The Pattaya Sports Club Christmas Party lucky draw was once again
the highlight of another fun-packed evening.

Paul Donahue
PSC Members and guests numbering some 450 persons were treated to a gala Christmas Party at the Asia Pattaya Hotel in South Pattaya, Wednesday evening, December 19, featuring outstanding entertainment provided by the band “Hot Chocolate.”
The band included professional singers and exotic, but modestly attired, go-go dancers. A huge buffet featuring a wide variety of entries, salads and desserts prepared in the fine kitchens of this major Pattaya hotel was presented to the delight of all attendees. Also, a wide variety of beverages were continuously served by the courteous staff of the hotel throughout the evening.
After everyone had had their dinner and dessert and a few turns around the dance floor, PSC President Dennis Willett assisted by Dougie Powell, PSC Social Chairman and his wife, proceeded with the prize drawing. Each attendee’s ticket had a tear-off stub and these were stirred in a drum and drawn by volunteers. The prizes were many and as each name was called, cheers arose from winners and their friends.
Prizes included microwave ovens, toaster ovens, irons, huge teddy bears, towel sets with woven laundry baskets, great golf bags and, the ladies’ favorite, four drawings for gold necklaces. Following the awarding of the prizes and extending warm thanks to Dougie Powell for providing yet another great party for PSC members and guests, PSC President Dennis Willett re-introduced the band and the party and dancing continued until late in the evening.

Smyth & Lynch have the right chemistry

PSC 75th Members Monthly Open

Derek Brook
Friday, December 21, Eastern Star
When I was young my family used to take their holidays in Blackpool - it was the done thing in our area. One of the major reasons was that we used to spend most of our time on the beach, it was cheap, the sand was soft and it did not matter how much you dug in the sand the holes would be filled up by the incoming tide.

Tournament winners Vincent Smyth (right) and Doug Lynch (left) with the Golf Chairman Tony Oakes.
I got quite nostalgic at Eastern Star last Friday as the bunkers were just like the sand on the beach. Soft, full of holes and no tide to flatten it. It would not surprise me if a beach round here somewhere has a big hole in it.
This is all sad because with over a 130 players this was an ideal time to showcase this venue, and so much work has been done that they are now close to having a very fine course indeed. Sad to say that in addition to the bunkers they did not cut most of the greens either.
Grumbling aside, this is still a fine course with a great layout that is one of the most difficult around and over the recent past much effort has been put in to make it the finest place to play golf in the area.

Runners up Ian Halfpenny and Tom Fanning accept their prizes from the Golf Chairman.
Anyway, back to the beginning, and a good beginning as the players turned up to find a very efficient organisation there to book them in. Tim was as usual at the desk and the girls who took the Green and Caddy fees were also quick and efficient, so it was a quick change and down to the start.
Here both Tees were used and the players were soon off with only the minimum delay as we started a little late. The course as said is in excellent condition at present, with only the problems already noted to detract from it. The fairways are well grassed, the rough punishing, the greens basically are good but on this day some were cut and some were not. All in all this is one tough course. Well worth a visit with ‘winter rules’ in the bunkers.
The competition on the day was a 2-Ball Better Ball and this proved a very difficult day for most of the teams, still someone had to win and it was obvious it was going to be close.
The Emcee, Nigel, got the presentation session off by introducing the Golf Chairman, Tony Oakes, who thanked all his helpers and sponsors, and handed the mike back to Nigel to declare the winners.
In fifth place was the team of Anders Pederson and Perry McNeely with a creditable 40 points, but they lost fourth place to the team of John Dearden and Gordon Kerr, also 40 points, on count back.
In third place was the team of Tony Oakes and Paul Kraft who had 41 points. In second came the pairing of Ian Halfpenny and Tom Fanning with a fine score of 43 points.
So to the winners, and the victors on the day scored a very fine 45 points and were Vincent Smyth and Doug Lynch.
Nigel then got on to the important part of the day, the ‘Lucky Draw’ and we could then depart into the Friday night traffic. T.T.F.N.
Long Drive: (0-18) Barry James; (19-36) Steffan Lystram; (Ladies) Kung Fanning
Near Pin: Paul Caffrey, Gunnar Morero, Borg Bendt, Vincent Smyth, Norman Beast, Andy Spence, Paul Kraft, Alan Lord, Bibbi Wimmerstedt, Chaemran Duangsuda

Streuth Bruce? Fair Dinkum Mate!

