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Swimming contest attracts youngsters from across the province
(From left) Deputy Mayor
Wattana Chantanawaranon and (far right)
Mr. Itthipol Khunplome, Chief Advisor to the Mayor of Pattaya City,
pose for a photo with some of the contestants.
The swimmers dive off in
one of the male youth category events.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Pattaya City, working in cooperation with Satit Udomseuksa
Academy, organized a swimming competition for Pattaya youngsters and
adults on February 9.
The event, held at the academy’s own swimming pool, was formally opened
by mayoral advisor Itthipol Khunplome with Deputy Mayor Wattana
Chantanawaranon also attending.
 Altogether
some 37 teams from schools, clubs and other institutions in Chonburi
Province took part in the swimming gala.
Itthipol said that the competition was important in helping Pattaya’s
youngsters have a way of testing their own abilities against others and
to reach international standards in swimming.
There were 37 teams from schools, clubs and other institutions in
Chonburi Province competing in the contest. Young people between the
ages of five and 14 took part, and there was also an adult category.
The trophy for the highest total of points went to the Pattaya Swim
Club, which scored 858 points. Runner-up was the Pattaya Paradise Team
with 327 points, and in third place was the World Villa Team with 307
points.
Individual category winners
Men’s category: 1st Patipol Onchan from the Pattaya Swimming
Team with 38 points, 4 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 0 bronze medals;
Women’s category: 1st Miss Sirada Bunserm from the Wangprapa
Resort Team with 0 points, 3 gold medals, 0 silver medals and 0 bronze
medals; Boys 6 years of age: 1st Master Warut Kohking from the
World Villa Team with 28 points, 2 gold medals, 2 silver medals, and 1
bronze medal; Girls 6 years of age: 1st Miss Supakarn Saeng-Arun
from the CH&D Team with 35 points, 5 gold medals, 0 silver medals and 0
bronze medals; Boys 8 years of age: 1st Master Palapol Promchan
from the Chalarm Chon Team with 70 points, 10 gold medals, 0 silver
medals and 0 bronze medals; Girls 8 years of age: 1st Miss
Peeraya Amree from the Pattaya Swim Team with 47 points, 5 gold medals,
0 silver medals and 0 bronze medals; Boys 10 years of age: 1st
Master Apatsada Nootes from the World Villa Team with 66 points, 8 gold
medals, 2 silver medals and 0 bronze medals; Girls 10 years of age:
1st Miss Warakarn Anukulwatthaka from the Rungnapa Pittaya Team with
42 points, 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals; Boys
12 years of age: 1st Master Peeradol Phuploy from the Marialai Team
with 35 points, 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal;
Girls 12 years of age: 1st Miss Araya Wongwart from the Pattaya Swim Team
with 40 points, 5 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 0 bronze medals
Boys 14 years of age: 1st Master Naruepanart Chotirat from the
Pattaya Swim Team with 42 points, 6 gold medals, 0 silver medals and 0
bronze medals;
Girls 14 years of age: 1st Miss Pimpan Lertrattanakul from the
Chalarmchan Team with 36 points, 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 0
bronze medals.
Robbins returns
at Bangpakong
PSC golf from The Bunker Bar
Monday, February 18, Bangpakong -
Stableford
Monday, the Bunker Boys played a stableford game at the lovely
Bangpakong Riverside Country Club and Tony Robbins made it a winning return
from his short jaunt to the Philippines by taking top spot with a fabulous
43 points ahead of Jack Robinson 37 points and Alan Freeman 35 points.
Tony Robbins took one of the near pin prizes also along with Peter Habgood
and the other two went to Tony Scambler.
Wednesday, February 20, Emerald - Medal
Wednesday’s Medal competition was held at the Emerald Golf Resort
and PJ Redmond came back to form after a recent illness to win the B Flight
with net 77. Fred Griffin was second a shot back and Jack Robertson was
third one further shot back.
The scores were a bit better in the A Flight, Cyril Wallwork having the best
round winning with level par net 72, John Hughes came a disappointed second
after falling away at the last two holes to finish with net 73, and Alan
Sullivan took third place with net 74.
Only three of the par three greens were hit and the prizes went to Gerry
Cooney, William Macey and “Skinny” Newton.
Friday, February 22, Mountain Shadow - Stableford
Mountain Shadow was a stiff test as usual on Friday. Playing
Stableford and with the cut at handicap 14 Geoff Hart won the B Flight with
31 points - one shot better than Bryan Hart in second place and third place
went to newcomer Pete Platt with 29 points.
The scores were slightly better in the A Flight where Gerry Cooney got back
to winning ways with 33 points. Cyril Wallwork took second place on a count
back beating Alan Freeman into third place, both with 32 points.
Gerry Cooney took two near pin prizes too with the others going to “Dev”
Deveral and William Macey.
Henderson heads for home with a double
PSC golf from The Caddyshack
Monday, February 18, Bangpakong - Medal
Today was a trip up the motorway to Bangpakong golf course and
with the new highway improvements the course is getting ever closer. A Medal
event was held with two divisions and the competition was very strong with
some good under-par rounds produced in both flights, this is always expected
at this course.
 Friday’s
winner Damien Trant with Nang and Oy from The Caddyshack.
In Division 2, Bruce Tollitt was pushed into fourth place with a net 73,
beating him on count back was John Knight with the same score but the better
back nine. Way ahead in second place was Doug Douglas with a net 69 and just
one better was the very consistent Peter Henderson with a net 68 for first
place.
Into Division 1 and Marcus Simmons and David Hester tied together on net
73’s with Dave having the better back nine to take third place. It was
certainly a day of count backs as Vince Smyth and Jeff North both recorded
net 69’s and were split by the narrowest of margins with Jeff North having
the better back nine to take the win.
