first time the Palestinian side has failed to turn up. The same thing happened last November when they failed to turn up for an Asian Cup qualifying match, also against Singapore.
On that occasion they cited travel difficulties in and out of Gaza, but what riled Avramovic this time was that the Palestinians failed to contact either FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation to signal their inability to play.
Singapore was awarded the game 3-0 by FIFA, to give them a 7-0 aggregate victory.

Platten tops the podium at Green Valley

PSC golf from The Caddyshack

Monday, October 22, Phoenix, Stableford
The venue today was Phoenix Country Club and with a lot of the golfers from The Caddyshack competing in a Ryder cup competition, which is held here in Pattaya every year, it reflected on the number of players participating in our local event, but still a great turn out.

Australian Archie Armstrong was the winner at Phoenix on Monday.

The format for the day was stableford and it was a very close finish with three golfers finishing on 33 points who had to be separated by count back. The unlucky fourth place went to Bruce Tollitt, third went to Steven Fathers, and taking second place was Peter Henderson. The winner of the day, however, was Archie Armstrong with one-over par 35 points.
Peter Henderson was the only golfer to hit a birdie ‘2’ and took the pot.
Wednesday, October 24, Green Valley, Stableford
Today we went to our local course of Green Valley and as usual it was faultless and the staff and caddies were very helpful. This was to be another stableford event, but unlike Monday where no golfer broke par, today two golfers fought it out for 1st place, both scoring 38 points. Chris Platten with a great burst of form on the back nine with 22 points easily took the count back to claim 1st place, with Peter Henderson settling for the silver. In third pace was Dave Edwards with 36 points.
There were no 2’s recorded on the day so a rollover ensues.

Thomas & Masters tie at Emerald

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

Tuesday, October 23, the Pattaya Golf Society awoke to a cloudy and humid Chulalongkorn Day as they took to the Emerald course at Ban Chang for a stableford competition.
They soon found the reason for their later-than-normal start was a coach load of golfing tourists from “down-under”, content with perambulating the course at a holiday pace and leading to a round of five and a half hours. Oh Lord, high season has arrived! Nevertheless Pattaya’s finest are made of stern stuff and set about their task manfully.
Continuing a consistent run of form, Barry Trowell took third place with a painstaking 33 points, showing his recent spell in Vietnam had not detracted from his accuracy, whilst Peter Masters and David Thomas emphasized the antipodean nature of the day with fine returns of level par 36’s to share the win.
David had the honour of the day’s best gross, 79, and it could have been even better if his accuracy on the par threes had been emphasized. As it was Pekka Markkinen and Craig Boyd enjoyed a share of the 2’s pot, both hitting the target on the short fifteenth, whilst Alan Wand continued his vacation with back-to-back Booby Bevvies in his attempts to find his game.
“Patience” was the watchword for the day and Thomas and Masters showed that they possessed it in abundance.
63 anyone?
Thursday, October 25, the Pattaya Golf Society travelled to the fine course at Greenwood to play its monthly medal event on the “C” and “B” nines, which were in excellent condition with carpet fairways and smooth consistent greens.
What a day for the golfers and how some of them performed. Imagine firing a net 65 and only coming third, for example! That was the fate of Barry Trowell whose round was the best of his short golfing life and he could be forgiven for feeling a little disappointed but the efforts of Paul Brett and Craig Boyd could not be overlooked. Both fired net 64’s with high handicapper Paul also giving his best ever performance.
Craig, on the other hand, showed what a fine golfer he is. Only four months ago he enjoyed a 43-point haul at Bangpra and on this occasion the eleven-handicapper threw in the best gross figures of 75. Three other players also broke par on a day when nothing went wrong.
Ray Underwood took sole possession of the 2’s pot for an excellent effort on C6 and Erik Antonnen provided the longest drive ever recorded by the PGS, a prodigious strike which rebounded off a cart path and ended fully 350 yards from the tee down the fairway. Unfortunately it was a hundred yards in advance of where he was looking for it and he played another tee shot believing it was lost. Imagine his disbelief when he eventually came across it, and later discovered the Booby Bevy also.
Greenwood had seen some scintillating golf that day.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