IPGC golf from Lewinski’s

Jez Lees
It was to be a week of repeat winners as a group of in-form golfers vied for the headlines. In the end they had to go to the man from Down Under as Bruce McAdam had 3 G’days that brought him 3 podium spots and two 40+ point rounds.
Sunday, December 16, Green Valley, Stableford
A Flight
1st Jack Grinvold (6) 38 pts
2nd Bob Patterson (7) 37 pts
3rd Chas Li (8) 36 pts
B Flight
1st Jez Lees (17) 41 pts
2nd Bob Lindburg (17) 38 pts
3rd Ray Dell (14) 37 pts
C Flight
1st Dan Maclean (20) 41 pts
2nd Bruce McAdam (25) 41 pts
3rd Ken Kutzing (22) 37 pts
Ladies
1st Mol Thongjiew (17) 39 pts
2nd Nok Sankla (14) 37 pts
Normal Sunday service was resumed at Green Valley as benign conditions and forward tees produced a spate of hot scoring and ten 2’s.
C Flight had the best scores of the day as Dan Maclean edged out our player of the week Aussie Bruce McAdam on count-back. Kenny Kutzing continued his steady recent form to take third.
Atop of A flight Wacko Jacko’s gross 76 was particularly impressive given that it included two 8’s on par 5s. That’s 2-under off the stick for the rest of the round, Great shooting Jacko. The Senator knocked in a couple of 2’s en-route to his own sub-80 round, which was enough for the runners-up spot. Chas Li won a 3-way count back for third, edging out Claus and Pat Reagan.
Course knowledge seemed to count in B flight with Green Valley members crowding the podium. The Principal’s 41 points left him three clear of the Guru of Green Valley, with Ray ‘Farmer in the’ Dell a further point adrift in third. The donkey will certainly enjoy watching the principal’s efforts to play off a likely 15 during his school hols.
Eleven ladies turned out today. They were led home by Mol and Nok who picked up a ‘2’ apiece on their way to very respectable tallies of 39 and 37 points respectively.
Monday, December 17, Mountain Shadow, Stableford
A Flight
1st Paul West (10) 41pts
2nd Takashi Hakozaki (11) 35pts
B Flight
1st Dan Leach (21) 36 pts
2nd Bruce McAdam (25) 35 pts
Monday at Mountain Shadow saw ‘West’ beat ‘East’ as Paul West shot an excellent 41 points to run away with A flight, five clear of Japan’s Takasi Hakozaki on 35 points. This is arguably the toughest course in the area, so Paul’s 41 off a 10 handicap must rank as the round of the week.
In B Division Bruce continued where he left off on Sunday placing second again, just one shot shy of winner young Dan Leach on 36 points.
Only a couple of 2’s today; one for Takashi and one for John Squitiero.
Wednesday, December 19, Crystal Bay, Stableford
A Flight
1st Andy Redmond (14) 37pts
2nd Bob Newell (10) 36pts
3rd Don Lehmer (12) 36 pts
B Flight
1st Geoff Kubas (19) 42pts
2nd Ray Phillips (24) 37pts
3rd Toralf Fredrikssen (17) 36 pts
Yet another 40-plus round as Geoff Kubas romped away with B Flight at Mountain Shadow’s more forgiving sister course, Crystal Bay. Runner up Ray Phillips was five adrift of Geoff, but had one shot in hand of Tor in third place.
A Flight was tight with just 3 points separating first and eighth. Andy Redmond sneaked home ahead of ‘Big’ Bob Newell who collected his final bounty of this trip for second spot. Don ‘the lady’s man’ Lehmer lost out on count back to Bob, but did have a pair of 2’s by way of consolation.
Friday, December 21, Emerald, Stableford
A Flight
1st Paul West (10) 39 pts
2nd Neil Cameron (13) 37 pts
3rd Takashi Hakozaki (11) 34 pts
B Flight
1st Bruce McAdam (25) 40 pts
2nd Pierre Bietry (16) 39 pts
3rd Geoff Kubas (19) 36 pts
Bruce brought his hot week to a fine close as he plotted his way round the challenging Emerald layout to pick up another 40 points and so bring his weekly total to 8-under for three rounds. Good on yer mate!
Pierre also closed a solid week with 39 points and second place. Geoff Kubas was gifted the final podium spot by Larry “the crustation” Nicholas, who blobbed two of the final three holes and so lost out on the dreaded count back.
There was yet more charity in A Flight as “The clubmaker to the stars” contrived to 3-putt five of the closing six holes and so hand the title to a very grateful Paul West. Perhaps a new putter is in order Neil?
Geoff Kubas was to be the last of the numerous golfers to collect more than one top 3 finish in a week that saw certain players do very well for themselves.
Quote of the week: This week’s quote comes from a man who didn’t have a very good week and could fill this column every week with outrageously memorable nonsense. No room for all that, so I’ve chosen my personal favourite: “Actually I was very happy with my 25 points.” Of course it’s from none other than Brian ‘Wireless” Wilkinson whose aforementioned 25 left him propping up the remaining 22 players in Sunday’s A Flight. Keep ‘em coming Brian.