With all these great sub-par rounds and some quality golf played it was a
big surprise to find out no one had hit a ‘2’ so the pot was rolled over to
Wednesday.
Wednesday, February 20, Green Valley - Stableford
Today was our regular visit to Green Valley for a stableford
competition.
In Division 2, Bruce Tollitt just fell short of winning with 34 points as
Peter Henderson also had 34 points and the better back nine to take top spot
again and give him a great leaving present before his return to the UK.
Division 1 saw Dave Hestor turn the tables on Monday’s winner Jeff North and
win with a very nice 38 points to Jeff’s 35.
Two golfers shared the very large rollover 2’s pot and they were Richard
Steadman and John Locke.
Friday, February 22, The Emerald - Stableford
Today it was southwards to Bang Chang to play a stableford
competition at The Emerald golf course and with only one division it was
going to be tough to make the podium.
Coming in third place was Joey Clines with 36 points, in second was John
Locke also with 36 points but a better back nine, and the only golfer to
break par and win the day with an excellent round featuring a gross 37 back
nine was Damien Trant with 40 points.
The 2’s were shared between Joey Clines and Bruce Tollitt.
Note: Coming up on March 21, The Caddyshack is holding a 2-ball Texas
scramble to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Please enter early as we have
limited space. There will be a complimentary post-golf buffet put on by the
Caddyshack at the presentation so don’t be disappointed and sign up early.
Cotton & Downey’s
40-pointers seal the win
PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
The 18th Green and Clubhouse
at beautiful Bangpakong.
Derek Brook
Tuesday, February 19, Bangpakong – Stableford
Just another of those long drives to another of those great golf
courses. The good thing these days is that the roads are so improved that we
can now get there very quickly.
On this day the course was very quiet so we could get off quickly, and this
is not normal here as we usually have a long wait at the starting gate. Once
started the wind was the major factor, and on a long course such as this it
was a real annoyance, still with grassy fairways and good greens it was a
pleasure to play.
The drive back was as quick as the drive up and we were back in Bert’s for
1730 hrs. This is a major improvement over the last two times we went to
this venue and ended up driving back in the dark.
The scores were pretty good for such a long course in a strong wind. In the
A Flight (0-15) the winner was Brian Downey with a fine 40 points ahead of
Tom Hetherington in second on count back. In third was that fine golfer, and
winner, Steve Hamstad with 38 points.
In the B Flight the winner was Tom Cotton who shot 40 points, but a mention
must be made of the 4 Birdies he shot, most ever for him. In second was
Colin Cronin with 36 points with Brian Gabe in third with 34 points.
T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Steve Hamstad, Tom Herrington, Dick Warberg, Derek Brook
Long Putt: Stan Dare, John Vincent
Gulf Charters race to Koh Sri Chang
goes from strength to strength
Kipsan Beck
More than 125 sailors celebrated the 2nd race in the Gulf
Charters series, sailing 30 nautical miles up the coast from Jomtien to
beautiful Koh Sri Chang. The early start on Saturday, February 16 in
tricky light winds did not deter the competitors who took part in this
2-day, long distance race series, which is rapidly becoming a favourite
on the Pattaya area sailing calendar.
 Close
in racing between a Platu and David Bell’s “Magic Roundabout.”
Newcomer “Blade Runner” battled spirited challenges from “Dingo”, “Vivace”
and “Voodoo Doll” to take line honours in the multihulls class, showcasing
the performance of the new high-speed Corsair trimarans recently launched at
Ocean Marina.
In the keelboat class, light airs specialist Pascal Leray cut through the
fleet like a hot knife through butter to claim a deserved first place aboard
“Breakaway” on the second day. But he had no answer to David Bell’s
consistency aboard “Magic Roundabout”, who took the silverware thanks to a
well sailed first day.
The Platu/sportboat classes saw “The Lofts Southshore” eventually triumph
over “Jellyfish Kiss” and “The Beaver” in two tightly contested races where
the lead changed hands many times.
Competitor Munchusa Hutasingh, who jumped ship from “Pornstar” to
“Breakaway” on Sunday, said that the Gulf Charters race was her favourite
for the year: “People think of the rally as a gentle cruise up the coast,
but in reality it’s a full-on race to join the after race parties!” she
commented.
The next race in the Gulf Charter series at Ocean Marina will be held March
8-9, where some of Asia’s top one-design racers will contest The Platu Open
Championship in more than 15 identical 7.5m keelboats alongside keelers and
multihulls. For sailors interesting in joining yacht racing, more
information is available at www.omycsailing.com
OMYC Sailing is a non-profit organization formed to promote keelboat sailing
at Ocean Marina, Jomtien. Racing is held usually on the 2nd weekend each
month, and is supported through sponsorship from Raimon Land, Ocean Marina
Yacht Club, Gulf Charters, Bluewave Water Sports and Simpson Marine.
Beginners and experienced sailors are welcome to join racing, training and
cruising, with places usually available. For more information contact
Munchusa Hutasingh, Tel. 081 431 7488, Email
[email protected]/
The fleet sails in light winds
near Koh Sri Chang.
Local Thai archers show their skills
The Pattaya Archery Club has moved from shooting on a
site in Siam Country Club Road to the Pattaya Shooting Club in Hua Yai.
To celebrate its relocation to the new facilities, the club recently
held its first-ever ‘Fun Day.’
 Bob
- aiming to win.
This was an experiment as no-one had any experience of archery games,
but although there were a few glitches and last-minute changes of rules,
the whole event was a great success.