Fashan 3k Battery (58-8-1) was facing an uphill climb when he tried to wrestle the IBF jr. feather title from Canadian Steve Molitor (24-0) last Sunday in Canada. He was fighting overseas in a strange land with strange people, against an opponent that was a huge favorite.
Molitor exuded confidence beforehand: “I will get the knockout victory and I hope you all enjoy the night. His (3K) hand speed is far to slow for me. He has been in there with some of the world’s best but we have done our homework and noticed many holes in his game, holes that we plan to exploit. I’ve been living in the gym and I feel great. Nobody can take away what I’ve worked my whole career for without bringing their rabbit’s foot and the fight of their life.”
Fashan 3K Battery didn’t bring a rabbit’s foot but he might have brought along his own referee instead of local ‘Hockey Puck’ Rocky Zolnierczk. Pattaya’s Patrick ‘The Flying Frog’ reports.
“The fight started slowly with both boxers showing respect for each other. In the second, 3K speeded up a bit and won the round. From the third round on Molitor kept 3K away from him with jabs and good combinations until round 7 when Molitor got hit by a wide open left hook from 3K and went down, but the referee decided not to give an 8 count (why not? some new Canadian rules?).
“The championship round 12 was a real battle to the end. 3K knew he had to KO Molitor to win the fight. All my respect for Thai fighter 3K, this guy can take a punch and is worthy to stay with the top ranked fighters! For Molitor, next time he wants to predict a fight by saying he gonna KO 3K in round six, only 2 people can or could do that, Mohammad Ali and the weather man.”
The official scoring had it 119-109 twice and 120-108.
There are truisms in life that are there because they happen to be “true”. Cold lager on a hot day is good. Blue skies make people happy. The great philosopher from Jomtien Beach, Monkey House Fred, has said, “Baht equals Love.” It’s hard to argue with that basic logic.
It’s also true that great boxing match-ups are good. Much attention has been paid to the upcoming fight in Las Vegas on December 8 when Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton faces off against Floyd Mayweather jr.
With all due respect, it should be noted that a better fight will hit the airwaves at 9am this Sunday morning. The Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales will be the scene of the titanic battle between two undefeated warriors whose credentials tell the story.
Joe Calzaghe is the WBO super middleweight champion who’s entered the professional ring 43 times - emerging victorious on all occasions. For those that went to public schools that’s good. Forty-three fights with 32 “big wins by KO” as the great ring announcer Jimmy Lennon jr. would say.
The rap on Calzaghe is that he’s fought most all of his fights in the UK against competition that some call “questionable”. True, only two fights have been away from home but Calzaghe did beat the “reputed best” European Mario Veit twice, once in Germany. The other trip overseas was against Yank Will “The Fire” McIntyre in Denmark.
Along the way Calzaghe has beat up on Tocker Pudwill, Omar Sheika, Richie Woodhall, Robin Reed and Chris Eubank. Any column that mentions Tocker Pudwill is a keeper.
Most of the “quality” questions were answered when Calzaghe administered a solid whipping, also called an “ass-kicking” in some uncouth societies, to Yank Jeff Lacy. That win, seen in the USA, stamped the seal of approval of “quality” on Calzaghe’s diploma.
Across the ring will be Mikkel Kessler with a 39-0 record with 29 wins coming by KO. Kesseler is the current WBA/WBC super middleweight champion. Many look upon him as the “other” champion in Europe that always fights at home.
Kessler did venture to Sydney in 2005 where he laid a “bitch slapping” on Anthony Mundine in front of the home fans. What’s a “bitch slapping”? When the judges give you 120, 117, 116 and the other guy a lot less - that’s a spanking.
Kessler did beat both Eric Lucas and Markus Beyer, both quality wins. Last out Kessler got an easy victory over Librado Andrade, which was his first fight viewed worldwide. Why is that important? Because that fight and the last two of Calzaghe have reached the USA which has prompted HBO to come up with the added money to make the fight possible. It’s also the reason that the opening bell will ring sometime after 2am in Wales.
This fight will be a breath of fresh air as it has been devoid of much of the “trash talk” which usually accompanies major fights. With the combined KO records of the two boxers, could this one end before 12 rounds?
The chances of a KO finish are a definite “maybe” as both fighters have great beards. Their KO records are a little deceiving though as both fighters tend to “wear the opponents down” with a plethora of punches.