The Beautiful Game?: Riz Taylor

All footballed out

Not that I’m complaining, you’ll understand, but these Christmas fixtures have got the better of me. It’s the season of excess, you see, and along with eating too much I’ve also pigged-out on football.
Five matches at the weekend, including even Real Madrid against Barcelona, followed by a dessert of Boxing Day action washed down with even more fixtures has left me nursing a footballing hangover of epic proportions, and frankly it’s a struggle to work out what day it is. I’m going to take a couple of painkillers and go back to bed, but in the meantime here’s a few stories from around the football world for you to end the year with.
Back next week after the dust settles, but in the meantime it’s a very Happy New Year to you.
Owl’s this for starters?
An eagle owl which temporarily halted a Euro 2008 qualifier match between Finland and Belgium in front of 35,000 spectators was named as Helsinki’s ‘Resident of the Year’ by a local journalists’ association.
In June the large bird of prey, who was later nicknamed Bubi, swooped over the football pitch before settling on a goalpost, forcing the referee to hold up the game for six minutes.
“It was a unanimous decision. Bubi promoted Finnish football much more efficiently than our team’s scoreless draws here and there,” head of the journalists’ association Pasi Tuohimaa presumably told, err, other journalists on Friday.
The owl was adopted as the national team’s mascot after Finland won the match, but then disappeared from the stadium after a rock concert and failed to appear at Finland’s subsequent international matches. The team failed to qualify for the championships next year. However, fans of Bubi were delighted to see the bird fly into the stadium while the award ceremony was being held - his first appearance in months.
Jewell:
“No more jewels”
This story is better, trust me. Are you fed up with modern footballers worrying more about their image than their actions on the pitch itself? Well you’re not alone. Derby manager Paul Jewell has decided to take matters into his own hands at his new club, banning hair accessories, socks pulled above the knees and even diamond ear studs.
“Alice bands, gloves, earrings aren’t really my forté,” said Jewell, who managed to take a point from Newcastle on Saturday, ending a run of seven straight defeats.
“Some people are more followers of fashion, more interested in how they appear than in how they play and that winds me up. It’s not how you look, it’s how you play and how you actually affect the game I’m interested in.
“Thierry Henry started wearing his socks over his knees and all of a sudden you see academy players doing it, second and third division players doing it, and putting their headphones on as they get off the team bus. The easiest thing to do is to wear your socks up like Henry does, or to wear a wristband like he does; the hardest thing is to play like he can.”
Jewell believes his players should model themselves on the top professionals.
“I look at people like Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, the boys at Man United, like Rooney, and all the top-class players’ image comes from their football, just how brilliant they are,” he added. “That’s what their image is based on.”
English managers are hopeless, says Mr. England
Bah, humbug. Moving on, and although the England internationals mentioned above are Paul Jewell’s idea of the best around, the same can’t be said for English managers. None of the home-grown candidates were up to filling the shoes of the great Steve McLaren, according to FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick
The appointment of Fabio Capello was a move that has divided opinion among fans, managers and players, it says here. He becomes the second overseas coach to manage England following Sven-Goran Eriksson, the man who preceded Sir Steve.
“A month ago, I sat in my hotel bedroom in South Africa and tried to work out what makes an England manager,” Barwick told Sunday’s News of the World. “I wrote out a template and put it against our current crop of England managers and not one of them ticked all the boxes. The reality is we can’t find a suitable English candidate at present.
“It has to be our ambition to have an English boss, but we have to be realistic. This time around we had to get the right man regardless of nationality, except Scottish.”
Alright, I made that last bit up!
Inter Milan ‘crosses’ Muslim lawyer with ‘Crusaders’ kit
As it’s Christmas we’re moving onto Turkey now, where a lawyer is taking legal action against Inter Milan in protest at the Italian side’s “Crusader-style” red cross on this season’s strip that he alleges is “offensive to Muslim sensibilities”.
Baris Kaska, a lawyer in Izmir who specialises in European law, said that he had lodged a complaint in a local court against Inter, who last month played the Istanbul team Fenerbahce in a Champions League match at the San Siro stadium in Milan. The Inter players wore a new strip - a white shirt with a giant red cross on it - marking the club’s centenary.
Mr Kaska said he was not only seeking damages but also hoping to annul the match, which Inter won 3-0.
“That cross only brings one thing to mind - the symbol of the Templar Knights,” he said. “It made me think immediately of the bloody days of the past. While I was watching the game I felt profound grief in my soul.”
Mr Kaska told the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia that the cross symbolised “Western racist superiority over Islam”.
Inter Milan officials said that they were “astounded”. They said that in the first match between the two teams in September at Istanbul - which Fenerbahce won 1-0 - Inter had deliberately refrained from wearing the strip with the red cross but had felt entitled to use it on its home ground.
Inter officials also pointed out that a red cross on a white background is the symbol of the city of Milan. Many Italian football clubs incorporated the cross on their shirts, including Inter, founded in Milan in 1908.
“The red cross has become an international political football,” newspaper Corriere della Sera commented.
La Republica said it was unclear whether Mr Kaska was “more wounded by the supposed offence or by the goals Inter scored.”
Fenerbahce, one of Turkey’s top teams and the main rival in Istanbul of Galatasaray, was also founded 100 years ago. Its players wear a yellow-blue strip and are known as “The Yellow Canaries”.