The star of these games was a Thai archer called Bob, shown in the photo
checking his arrows to find out why he had only popped two balloons!
There were eight small balloons taped at random onto each target, and
the objective of that game was to try and pop as many balloons as
possible with as few arrows as possible. Sounds easy, but with a gentle
breeze moving the balloons around all the time, it proved to be quite a
difficult challenge.
There were three archers in each team, and Bob was teamed up with Nice,
a Thai lady (an excellent shot with her bow), and Rudolf, a Swiss
archer. Between them they popped most of their balloons, demonstrating
how accurate all of them were.
As well as Nice and Bob, there were two other Thai archers, Mon and Goi
shooting on that day. All four Thai archers shot well and were very
happy with their individual performances. This particularly pleased Eric
Hearn, the club’s president, as he wants to encourage other Thais to
take up archery.
As the morning wore on and other archery games were played, the
competition between the five teams became more intense. The prize for
the three members of the winning team was only a small bottle of beer
each, so there was not a lot at stake, but this did not deter the
archers from doing their best to try to win this “magnificent” prize!
The ‘Fun Day’ finished with an archery raffle. There were eight small
envelopes taped at random onto each of the five targets, and if an
archer shot an arrow into an envelope, that envelope was won by him or
her. Of course not all envelopes contained a winning ticket, but the
winning ticket was shot by Gilbert, from France. His prize? Yet another
small bottle of beer! Who says we are a bunch of Cheap Charlies?
Overall it was a close competition, with all teams shooting to a high
standard. Rudolf’s team was doing very well, and Bob’s prowess with his
bow enabled him to make a significant contribution to his team’s
performance.
In the end Rudolf, Bob and Nice won the team second place, losing out to
the winning team by just one point. An excellent performance by all
three archers.
Bob is an employee of the Pattaya Shooting Club and so until that day
was an unknown quantity to the Pattaya Archery Club. He impressed all
the club members with his archery skills particularly as he only was
shooting a training bow, with no stabilisers, and only a simple sight.
This is excellent news for the Pattaya Shooting Club, as it wants to
develop archery in Pattaya, and has, in Bob, a local Thai man who
clearly knows what he is doing. A good basis for the future and a great
encouragement to other Thais and farangs to take up this challenging
sport.
Trying archery in Pattaya
Pattaya Archery Club shoots on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays
and Sundays, beginning at 10.00 am and finishing at about noon or
thereafter.
Anyone - Thai or farang, young or old, man or woman - is welcome to come
along to the Pattaya Shooting Club in Hua Yai and find out what it is
all about. Coaching and the use of the club’s bows, arrows and other
equipment is free for beginners, and so it costs nothing to see if this
challenging sport is for you.
For more details visit Pattaya Archery Club’s website at
www.pattaya-archery-club. com, or telephone Eric, the coach, on 089 535
1193
Bob checks his arrows
after only popping 2 balloons.
Goi, a Thai lady archer,
calculates her score.
Hinchley has a hat-trick of 2’s
Jomtien Golf with the IPGC
Monday, February 18, Plutaluang – Stableford
The North and West courses were selected today by our regular
caddies as the right nines to play. Once again there were dark clouds in the
distance and a few spots of rain beckoned on a few of the front nine holes
but after the turn it was another hot and sticky day.
With a rollover from Eastern Star in both divisions in the 2’s competition
there were a few negative remarks regarding the lighthouse hole today, but
now playing off H/cap 8, Srithong birdied the hole to take the 1st division
pot. In division 2, William Chang birdied the same hole to share the spoils
with Peter Elder after his two on the West 8th hole.
In the stableford competition 8 points separated first and second in
division 2, with the in-form William Chang winning with 42 points. Four
people fought for the next three places after they all finished with 34, so
a count back ensued that saw Gordon Everingham in second, Andy Oz in third,
Kari Aarnio in fourth and Jim Lane being the unfortunate one to miss out.
Amazingly only one of the 2’s winners featured in the nearest the pin
prizes. The winners were Jim Connelly, Bruce Lawrence, Andy Mills, Raivo
Velsberg, William Chang, Joe Kubon, Jim Lane and Roger Ribbins.
Wednesday,
February 20, The Emerald – Stableford
Surprisingly, for this time of the year, on arrival we were
informed that our first tee time had been brought forward by 20 minutes
ahead of our normal 10.00am schedule, so no complaints there.
There were no 2’s recorded in the premier flight but in division 2 there
were three and remarkably, for the first time since we inaugurated, they
were all by the same player: Well done Jack Hinchey!
With three 2’s under his belt and 25 points on the back nine, there is only
one name that could win division 2 in the stableford competition, Jack
Hinchey with 42 points. In second place was Kari Aarnio on 38 points and Ken
Foster came in third with 36.
Ben Findon finished third with 31 points in division 1, beating Srithong on
a 16/15 count back, Pady Wilsons was second with 34 points and the Sheffield
boy Andy Mills took top spot with 35.
Nearest the pins went to Andy Mills, Nico, Raivo Velsberg, Jack Hinchey (3)
and Joe Kubon.
Friday, February 22, Eastern Star - Canadian Scramble
1st Roger Ribbins & Geoff Stubbs 52pts
2nd Miss Oam & Paddy Wilson 51pts
3rd Jean Morel & Stan Everingham 51pts
4th Kari Aarnio & Bill Hewitt 50pts
5th Jim Connelly & Ken Foster 48pts
2’s: Jack Hinchey & Kit Parkington, Jim Connelly & Ken Foster, Glyn
Evans & Andy Mills, Kari Aarnio & Bill Hewitt, Joe Kubon & Harry Riley.