“A lot of people are making him out to be the power-puncher in this fight,” said Calzaghe. “At the end of the day he couldn’t knock out Mundine, he couldn’t knock out Andrade, who he threw everything at but the bathroom sink ... I’m really looking forward to fight night and giving Kessler a taste of my power. With two good hands I can knock anybody out.”
Kessler’s first language isn’t English (like most Yanks), so sometimes you have to make an educated guess as to his meaning.
“I actually fear that Calzaghe will do all match spoiling efforts to try to block me out of the game. So I’ll obviously have to face him the hardest way of all and smash him within the distance. Calzaghe is going to use every effort and any trick to avoid me in clean fighting,” commented Kessler. “I expect Calzaghe´s chin to take my first punch and also the second. But take my word, the third one will stagger (him) - and the fourth will stop him and the fight as well.”
With two honest warriors in Calzaghe and Kessler this could be a barn-burner.
“I’ve never taken a backward step in the ring, and I don’t plan on starting now. I’ll out box Kessler like I did against Jeff Lacy, I’ll out fight him and I’ll out punch him like I did against Byron Mitchell. Suggesting that I won’t stand toe to toe with him is absolute rubbish,” proclaimed Calzaghe.
Like Jeeves on occasion, I was taken deep by the lazy stick. A sign of that is that I imposed upon boxing fans from around the world for their opinions of Sunday’s dust up.
Two guys that are known by their initials have different views and use as few words as possible, which probably explains why they don’t have real first names.
The Square Ring correspondent O.R writes: “I’ll take Calzaghe.” At the other end of the world from the home of Arnold Palmer, that’s Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the “Original J.R.” uses the minimum amount of words, “Mikkel Kessler.” The Flying Frog gives the nod to Kessler because of superior boxing skills.
Former amateur boxer and friend since grammar school, Rich Etori Corti, e-mailed, “I like ‘The Italian Dragon’ because of his hand speed. I think Kessler is more than a one-punch KO’er as opposed to Calzaghe, however I like Calzaghe in 10 rounds. His hand speed will wear him down!”
Now there’s a boxing fan that actually knows Calzaghe’s nickname and he lives in the USA. Not a surprise that Corti likes hand speed as I can testify from personal observation that he had great hand speed. A thing of beauty to watch!
The most detailed observations comes from TV/Radio sports announcer Benny “IKAT” Ricardo.
“Mikkel Kessler will win this fight in spectacular fashion. Joe is a phenomenal fighter but that left hand will always be a problem for him. It is his shortcoming, only because of the injuries, and he could very well end up a one-handed fighter. Kessler has it all and is dying to show the world what he can do. Kessler is very skilled and in his absolute prime, physically and mentally. His psyche is such that he feels he is invincible. Even though Joe has been tried and has proved his ability to come through and deliver big wins, the physical limitations of an injury prone left hand will be there in the back of his mind. I give Kessler the win and it could be because Joe’s corner stops the fight.”
There are some that are aware the fights on the horizon but maybe are preoccupied with other demands. Lake Tahoe Church of the Lakeside Inn and Casino Executive, Art Howard, has it all figured out: “I’ll have to go with the limey.” I guess that a man from Wales could be considered a “limey” as all those people look alike.
Then there are the comments of a baseball executive with the Chicago Cubs who did good this baseball season. “Never hoid a da bums but they must be good.” They are good.
It’s always best to give the ladies the last word in anything. If one doesn’t give them the last word, your last word is usually the start of the next fight. Don’t even venture a “Yes dear.” In this case The Square Ring leans on Lady D’Eva Futch, the widow of the great trainer and teacher Eddie Futch. She knows box fighting.
“One thing I learned from Eddie, and I try to practice on a daily basis, is to be informed before stating an opinion.” (To avoid the dreaded ‘hoof in mouth’ disease that used to afflict me). “In this case”, continued D’Eva, “I don’t have enough facts to pick one, but I will be secretly rooting for fellow Scandinavian Mikkel Kessler. The blue eyes don’t hurt either.”
D’Eva, in this toss up match “blue eyes” is probably as good as any other reason.
“Your Lordship?”
Yes Jeeves
Your Lordship may I assure our readers that you have no intention of adopting D’Eva’s policy of ‘being informed before stating an opinion’?”
Jeeves – you can take it to the bank.