Andy signs off with a win

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Monday, December 17, Plutaluang, Stableford
The South and East courses were selected today for another full field on a very hot day.
On his last but one game with us before his departure back to the UK for a three week holiday, Andy Mills won Division 1 with 35 points followed by Ted Morris one point behind in second, and in third place with 31 points was Stan Everingham.
Rick Newman’s 38 points took top spot in Division 2, with Les Hall finishing second on 37 points and Cully Monks third with 33 points.
Still in the news and Andy Mills got the only ‘2’ in Division 1 to claim the rollover pot whilst Ben Findon and Cully Monks shared the Division 2 spoils.
Nearest the Pins went to the lovely lady Pranee Bossett, Andy Mills (2), Paddy Wilson. Ben Findon, Jack Hinchey, Tony Holehouse and Cully Monks.
Wednesday, December 19,Khao Kheow,Stableford
With an almost 1,200 yard differential between the Ladies’ red tees and the Men’s yellows, this course suits the fairer sex down to the ground.
Ken Fosters 32 points was the best male score of the day in Division 2 on the C and A circuit, meanwhile Miss Oam finished second with 33 points and Miss Nom won with 37 points. Say no more.
With the same score of 37 points Dave Richards won Division 1, with Ted Morris one point behind in second and in third place was Ben Findon with 35 points.
Jim Connelly, Andy Mills, Ted Morris and Geoff Stubbs, Richard Baldotto, Jack Hinchey and Les Hall all claimed nearest the pin prizes.
Friday, December 21, Eastern Star, Stableford
With the Christmas extravaganza looming on Monday with 24 teams going out and great prizes to be won, it was almost a practice day for a few.
Newly returned Andy Oz won Division 1 with 33 points, John Smith was second on 32 points and Miss Pranee third with 30 points.
Harry Cowling’s 39 points topped Division 2, beating Alan Bissell by one, who in turn beat Tom Novak on a 19/17 back nine count back.
Note: Jomtien Golf meets every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at Siam Cats on Soi 5, Jomtien Beach Rd at around 8.30am for a 10.00am tee off. Please sign up in the bar or call Glyn on 086 837 5464.

O’Brien on the mark at Burapha

Golfing news from the Bowling Green

Gareth Weeks
Monday, December 17, Burapha - White Tees, Stableford
Another sunny morning in Pattaya saw the Bowling Green golf society heading up the motorway for our short trip to Burapha. With Christmas only a week away and more people heading into Pattaya for their holidays, we were joined once again by several new players.

Monday’s winners: Mike O’Brien, Alex Cambell and Peter Brown with a Bowling Green staff member.

With a group of 15 golfers, we were soon checked in and away to the first tee at A & B nines, and on this particular morning the course looking unusually quiet for this time of year allowing us a quick get away.
With fairways and greens in excellent condition we would like to say thank you to the management for all their hard work, as the course is now looking as good as ever and something you now come to expect from this venue.
With all players in one flight it was going to be a tough test for top spot, and as the day progressed a swirling wind picked up to greet us on the back nine and make things interesting to say the least.
Eventually taking top spot with a fine score of 38 points off his 21 H/c was Mike O’Brien; in second with 36 points on count back was Alex Cambell and third place went Peter Brown on the same score.
Near pins went to Brian Thomas and Phil Barnsley (Badger), while the longest putt also went to Peter Brown (Rolex).
Friday, December 21, Pattana - White Tees, Stableford
Friday’s stableford was held at Pattana Country Club with a group of 16 golfers that included the welcome return of Des Sharkey after a 3-week break from golf due to an eye operation.
Not having played Pattana for several months we had heard reports that the course had been looking in good condition, so a trip was booked and after a tediously slow check in we were told by the starter that A & B nines was to be our test on the day. There were more problems however with double bookings, finally being given B nine as our start point but unsure of what our back nine would be until the front nine had been completed.
Finally underway the reports on the course condition were correct, with fairways looking well manicured and greens in good condition, although I must say a little slow.
With a stiff wind picking up on the back nine making conditions tougher, this affected the final scores on this long 6,896-yard course.
Taking first place was yours truly Gareth Weeks (7 H/c) with a score of 36 pts; second on the day was Phil “Badger” Barnsley (12 H/c) with 35 pts and third was Frank Sharkey (20 H/c) with 34 pts.
Near pins went to Frank Byrne and Phil Barnsley.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