Near Pins (Team): Roger Ribbins & Geoff Stubbs, Mikael Andersson &
Any Oz, Joe Kubon & Harry Riley,
Near Pins (Individual): Jim Connelly, Bill Hewitt, Dannie Larsen and
Harry Riley, Jack Hinchey, Joe Kubon, Jim Lane and Burnie Sinclair.
Long Drives: Daz Martingdale, Dave Ross, Srithong, Miss Nom
Longest Team Putts: Miss Oam & Paddy Wilson (10th), Mikael Andersson & Andy
Oz (16th)
Twenty-four groups set out today in a two-person team Canadian stableford
scramble, a first for us. It is a very intriguing and interesting format and
was enjoyed by all, and with a few tweaks we could improve it still more
before we play this again in April.
The rollover kitty provided all of the extra prizes and a free buffet for
all golfers and their partners back at Siam Cats afterwards.
In the team stableford competition, 14 teams out of the 24 starters finished
within six points of the winning score.
There were no reported misdemeanours today, so the ladies tipple, the bottle
of strawberry daquiri remains on the shelf until next time. There was also
going to be a music quiz after the presentation and buffet, but with the
restrictions this was postponed until the team multiplier in March.
Note: Jomtien Golf meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around
8.30pm for a 10.00am tee off at Siam Cats, Soi 5 Jomtien Beach Rd. Please
sign up in the bar or ring Glyn on 086 837 5464.
Sunny shoots ‘personal best’ at Lakeside
PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Joey’s Column
Monday, February 18, Burapha - Stableford
A Flight (0-9)
1st Scott Dobbins (0) 40pts
2nd Rick Evans (6) 36pts
3rd Bob Philp (7) 36pts
4th Mike Waltschek (6) 35pts
B Flight (10-17)
1st Roger Ison (12) 44pts
2nd Paul Lavender (15) 40pts
3rd Frank O’Neill (16) 37pts
4th Barry Chadbourn (17) 37pts
C Flight (18+)
1st Brian Maddox (19) 39pts
2nd Ken Lankshear (23) 37pts
3rd John King (28) 36pts
4th John Stafford (21) 35pts
The A & B course at Burapha from the blue tees is a credible 6,700 yards
long, giving a course rating of 73.2 and a slope rating of 131. Many of
us play with a USGA handicap but how many know what that means. Your
handicap differential is your adjusted gross score less the USGA course
rating, multiplied by 113 divided by the USGA slope rating for the tee
from which you played. Applying that formula; Scott Dobson played to -5,
Roger Ison to 2 and Brian Maddox to 12. That’s good golf! If you want to
check it out for yourself, go to this website: -
www.csgnetwork.com/golfhcapcalc.html
There were seven 2’s today from Stuart Thompson, Paul Sibley, Ken
Little, Rob Grant, Frank O’Neill and Bob Philp (2).
The ‘Outback Golf shirt’ was awarded to Stuart Thompson for being such a
snappy dresser!
Wednesday, February 20, Royal Lakeside - Medal
A Flight (0–12)
1st Sunny Khanna (12) net 65
2nd Ken Little (12) net 69
3rd Mike Waltschek (6) net 71
B Flight (13-19)
1st Bob Martin (17) net 69
2nd Paul Sibley (19) net 72
3rd Steve Cuthbert (18) net 76
C Flight (20+)
1st Margaret Wilkinson (26) net 67
2nd John Mason (20) net 74
3rd Trudy Chadbourn (24) net 75
The monthly bus trip, this time to Royal Lakeside, was once again a
popular event. This course, great value at 1,020 Baht incl. caddie, was
in fantastic condition. Much easier to get to now that the road works
are coming to a close, not even an hour from the Outback Golf Bar in Soi
Siam Country.
Splendid weather and splendid scoring was the order of the day, even
though Capt’ Bob decided to make it strokeplay. Sunny shot net 65, his
lowest score and Margaret returned a fabulous 67. Good rounds came also
from Bob Martin and Ken Little, both with 69’s.
There were five 2’s today from Trudy Chadbourn, Kathy Doody, Bill
Hewitt, Mike Waltschek & Dave Headington.
The ‘Outback Golf Shirt’ went to Paul Quodomine for taking 8 shots to
get out of a bunker, amassing a total of 13 for the hole. Finally
returning a net 77 playing off 25, the rest of the round must have been
pretty useful!
Friday, February 22, The Emerald - Stableford
A Flight (0–14) - Back Tees
1st John Hassay (14) 38pts
2nd Chris Davisson (11) 38pts
3rd Jack Spencer (6) 33pts
4th Cliff Wilkins (6) 33pts
5th Simon Philbrook (7) 33pts
B Flight (15+)
1st Lek Mawford (21) 38pts
2nd Brian Maddox (19) 33pts
3rd Mark Brenton (27) 33pts
4th John King (28) 33pts
5th Barry Rothberg (20) 32pts
Well, just whose great idea was it to play off the tips? Mikey
Waltschek, you’ve got a lot to answer to! It’s tough enough off the
whites! This might not be a long course, but the uneven lies and crusty
sloping greens make it a true test of golf.
Hats off to John Hassay & Chris Davisson both shooting a brilliant 38
points, Chris only losing on count back having shot a marvellous 22
points on the front nine. In the other division (reality tees), Lek
Mawford left the field by a street scoring a great 38 points, 5 clear of
the field.
There were five 2’s today from John Stafford, John Hassay, Jack Spencer
& Cliff Wilkins (2).
That’s all for now. If you have any thoughts, scandalous stories or
suggestions, why not drop me a line at [email protected]
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 beer and a hit.