John Harris doubles up

IPGC golf from The Haven

Wednesday,October 24,Khao Kheow,Stableford
1st John Harris 35pts
2nd Jens Gunnarsson 33pts
3rd Tony Barritt 31pts c/b
4th Barry Traynor 31pts
Following a non-event on Monday when it was felt by the vast majority that Treasure Hill was just a hill and a drive too far at this time of the season, a well rested bunch of worthies took the high road to Khao Kheow, which is also a bit of a schlep at the present time due to the continuing road works.
It also turned out to be a bit of a struggle on the course as the recent rains continued to make the long bouncing ball a distant dream of the seemingly long gone dry season. As usual the rain also keeps the greens staff off the course so that fairways and greens become somewhat bedraggled, adding to the difficulties.
John Harris was the least affected as he almost swept it round in one-over his handicap to record a nice win on his first game back. He was two ahead of Jens Gunnarsson who continues to assail the podium during the early part of the week.
Tony Barritt and Barry Traynor had a very pleasant round playing together and knew by the end that if it had been as hard for the rest of the field as it had been for them they would be in with a shout with Tony the front runner, and so it turned out.
There were no 2’s in either division.
Prior to presenting the prizes Doc Hobblin welcomed back Derek Holt and John Harris.
Friday, October 26, Phoenix - Blue Tees, Monthly Medal
Division 1
1st Norman Isherwood net 75 c/b
2nd Mike Dabanovich net 75
3rd Yasuo Suzuki net 78
Division 2
1st John Harris net 70
2nd Tom Parks net 75
3rd Chris Knapp net 81 c/b
4th Derek Holt net 81
Back to the blue tees and once again the course was playing about as long as it can due to the ground conditions. It was therefore no surprise to see the scores spiraling upwards, as seems to be the norm for the monthly medals, where there is the extra pressure of trying to make the Gold and Silver Medals that are to be contested during December.
Norman Isherwood led home the first division with a one-over the CSS, which was set on the day at 74. He was there only by virtue of a three shot advantage over the back nine on the count back from Mike Dabanovich, whose score was his best in a medal for some time. Yasuo Suzuki, having shed the responsibilities of tour leader for a few days, was able to concentrate on his golf but even with the lighter load he could still only manage a six-over but still good enough to get on the podium.
The second division was headed by the in-form John Harris with the best of the day 4-under CSS and two-under his handicap, which easily beat off the challenge of John Parks five shots adrift. Another six back were Chris Knapp and Derek Holt, with Chris just getting the edge on the back half.
Once again there were no 2’s in either division.
Back at The Haven prior to the presentations new member Ray Clarke was welcomed and Richard Snellen and Tom Parks were welcomed back.
There was also a very special welcome back for Russell Exley who was presented with the cake that had been ordered the previous week but was unable to be sent, as the filling made it over weight for the postal service to handle. It was further noted, that it was apparent from his score for the day, that he had been spending too much time working at something other than his golf game while waiting to return to Thailand.

‘The banker’ cashes in at Lakeside

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Monday, October 22, Phoenix & Navy Phoenix (Medal)
1st Brian Jacks net 72 c/b
2nd Tony Gliddon net 72
3rd Chris Davisson net73
Plutaluang (Stableford)
1st Brian Holden 39pts
2nd Victor Pang 35pts
3rd Bob Philp 33pts
2’s: Frank O’Neill
With thirty-six Outbackers straining at the leach it was deemed necessary to split the pack between Phoenix and Plutaluang. It was also deemed necessary to split formats with the Phoenix boys enduring a tough medal round on Mountain and Lake while the rest enjoyed a pleasant Stableford stroll around the hills of North and West which Bob Philp, between gasps for breath, still insists is as flat as Barry Rothberg’s top C.

Dalby contemplates using his ‘tree iron’ for the approach shot.