Many parts of the world finally got the chance to see Mayweather jr. - Hatton on almost free TV last week. As a result the e-mails poured in. One item led the responses and that was to say, “The Square Ring was spot on!”
There were two areas where The Square Ring got kudos. First was the fact that, as predicted, Hatton made Mayweather jr. actually fight. The second area was the rather poor job done by referee Joe Cortez, which no one in the mainstream boxing media picked up. Joe Cortez is a really good guy but he went down for the count.
From William, “I’m sure I’m not alone but Cortez ruined the fight and maybe the outcome who knows? He definitely did a terrible job. These guys should take lessons from Elmo Adolph and Steve Smoger, my two favorites.”
The Square Ring agrees on Adolph.
One e-mail in particular, from a boxing professional, states the professional case against Cortez sub par performance.
“Joe’s problem was that he appeared to be very nervous and uptight. There is a simple rule, when the fighters are going 80 miles an hour in order for you to maintain control the referee must go 30 miles an hour. If a referee gets caught up in the speed of the fighters, control is lost. When control is lost you get tight and just don’t think right. In this fight Cortez needed to let them fight, take control when necessary in a very calm manner to correct anything improper.
“Once a referee stops a fight for the reason of necessary cautioning to the fighters, do it very calmly. Be stern so the fighters respect you. Cortez allowed himself to get too busy with all the s*** they were doing. Mayweather, in particular, used his elbow continuously throughout the fight and I think Cortez cautioned him one time. The point deduction was terrible in that Mayweather turned his back and deserved to get hit … it was not a flagrant foul. Oh Well!!”
With the media fighting to place their soap coolers on Mayweather jr’s. backside, no one has mentioned the elbows or the phantom point deduction. Reverting back to my childhood days of yelling at wrestlers on TV, I yelled from the opening round, “Damit Joe, let them fight and watch the elbows.” Joe no listen.
A co-worker finally seeing the fight said, “&%$#&% #$%$@F%$ & Cortez.”
HBO might well have been saying the same thing without the word Cortez. In the days leading up to the fight HBO was proudly announcing that they would probably do 2.2 million Pay-per-view buys.
“This will be the biggest non heavyweight fight on PPV ever,” they said.
Funny thing happened, although not funny to HBO. The fight did lousy at PPV. It was announced that there were 850,000 buys, which was 1.4million under pre-fights estimates. That still brought in $47 million dollars split between HBO, local cable companies, promoters and fighters. SKY-PPV (Europe) indicated that maybe they had a million buys.
Compare that with the 2.4 million that bought Mayweather jr. - DeLaHoya for $134 million dollars. What happened? Oscar wasn’t on the card and Floyd Mayweather jr. has no fan base and can’t sell tickets or PPV.
There was a really big box-fighting event recently in Cancun that featured a pair of WBC title bouts along with a WBC a title eliminator. In the latter bout Naoki Matsuda (29-7-3, 12 KOs) repeated his March victory over former world champion Rudy Lopez (20-5-1, 14 KOs) with an eighth round TKO. Matsuda landed a right in the 3rd or 5th that opened a cut over Lopez left eye -not sure which round as there are two different reports. When it was decided Lopez couldn’t continue Referee Larry Cole correctly stopped the fight.
Now the rest of the story!
Days later the Boxing Commission of Cancun, surely an August organization, changed the result. The website fightnews.com reported: “During the recent WBC convention in Manila there was a ‘new’ regulation added to the rule book. A wound caused by a legal blow that later becomes worse and prevents the continuation of the fight means a technical decision must be ordered with the bout going to the scorecards.”
With all due respect - What a load of horse droppings!
If you cut a boxer up so bad that they can’t continue then you shouldn’t be penalized. It’s a TKO. If you are trailing in the final round of a bout and you 10 count your opponent do you then go to the scorecard?
The referee was Larry Cole who either didn’t know the rule, didn’t believe that there was such a stupid rule, as apparently no one else did at the time, or he forgot.
Then days later came the first spin: “Cole stopped the fight without talking to the ring doctor.”
Whoops! Only the referee can stop a fight and in this case the ring doctor agreed. Oh yes, the ring doctor is also a member of the Boxing Commission. The judges’ scorecards were checked by the Cancun Commission with Lopez ahead on 2 cards and even on the other. Lopez was declared the winner. Oh bye the way, two of the judges were Mexican.