Just call in and put your name down on the list or give Bob a call on
087 941 2474. More information can be found on our website
www.outbackgolfbar.com.
Griffiths wins again at Emerald
Golf from the Bowling Green
Gareth Weeks
Monday, Feb 18, Emerald (White tees) -
Stableford
1st Alan Griffiths (22) 38pts
2nd Alan Bridges (15) 36pts
3rd Gareth Weeks (6) 34pts
Emerald was the test on Monday, the weather conditions once again perfect and
the course in its usual excellent condition.
 Friday
winners L-R: Mike Harridge and Adam Williams pictured with Toy & Nan.
Managing to tee off at our allocated times we were soon enjoying the day’s
golf although this venue is far from the easiest test and this fact soon
became apparent with the tricky greens claming many valuable strokes. At the
half way point many player’s cards revealed only average scoring with only
two below official handicaps. With the toughest nine still to play it was
looking more like a level par round may be good enough to win the day.
Managing to keep the rest at bay with a well fought back nine was Alan
Griffiths, winning for the third time in succession here and his 38 points
was two ahead of second placed Alan Bridges, who in turn was 2 points better
than Gareth Weeks in third.
Friday, February 22, Greenwood (Yellow
tees) - Stableford
1st Adam Williams (26) 39pts
2nd Mike Herridge (22) 36pts
3rd Phil Barnsley (12) 35pts
Friday saw us travel to Greenwood for our regular monthly visit to this now
excellent venue and one that our society always looks forward to playing.
The only drawback is the tedious journey on the goat track roads, but it’s
one we are more than willing to put up with to play here.
After a quick check in at the well-organized reception desk we were soon on
the first tee, being given A & B nines to test our skills “or lack of.”
The condition of this course over the previous months has been excellent and
today was no exception. Added to this was the pace and trueness of the
greens, all players saying after the game that they were the fastest they
could recall, and also the fact that the greens were able to hold long shots
played into them. The management here have done a tremendous job of raising
this course to its present standard.
Winning the day with an excellent score of 39 points was Adam Williams, a
newcomer to the Bowling Green, and with a new handicap for next week!
Smylie’s storming six
Golf from P J Pool Bar
Neil Duncan
Tuesday, February 19, The Emerald (White tees) -
Stableford
A Flight (0-12)
1st Jeff Wylie (8) 39pts
2nd Romao Ocerajo (10) 34pts
3rd David Gardner (8) 33pts
B Flight (13-21)
1st Bob Stewart (14) 34pts
2nd Jim Walton (21) 29pts
3rd Wally Curby (19) 29pts
C Flight (22-up)
1st Paul Smylie (27) 34pts
(20 points after 6 holes!)
2nd Brian Hardwidge (27) 31pts
3rd Ron Bullock (30) 26pts
Twenty-six of us made the trip to The Emerald, which as usual was in
excellent condition. The Management Committee also referred to by some as
‘Good Old David’ (hereafter referred to by these initials for the sake of
simplicity) decided to play three divisions this day and those with a
mathematical leaning will be able to work out the good chances of getting
some money back in return for the 200 baht entry fee.
Near pin winners in course order were Roy Pimblett, Brian Hardwidge, Peter
Wilson and Romao Ocerajo. Gordon Long had the longest first putt on the 18th
green and the average score for the day on cards returned was 28 points.
Friday, February 22, Plutaluang N & W (White Tees) –
Stableford
A Flight (0–15)
1st Bob Drumm (12) 35pts
2nd Frank Waterhouse (15) 33pts
3rd Malcolm Rulston (12) 30pts
B Flight (16–19)
1st Bob Stewart (17) 34pts
2nd Peter Fitton (18) 33pts
3rd Dennis Jaycock (18) 31pts
C Flight (20-up)
1st Ron Bullock (26) 31pts
2nd Tony Chetland (23) 31pts
3rd Jim Walton (21) 30pts
Switching to Friday this week to reduce pressure on the course over the
public holiday on Thursday, twenty-six players again participated to take on
Navy’s North and West nines.
Near pin went to Jim Smith, Ron Bullock, Steve Lunt and Paul Smylie whilst
Bob Stewart sunk the longest first putt on the 18th green.
The average score for the 24 cards returned was a tad under 28 points, which
being much the same as Tuesday questions the widely held belief that Navy
North and West (‘The Cobra’) are much more difficult than The Emerald.
Note: Any golfers seeking to play with our group that wish to know
about our format please visit P J Pool Bar & Restaurant on Soi
Watboonsamphan (Soi Kanoi) or phone Neil on 089 511 0575.
The Beautiful Game?:
Riz Taylor
Spurs shape up for the Cup
Sunday’s victory for Tottenham Hostpur over Chelsea in
the League Cup Final, and a deserved one at that, is good news not only for
the long-suffering White Hart Lane faithful but also for every other
follower of the beautiful game.
I’m not sure about you, but the highlight of the domestic cup competitions
is rarely ever the final itself these days. Since Liverpool, Arsenal,
Chelsea and Manchester United accelerated away from the chasing pack in
financial muscle it’s all been something of a procession in the cup
competitions. Far from being viewed as a meaningless competition, I’d have
to disagree and say that as things stand, the League Cup should also be
known as the ‘Supporters Cup.’
Ok, so the competition is never going to be a top priority for the big boys
over other competitions like the Premier and Champions Leagues but Chelsea,
with Israeli manager Avram Grant looking for his first piece of silverware
at Stamford Bridge, certainly took the game very seriously indeed on Sunday.
The looks of distress and disbelief around the star-studded squad at the
final whistle and the petulant John Terry collecting his loser’s medal said
everything and made Spurs’ achievement all the more memorable.