Bob Van Mole literally fell foul when he decided to play out of the ditch on the 10th. His club broke the crusty surface and the ball flew skywards followed by a hundred soggy chunks of effluent. His downwind partners were not amused.
Trees proved a more fragrant problem to many but none more so than Dalby whose fine drive on the 1st found the perfect resting place several feet above the fairway.
The winner was Brian Holden playing off nine with an impressive 39 points. Welcome to your new handicap Brian.
Meanwhile, back at a hot, sultry Phoenix, which now allows five-balls with buggies by the way, we were not so amused save for Brian Jack’s, who beat Tony Gliddon on count back with an excellent net 72.
It was good to see Dave Boran back on a visit from sunny England performing well like the honed pebble he is.
The only ‘2’ of the day fell for Frank O’Neill on the lighthouse green at the Navy. Frank graciously rang the bell and then settled down to yet another grilled fish.
Wednesday, October 24, Royal Lakeside, Stableford
Division A
1st Dave Boran 43pts
2nd Mick Leighton 42pts
3rd Bob Philp 40pts
Division B
1st Basil Foley 35pts c/b
2nd Frank O’Neill 35pts
3rd Nigel Cannon 34pts
2’s: Chris Barnes
Today the Outback hosted its monthly bus trip and with twenty-two gentlemen golfers we set off to Royal Lakeside.
We found the course in superb condition, a magical place with many lakes of amazingly clear water treating the observant player with a glimpse of huge carp and even the odd turtle. The weather was equally clear and bright with a constant breeze.
The course is not long, as the group in front of Bob Philp will attest after they were bombarded with drives on the first two holes. Scores were good with three players getting into the forties. However, the large greens which rolled well, confounded many and surrendered a solitary ‘2’.
Mick Leighton was pipped by Dave Boran in division A, but Dave is a banker and the banker always wins, and in division B Basil Foley beat Frank O’Neill on count back.
Jack Moseley took the slightly soiled Hat for turning up with a delicious supply of Frank’s favourite shepherds pie, but neither his kit nor clubs.
Friday 26th October Plutaluang
Division A
1st Bob McCoster 41pts
2nd David Boran 40pts
3rd Jack Moseley 35pts
Division B
1st Gordon Everingham 36pts
2nd Barry Chadbourn 35pts
3rd Travis Mitchell 33pts
2’s: Dave Arrowsmith
A mixed pack of twenty-eight Outbackers ventured forth on an overcast Friday with a hint of rain in the air, which thankfully came to nought. With half the course closed we were directed to the lower loops surrounding the lakes which are, unlike their sister courses, extremely flat. Leader Philp even had breath enough to agree.
The greens were a little patchy and tended to be on the slow side, and with a couple of exceptions scoring was modest.
Colin Norris’ parting shot was to drive his ball out of bounds right on the 8th only to see it fly back into play courtesy of a tree, and end up only just in play on the far left. Dave the banker now knows how it feels to not quite make it, in spite of a birdie on the last with a putt off the green of at least forty feet, as Bob McCoster took the honours in division A, and Gordon Everingham triumphed in division B. Dave Arrowsmith scooped the entire 2’s pot, but couldn’t find the bell!
Back at the Outback Syzi Lawnton was awarded the Hat for spelling her name like that.
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. All are welcome to come and join us for a game. The November monthly bus trip is to Kiartee Thani. Just call in and put your name down on the list or give Bob a call on 087 941 2474.