An email to the “official” WBC press office produced the information that the fightnews.com story was wrong.
“The new regulation quoted isn’t accurate. It should read, ‘when a cut that is produced by a legal punch is later worsened by a head butt, then a technical decision applies with the score of the judge to decide the outcome.’ I don’t know where the other release came from.”
That should have been the end of the story but it wasn’t. Still later it was announced that Lopez corner claimed a head butt made the cut worse. Which now fits in with the rule.
At some point the officials went to the not so instant replay, we have no idea when or where, which caused the commission to change the decision and impugn the referee Cole for making a mistake that he didn’t make.
The WBC (which might be called We Be Changing at this point) issued the following press release: “To avoid accusations of favoritism toward Mexicans (perish the thought), it was decided to make the bout a ‘no contest’, opening the possibility of another fight to clarify things in the ring.”
Two days later another press release came out stating that the fight will, “definitely remain with a final result of ‘no contest.’ The WBC board of governors (there’s another August group) will now review if a direct rematch shall be ordered. Also, the WBC disciplinary committee will review the unsportsmanlike conduct demonstrated by Lopez after the fight was stopped when he walked over and punched Matsuda in the back.”
Yo, board of governors - there is no review, Lopez should have been DQ’d on the spot. Funny but that’s the first time Lopez’s sneak attack was ever mentioned.
Let’s see - the Japanese boxer Naoki Matsuda has whipped Lopez twice: once by KO, then by TKO, so now a third bout is ordered. That probably means that a ‘new’ WBC rule states that any title eliminator involving a Mexican boxer and a non-Mexican means the non-Mexican must win 3 times to get the verdict.
WBC President Jose Suliamán stated: “We are tired of them unfairly taking away Mexicans’ deserved victories, mostly in the country to the north, and we will not allow it to happen in our own homeland.”
So the “we” have decided to take away (after the fact) a win from a Japanese fighter and give it to one of the “homeboys.”
Dear Dr. Suliaman, as a proud citizen of the United States of America I am getting a little tired of the “verbal crap” that comes out of Mexico. It especially “jiggers by onions” to hear someone like yourself, who takes millions of dollars out of my country each year, propagate this verbal filth.
Note to WBC - If the terrible country up north is so bad how about you keep your fighters at home while collecting sanctioning fees in the usual third world countries.
For Aussie Danny Green the third time was the charm. Green tried twice to win the WBC super-middle title against Markus Beyer but came up short. The first time he got justifiably DQ’d for intentionally fouling. His second bid fell short when Thailand’s Anek Hongtongkam had it 113-114 and California’s Marty Denkin 112-115 for Beyer.
Green moved up to light-heavyweight to challenge Stripe Drews (32-2) for the WBA title. It was an easy win and viewed by Steve Lockhart.
“As far as world title bouts go it was a very lackluster affair with Drews seemingly content to hand over his title with very little fight. He spent the 12 rounds backing away from Green, appearing to be terrified of being hit with a solid punch. I’d guess that only about six decent blows were landed by Green who had trouble catching the ‘running man’ from Croatia.
“Drews was cautioned for hitting to the back of the head, holding and even for not throwing punches in round 8 when he should have been desperately seeking a knockout. How Drews even held the world title is beyond me as I have never seen such a timid display in such an important fight.”
Steve, with a zillion sanctioning organizations any boxer can be a world champion of something.
And here’s Jeeves!
“Well Your Lordship that wraps up this year’s ‘All Enzyme’ Square Ring column. As we pop a cork on a nice chilled bottle of Dom Perignon and light up a Cohiba, we should sing: ‘May old quaint tips be forgot and never buy a mine, we’ll take a cup of kinda nuts and sing to All Enzyme.’”
Jeeves, me thinks maybe you’ve been imbibing. The song you tried to sing is actually called “Auld Lang Syne” with words by the great Scottish poet Robert Burns. It goes, ‘Should old acquaintances be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days o’auld lang syne; For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne; We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne!’
“Your Lordship, could that have been the same Robert Burns that makes cigars?”
I think not Jeeves as he died in the late 1790’s. How about you just pop the cork on the bubbly, fire up the stogies and hit the play button as Donna Summer sings “The Last Dance” and let’s look forward to 2008.