Again and again we’re told that the League Cup has little meaning in today’s
game, but rather than the clubs themselves it’s the constant bleating from
the media that continues to belittle the competition. Who cares if the big
sides play weakened sides in the early rounds? It’s entirely their choice.
For all the clubs outside this group the competition is a genuine
opportunity to bring home a trophy for supporters and also a route into
Europe.
It’s a similar equation in Europe. Whilst the holy grail is the European
Champions League because of the pots of cash offered just for turning up,
the UEFA Cup is possibly even more exciting – and particularly in the
earlier rounds - due to the fact that wheelbarrows full of television cash
ISN’T available. It makes the competition more genuine.
The current holders of the UEFA Cup are Sevilla, managed at the time by
Juande Ramos, now of course the head man at White Hart Lane. He brings with
him an insatiable appetite for silverware and a staggering record in
knockout tournaments that include two straight UEFA Cups and a Spanish Cup
in the last two seasons.
The key to his success lies not just in tactical awareness and perhaps an
element of luck, but also in fitness. The Tottenham squad are still trying
to lose weight after Ramos decided they were 100kg collectively overweight
shortly after his arrival.
Spurs new fitness coach Marcos Alvarez told Spanish radio station Cadena
SER: “Taking into account the players’ size, the team was basically 100kg
over. We realised straight away that the team was carrying excess baggage.
They have now lost between 40 and 50kg, but getting the rest off is the most
difficult part.”
“That has taken a huge pressure off us,” said Ramos after Sunday’s win. “The
team have been improving little by little. They have shown they are able to
concentrate, to fight with the best, and the key was not making mistakes.
They managed that. It’s been a unique experience and one I hope to repeat in
the future.”
Trimmed-down Tottenham made a mark for the chasing pack on Sunday and also
breathed life into a cup competition that has been dying a death in recent
seasons. Add that to the confidence booster the squad will take from the
club’s first trophy in nine seasons, and it’s quite clear that the League
Cup still has a place in English football. Whilst we’re at it, can we bring
back the European Cup Winners’ Cup as well?
Eduardo out
I’m sure by now you’ll have seen THAT challenge by Birmingham’s
Martin Taylor on Arsenal forward Eduardo on Saturday. Truly horrific stuff,
and let’s all hope that the youngster makes a full and complete recovery.
But it won’t be easy. A number of players never return from nasty breaks
such as this one, and those that do often fail to perform at the same level
again. It’s a reminder of what a short career football can be, and this is
one of those times when you don’t begrudge players for taking home enough
wages in a month to last a lifetime in Pattaya.
Eduardo, who suffered compound fractures of the tibia and fibula, told
Arsenal’s website: “I don’t remember the incident very well and it is not
something that I want to see again on television or in the newspapers. All I
remember is that when I fell I looked down at my foot and it had turned the
other way. The rest is just a blank. It was an unfortunate situation but
these things can happen in football.
“I am unsure of the extent of the injury and how long I will be out of
action for but I know that I won’t be able to play for Arsenal for the rest
of the season or be ready in time for the Euros this summer,” he continued.
“But I’m not worried about that. My concentration and determination is on
making as quick a recovery as possible.”
We wish him well.
Close - But no cigar
Diehard fans of English League Two club Rochdale went to
extraordinary lengths to try and thaw out the pitch in time for a home match
against Notts County last week.
The fans scattered around 40 oil drums around the frozen playing surface at
their Spotland ground burning wood and coal in the hope of keeping the pitch
soft enough to play.
Desperate requests for more fuel were made on Tuesday but despite the
efforts of the club’s groundstaff and fans working in sub-zero temperatures,
the match fell victim to the severe frosts and was postponed.
“Our fans have proved they are simply the best and we can’t thank them
enough,” club chairman Chris Dunphy said. “We will continue to keep the
fires burning because we have a massively important game on Saturday. Though
we have lots of wood now we need more braziers so we can cover the full
length of the pitch.”
This weekend
Some decent Premier League ties on the box this weekend,
including Birmingham at home to Tottenham, the increasingly desperate Fulham
at home to Manchester United, West Ham and Chelsea, Aston Villa’s visit to
Arsenal and a nervous-looking Newcastle at home to Blackburn Rovers.
West Bromwich Albion at Plymouth should be interesting down in the
Championship, but back in the top flight the tie of the weekend is on Sunday
as seventh-placed Portsmouth visit Everton, two spots above in fifth. I’m
going for two-all.
McAllister walks it - almost
Phoenix Golf Club Thursday Men’s Golf
Mike Gerrard
This was the first of a new idea to have a men’s day at Phoenix. A
change from playing golf against ladies in the same flight but from
different tees. Something I have been trying to advocate for sometime now,
(without any apologies).
Only two tee times were booked for the first week, and they were both filled
very early. No more last minute panics at the clubhouse. Also another new
concept is that all players go into the hat for a draw for tee times and
partners - much more sociable.
Today, the rest of the field were left way behind by Neil McAllister who won
with 37 points, playing from white tees on the Lakes and Ocean course. The
heading says “walks it – almost.” He actually had a cart all the way round.
Newcomer ‘Big’ Lennie Bantleman managed to push ‘yours truly’ out of second
spot on count back, both finishing with 31 points. No wonder, Lennie is now
residing in Pattaya after 7 years of taking care of Ernie Els. However, I
have to say the swing is not quite the same.
Technical prizes today consisted of 2’s only, but with only a field of 8
there were two 2’s today, which were recorded by ‘Big’ Lennie and Brian
Chaloner, both of whom chipped-in on par 3’s.