Niels shoots 63 for Monthly Mug

Phoenix Golf Club Members Group

Mike Gerrard
Wednesday, October 24, Monthly Mug
On one of the hottest days for a long time we were close to our full compliment of players to fill our tee times on the Mountain and Lakes course for our end of month stroke (Mug) competition.
As stated before, the beautiful tees, fairways and greens of Phoenix are no pushover, and only one serious under-par score was recorded today. It has to be said though that just as we were getting to the last few tees we had a quick burst of heavy rain and that must have affected some scores.
The Pewter mug went to Niels Johannessen with a superb knock of net 63 (playing off 24).
In the A Flight (0-16) the winner was David Smith with a net 69, with Judo champ Brian Jacks second on net 70 and Jeff Cargill in third with net 73. The B Flight (17-28) saw a win for Paul Lavender on net 71, in second place was Uli Leuenberger with net 75 and third was Ben Hogstrom with net 77.
With only 2 ladies present today they still got their share of prizes, and winning the Ladies Mug (a little smaller) was Mayo Deane with a net 79.
Technical awards went to Niels Johannesson, Olaf Ljung, Brian Jacks and Paul Lavender.
Friday, October 26, Stableford
It seems that playing from the tiger tees has frightened a few players off, and we only had 7 players for today’s challenge on the Mountain and Lakes course.
Our winner today with a super score of 38 points (gross 81) was the very-in-form Brian Jacks. Second was also in form, Jeff Cargill with 36 points and third was the youngster of the Jacks’ family, Phillip with 32 points. Phillip is improving rapidly after only starting to play golf recently.
Sunday, October 28, Stableford
Only 20 golfers turned out today but it was a close call for second place with 3 players on 41 points. Jorn Lillelund got the better of the count back to relegate Paul Lavender into third and Brian Jacks into fourth. The top spot meanwhile went to Doug Wilson with 43 points who can look forward to a much lower handicap next Sunday.
Near Pins went to Doug Wilson, David Smith, Brian Jacks and John Atkinson.
Reminder: Sign up sheets are now ready for the big bash on November 18. Contact any committee member to reserve your place.

The winners pose after Wednesdays’ Monthly Mug competition.

Bachli & Winfield share the spoils

PSC golf from the Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, October 22, Pattana, Stableford
This was a special day as we were trying out the ‘Special double discount’ offered to Pattaya Sports Club for the Month of October. I think if the course made this a ‘Summer Special’ most years the course would be much used. This is in all respects a fine venue to visit, with three very good nines and a clubhouse second to none.

Walter Bachli was the A Flight winner at Pattana with a fine 37 points.
The day was a little overcast, with strong winds that threatened to blow many golfers away, and in reality as the scores came in, that was what happened.
The course itself is a fine open layout that seems to aid the big hitters, with wide-open fairways and rough that is penal but that it is possible to get out of at times. The greens are another matter, and some of the slopes on them are a bit gimmicky, however they are fast and tricky.
On this day we had two flights, in the A Flight the winner with the only sub-par round of the day was Walter Bachli with 37 points. In second was Robert Avery with 33 points and in third was Mashi Kaneta on count back over Elias Magnusson, both with 31 points.
In the B Flight, 18 up, the winner was Mike Winfield with 36 points ahead of Brian Gabe in second with 34 points and Trevor Loersch in third with 33 points.
T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: Mike Winfield, Richard Kubicki (2), Mashi Keneta

Lawn Bowls from The Pattaya Bowling Green

Starting this round-up in the second division, and it looks like no one can catch the Addicts team of Kelvin and Sing, who will most likely gain promotion to division one for next season.

Holland’s Denis and Frank from The Windmills team.

The premier division is the top league in Pattaya and every season it is a very close run battle. This season, with only a few games left to play, any of the top 3 teams can still take the title. The Caddyshack are currently on top with a greater shot difference, but the Windmills and Panac both have games in hand and The Windmills would probably be most people’s bet for the title.
Last week’s games saw The Caddyshack beat Ianbern, The Windmills beat Panac and Anzacs beat Chaplins.

Three weeks to go and Mai’s still top

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Antero, Barry, Bill Gibson, Somrak, Tiger, Mio, Bill Key,
Konrad & Teuvo.

Bill Gibson rolled a 209 game, 557 series and Wade had a 529 to lead first place team Mai’s Thai Restaurant to a 3.5 point victory over Jack & Tar. Somrak bowled a 219 game and 576 series for Jack & Tar.
Second place Brother D got good bowling from Konrad with a 556 series and Ooy with a 550 but only managed a 2-2 split with Diamond Shop. Aht bowled a 520 series for Diamond Shop. Café Kronborg meanwhile remain in third place but they fell further behind first after only winning one point from Café Ole. Rich had a 521 series for Café Kronborg and Morn a 514 for Café Ole. Tiger rolled a 224 game and 530 series bowling as a Pacer.
Barry bowled games of 195, 216 and 195 to lead Montana to a four point sweep over Three Sisters. Teuvo bowled a 520 series for Three Sisters and Mio, bowling as a Pacer, had a 210 game and 530 series. Beaver Bar & Grill won three points from VFW Post 9876 on the very tough 5 & 6 lanes.