Hisket & Hogstrom shoots 40 plus at Phoenix

Phoenix Golf Club Members Group

Mike Gerrard
Wednesday, December 12, Stableford
A good field turned out today to tackle the Lakes and Ocean course.
The A Flight winner was Graham (van Gogh) Hisket with a good knock of 41 points, that pushed David Smith into second spot on count back whilst Mayo (always on the rostrum) Deane was back in third spot.

The winners from Wednesday’s outing at Phoenix.

The B Flight winner was Ben Hogstrom with a great score of 44 points; Mike Poustie was a mere 5 points back in second and in third was Pia Loquist with a respectable 37 points.
The best of our non-qualifying guests was Roger Kidd, who received a consolation sleeve of golf balls.
Technical awards went to Roger Kidd (2), Ian Gilman and Steen Poulsen.
Friday, December 14, Stableford
It was a difficult day playing from the back tees for the men, the wind was blowing hard and the greens were very fast.
Recent new member Peter Harris claimed second spot with a very respectable 35 points, but our very own super-scribe Mike Poustie bagged the spoils today with 36 points. This included two birdies on the back nine, hence a nice bonus for his caddy.
On most of our days, the lovely Mayo Deane sits very close to the presentation table and therefore gets to pick out the luck draw card. This is a fatal act, and with myself not in attendance to ask someone else, guess who’s card Mayo Deane drew out? No need to repeat her name.
Sunday, December 16, Sunday Stableford
A strong field of 26 players today tackled the Lakes and Ocean course at Phoenix.
With the high season in full swing now we expect to have some hiccups that usually occur due to visiting golfers holding the play up. I have to say that this year the situation is so much better than last year. Thanks to the management and staff of Phoenix we do not suffer from lack of caddies (150 recruited this year) and it would seem that the marshals are moving play along a lot better.
Our winner today was Larrs (The Condor moment) Erikson with a very respectable score, but under our Sunday system will still be cut 9 shots for next week. A nice bottle of bubbly and two champagne flutes being his reward.
Second place went to Bob (unflappable) Stor and in third place was David (the beetle man) Smith, who both received a bottle of wine to enjoy with their dinner later in the evening.
Technical prizes went to yours truly, Mike Gerrard (2), Vibeke Nielsen and Steen (captain birds eye) Poulsen.
With just enough money left in the kitty we managed to have a couple of lucky draws for the ones who were not in the prizes.
We will be back in the news as of January 1 and anyone who is interested in joining us for some fun and social golf (but played to strict rules) please do not hesitate to contact any of our committee (Info on 087 091 7565). Happy New Year!

Sorenson takes ‘Monthly Mug’ at Pattaya C.C.

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, December 17, Pattana Sports Club, Stableford
The beautiful Pattana Sports Club was the venue for a stableford competition in two flights with the cut at handicap 19. The course on the day was in very fine condition with fairly fast greens.

Peter (right) being presented with the Mug by Dave Richardson.
Sreindat Eidsson took the honours in the A Flight with the game of his life and a fine 46 points, in fact a Gross 73. Walter Bachli was in second with an excellent 42 points and Einar Johannson was third with 36 points.
Brendan Byrne was the winner in the B Flight with 40 points on count back from Brian Gabe in second. Graham Buckingham was in third with 39 points.
Near Pin: Dave Richardson, Tom Cotton, Kevin Dinan, Steindar Eidsson
Long Putt: Bent Agerbo, Tom Cotton
Thursday, December 20, Pattaya Country Club, Medal
This time of the year the Monthly Mug is well subscribed and the thus the numbers turning up to play it are quite large. This is one of the major reasons we always play the ‘Mug’ at Pattaya Country Club; they are always most accommodating and thus the organisers can be sure they are not going to turn up and find bus loads of ‘other players’ waiting to start. It has been known to happen. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
So on this day a large group of potential winners turned up at the first tee hoping to have a good day. The weather was really nice, just a slight breeze and a bit overcast. We soon realised it was also a little humid, and the wind started to lift, but it was still a fine day.
The course was hard and fast, as were the greens, and the holes were as usual nearly square, but who cares, lets get on with it.
Back in the restaurant as the scores came in and it was obvious that the course seemed to have won, and it was also obvious that anyone coming in with a score in the 60’s would have a good chance.
This being the only regular competition that goes back to The Cafe Kronberg for the presentation, the players were waiting as the results were tabulated and the winners decided.
In the A Flight the winner was Walter Bachli with a net 71 ahead of a count back on net 72 that saw Brendan Byrne in second and Patrick Poussier in third.
In the B Flight the winner was Bernie Cairns with a net 71 on count back over Peter Hammond in second, whilst in third was Bjorn Kristjohannson with a net 72.
So to the winner and coming in towards the end of the field, Peter Sorenson won with a fine net 68. Well done. T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: J.C. Lhoste, Peter Hammond, Wayne Koch, Koji Yamada
Long Putt: Dave Richardson, Walter Bachli

Travellers Rest goes it alone

Golf news from the Travellers Rest

Barry Hooper
All golfers please note that “The Travellers Rest Golf Group” or T.R.G.G. will be in operation as from the beginning of 2008 for all the golf from this venue.

Saturday flight winners: Fergus Brennan, Jack Robertson and Brian Gabe.