The general idea for Thursday golf at Phoenix will be a stableford comp for
3 weeks of the month and maybe a medal day from the back tees on the last
Thursday of the month.
At this point in time there are three tee times booked each week, but as the
field grows we will try to increase, but to a maximum of five tee times
only.
Registration is limited to no later that 24 hours before the date and by
telephone call to myself (Mike Gerrard) on 087 091 7565)
New ideas will be considered for the future days playing, so that we can
create a fairer situation for all.
Knight has his day
Golf from the Travellers Rest
Barry Hooper
First and foremost I must apologise to our regular readers for not
issuing a report last week. Due to unforeseen circumstances I was in no
position to produce same but we are back on track this week.
 Thursday’s
A Flight winners at Greenwood: Patrick Regan, Phil Knight and Mike Wardman.
The week has to go to Phil Knight and his score of forty-one to take the A
flight at Greenwood on Thursday. He was a full three points ahead of his
nearest rivals on the day.
Monday’s highest at Pattana was Sunny Khanna with thirty-eight, Tuesday at
Treasure Hill had John Merritt top of the order also with a thirty-eight,
and Saturday at Eastern Star had Rob Herald throw in a forty-pointer, a good
four up on Tony Perry in second spot.
Monday, February 18, Pattana - Stableford
A Flight (0-18)
1st Sunny Khanna (14) 38pts
2nd Brendan Moore (13) 36pts
3rd Patrick Poussier (18) 35pts
4th Graham Liddy (17) 35pts
B Flight (19-up)
1st Neil Allison (20) 37pts
2nd Peter Basi (21) 37pts
3rd Alan Evans (25) 35pts
4th Andy Rich (20) 33pts
Near Pins: Pierre Cere, Peter Blok, John Hobbs, Bart Renolds
2’s: Pierre Cere, Peter Blok, Frank Courtney
Monday and a visit to Pattana A & B courses and what a refreshing change. A
good turnout with two flights and prizes down to four places in both
flights. Sunny Khanna was top in A Flight with Brendan Moore in second spot.
Neil Allison took the B with his thirty-seven points, winning on count back
from Peter Basi.
Tuesday, February 19, Treasure Hill - Stableford
A Flight (0-14)
1st John Merritt (14) 38pts
2nd Frank O’Hara (11) 34pts
3rd Phil Knight (12) 31pts
4th Robert Dearnley (12) 31pts
B Flight (15-20)
1st Tewin Lamthong (18) 31pts
2nd Keith Marsden (17) 28pts
3rd Derek Lucas (19) 28pts
4th Tony Perry (15) 27pts
C Flight (21 up)
1st Bob Short (24) 35pts
2nd David Fox (20) 28pts
3rd Laurie Bevan (28) 26pts
4th Ann Hiranya (30) 25pts
Near Pins: Tony Perry, Tewin Lamthong, Greg Mason, Michael Cox
2’s: Kevin Read, Tewin Lamthong
Tuesday and Treasure Hill was the venue with a very large turnout and three
full flights.
C Flight went to Bob Short on 35 points with David Fox second on 28. B
Flight had Tewin Lamthong at the top on 31 points with Keith Marsden three
back for second on 28. A Flight saw John Merritt take top honours with his
38 points and four clear of Frank O’Hara in second. Phil Knight was
obviously using this as a warm up for later in the week and held third spot
with 31 points.
Thursday, February 21, Greenwood A & C – Stableford
A Flight (0-14)
1st Phil Knight (12) 41pts
2nd Patrick Regan (9) 38pts
3rd Mike Wardman (12) 38pts
4th Richard Dearnley (14) 34pts
B Flight (15-20)
1st Neil Allison (19) 36pts
2nd Roger Wilkinson (15) 35pts
3rd Brian Gabe (17) 33pts
4th Sean Murphy (18) 32pts
C Flight (21-up)
1st Bob Short (23) 38pts
2nd Barry Hooper (36) 36pts
3rd Pat Murphy (24) 33pts
4th David Mealy (24) 32pts
Near Pins: Pat Murphy, Peter Ingham, Frank Kelly, Zed Beloglavec
2’s: Tom McDowell, Pat Murphy, Zed Baloglavec
Thursday at Greenwood and I was fortunate enough on this occasion to
actually participate on a weekday.
Three flights today with C taken by Bob Short’s 38 points for his second win
of the week, your scribe was second with 36 points, putting in my highest
score since I started playing the sport just six months ago. Pat Murphy was
in third with 33.
The B Flight had Neil Allison first with 36 points, one back on 35 was Roger
Wilkinson for second and in third was Brian Gabe on 33.
The A Flight saw Phil Knight after the Tuesday warm up take first place with
41 points and a three-point margin over second man Patrick Regan, who won a
count back over Mike Wardman.
Saturday, February 2, Eastern Star (White Tees) -
Stableford
A Flight (0-16)
1st Rob Herald (15) 40pts
2nd Tony Perry (13) 35pts
3rd John Merritt (15) 35pts
4th Mod Chaviraksa (16) 35pts
B Flight (17-up)
1st Greg Mason (19) 35pts
2nd Andy Galvin (20) 35pts
3rd Peter Ingham (25) 34pts
4th Dereki Lucas (19) 33pts
Near Pins: Greg Mason, Brian Gabe, Peter Ingham, Fergus Brennan
2’s: Frank O’Hara, Fergus Brennan, Greg Mason, Brian Gabe
Saturday and another of the regular weekend visits to Eastern Star. Just the
two flights and down to four places honoured.
B Flight had Derek Lucas fourth with 33 points whilst one up in third was
Peter Ingham on 34. The top two places were again decided on a count back
fight between Andy Galvin and Greg Mason, both on 35 points, with Greg
taking the honour of first place.