This is to be fully organised at the hotel utilising computerised (CONGU) handicapping software and will have total independent membership from all other golfing operations in Pattaya.
More information can be obtained direct from the Travellers Rest and will appear in next week’s report in the paper.
Tuesday, December 18, Khao Kheow, Stableford
1st Ann Hiranya (30) 36pts
2nd Alex Sala (14) 34pts
3rd Frank Kelly (12) 34pts
4th Mod Chaviraksa (18) 34pts
5th Peter Seward (15) 34pts
Near Pins: Alex Sala (2), Mod Chaviraksa, Tony Geeland
2’s: None
Ann Hiranya one of our beautiful entourage of lady players at the T.R.G.G. toppled all the male players before her with a fine two-point win at Khao Kheow on Tuesday. Her 36 points was two clear of a four-way count back involving Alex Sala, Frank Kelly, Mod Chaviraksa and Peter Seward, who finished in that order.
Thursday, December 20,Greenwood,Stableford
A Flight (0-15)
1st Fergus Brennan (11) 45pts
2nd Peter Seward (15) 41pts
3rd Stuart Thompson (12) 40pts
4th Ray Trembath (12) 37pts
C/B Mike Wardman & John Merritt 37pts
B flight (16-up)
1st Les Burns (29) 39pts
2nd Donald Pearson (36) 38pts
3rd Jack Robertson (25) 38pts
4th Paul Challis (31) 37pts
Near Pins: German Odermatt (2), Graham Hurdon, Ray Trembath
2’s: Donald Pearson and Peter Seward
Fergus Brennan decided that he would end the year on a high note by taking the first of his two wins for the week, this one at Greenwood on Thursday. His 45 points was four clear of second placed Peter Seward, who himself had a fine round.
Les Burns’ 39 points took the second division spoils ahead of the efforts of Donald Pearson and Jack Robertson, who had to be separated by count back.
Saturday, December 15, Eastern Star, Stableford
A Flight (0-13)
1st Fergus Brennan (9) 33pts
2nd Danny Wheelan (13) 31pts
3rd Stephen McGrath (10) 30pts
C/B German Odermatt (12) 30pts
B Flight (14-21)
1st Brian Gabe (20) 39pts
2nd Frank Kelly (14) 38pts
3rd John Merritt (14) 33pts
C Flight (22-up)
1st Jack Robertson (25) 34pts
2nd Alan Evans (26) 32pts
3rd Nijole Murtagh (26) 32pts
Near Pins: Mod Chaviraksa, Alex Sala, Roger Wilkinson, Jack Robertson
2’s: Mal McKay
Fergus’ second A Flight win in three days was overshadowed by news of the recent accidental death at the course of one of their caddies. A collection of some 6,100 baht was duly organised amongst the players and this was given to the management at Eastern Star who were asked to pass it on to the family of the bereaved.
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. Just call Tewin on 086 056 7019 for further information.

Bob wins back-to-back

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

Herbert Ishinaga
With the early starters going off at 6:30 am, I was told that the course was still wet with dew plus obvious over-watering. The course conditions were not very conducive to good scores and I can see why with the results this week.

Tuesday’s top two: Bob Pearce, left, with Paul Kraft.

The winning score was again posted by Bob Pearce. Bob returned 33 points to take top honors for the day. I hope that the scoring improves by the final week and that will be on Christmas Day - I hope to be out on the course myself if my back holds up.
In second place this week was good “Ole” Krafty Paul. Age has not bothered his form much as he continues to walk the course and managed 29 points to come in ahead of the rest of the field.
It was not a big field but hopefully it will start to get better next week as many of our regulars are due back to the Land of Smiles (and wiles).

Bottom three find their form

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

Friday’s 200 plus bowlers: Barry, Bill Golata, Mio, Konrad and Tiger.

Barry Hooper
This week saw three teams; Canada, Café Kronberg and Brother D. who were at the bottom of the league come on form and produce 4-0 match winning score lines which moved them all up two places each.
House of the Golden Coin cemented their top position by adding 4 points themselves in a convincing win over Café Ole, which has resulted in the losers of that match being pushed to the bottom position.
Balls Galore took a three to one win over Sabia Friday in a two player team fight that sees them move to second spot. Jack & Tar, despite being a player short and loosing 4 to nil against Brother D, now hold third place. Diamond Shop retain fourth place after achieving a two all draw against Beaver Bar & Grill. VFW Post 9876 dropped two places to fifth after Café Kronborg beat them with a convincing 4 to 0.
The top players of the week were Barry for Jack & Tar with 202 and 220 games for a 591 series; followed by Kran for Café Kronberg with a 550 series 189 and 188 high games.
La for Balls Galore had two 195 games for a 549 series; Aht also had a 197 high game and 549 series for House of the Golden Coin along with team mate Mio, who had the high game of the week 227 and a 547 series. Bill Golata was next in line with a 210 high game and a 542 series bowling as a pacer with VFW Post 9876.