A Flight saw a count back battle for the third and fourth spots between Mod
Chaviraksa and John Merritt, both 35 points, with John just edging it. In
second was Tony Perry on 36 points, but a clear four points up in top spot
was Rob Herald with his 40.
The Square Ring: by Howie Reed
There is no doubt but that the state of the heavyweight
division is dismal. Here are two perfect examples.
Professional boxing (of sorts) came to Dubai recently when rather long
in-the-tooth former heavy champ Michael Moorer (52-4-1) needed just 32
second of the first round to KO Shelby Gross (16-4).
Not nearly as kind was Wladimir Klitschko (50-3) who allowed Sultan
Ibragimov (22-1-1) to stick around for 12 sleep-inducing rounds at
Madison Square Garden last Sunday. Klitschko got the UD, which The
Square Ring scored as 118-113. Klitschko now owns the WBO/IBF/IBO
heavyweight titles - and probably the wishes of those that paid to see
the fight that he stay the hell out of New York. Klitschko’s trainer
Emamuel Steward, between rounds 11 and 12, put it best: “Knock this guy
out. Going 12 rounds with this guy is bad.” Good call Emanuel.
Former pro-boxer and restaurateur to the stars of Pattaya, The Flying
Frog echoes the above sentiment.
“What a boring fight, I thought this was an amateur fight! For having 52
fights, Klitschko winning a fight with one hand by only using his left
jab, that’s what I did in my first 3 amateur fights. Also Sultan trying
to use the 2 shots he knows - one to the stomach and the left hook -
none of the two landed, not even one time. Klitschko only hit him 3
times with a right hand and Sultan didn’t even move. Come on guys, where
are we going? Klitschko calling himself undisputed heavyweight of the
world means nothing. Can you image these guys against Mike Tyson in the
old days?”
The Frog knows his boxing.
On the undercard Irishman John Duddy, now living and fighting out of New
York, got his fanny kicked by Walid Smichet but still got the “hometown”
win. Duddy (24-0) looked over-matched as Canadian Smichet busted up his
face and induced a “vicious cut” on his left eyelid. This was supposed
to be a tune-up fight for Diddy-Pavlik in June. Bad idea.
Judges sometimes see things in a different light and not only in “banana
dictator” boxing places. On the Pavlik-Taylor undercard in Las Vegas the
other week was the WBC super-flyweight battle between champion Cristian
Mijares (34-3-2) and Jose Navarro (26-4). Steve Carp is the boxing
writer for the Las Vegas Urinal.
“It was a controversial 12-round split-decision for WBC champion
Cristian Mijares. Judges Adelaide Byrd and Chris Wilson had Mijares
winning 117-113 and 115-113. Doug Tucker had Navarro, who took a
pummeling, winning all 12 rounds.”
One website called Tucker’s card bizarre which is probably being kind.
Any fights of local interest last week? Yep. At the Town Hall of Bankwao
in Chiyaphum, WBC #4 feather Chonlatarn Or Piriyapinyo extended his win
streak to 23 with nary a loss via a KO of Amor Tino. Tino now slips to
4-2.
At the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Denkaosan Singwancha (41-1-1)
won all 6 rounds over Filipino Ariel Austria. As Austria is 3-15, this
might be a bout to not report or even notice. Might want to give
Singwancha a pass on this one as he fought well against Takefumi Sakata
last November. The fighters drew when contesting the WBC flyweight
title. Maybe this was just a tune-up for a rematch.
Veerapol Nakornluang (61-3-2) would still be the WBC bantam champ if he
hadn’t run into Hozumi Hasegawa first in ’05 and then in ’06. Veerapol
ruled the WBC bantam division from 1996 to 2005, rolling up a record 11
title defenses. Since his KO at the hands of Hasegawa he’s run off 9
wins on the trot. The latest was Friday night at the Tupatemi Airforce
Central Stadium in Bangkok. It’s reported that a “left uppercut” did the
damage at 1:45 of the 3rd. Veerapol is ranked #1 by the WBC so maybe
another shot at Hasegawa is in the works. Third time the charm? Could
be.
Thailand’s Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (72-9) gets another shot at a world
title and a rematch this Sunday. This time he’ll be going after the WBO
bantam title held by “tough as nails” Gerry Penalosa (52-6) of the
Philippines. This will be the second meeting of the two. The first
meeting in November of 2000 had Penalosa winning via 6th round TKO.
Penalosa had a strange 2007. First he had a chance to win the WBO/IBA
super-bantam title against Daniel Ponce de Leon. He got blown out
120-108, 119-109 twice. As a reward for that loss, Penalosa got a shot
at the WBO bantam title held by Jhonny Gonzales. Penalosa surprised the
experts and Gonzales with a 7th round KO.
Vorapin, a professional since 1992, has seen it all. He’s 4-1 in world
title bouts having won the WBO bantam title from Mauricio Martinez in
2005 in Phuket via a majority decision. Vorapin only held the title for
a little over two months when he got clocked in 7 by Jhonny Gonzales.
Hard to see Vorapin getting a win, especially fighting on Penalosa’s
home turf.
Some may remember a few weeks back when both the Z Gorres and Vic
Darachinyan camps complained about the work of New Zealand referee Lance
Revill following their dust-up draw in the Philippines. Now comes word
from Cousin Bruce McTavish, a Kiwi living in Angeles City and referee
“par excellent,” that Revill recently suffered a heart attack. Heart
attacks are not funny and hopefully Revill will have a speedy and
complete recovery.
Ronnie Nathanielsz writes a column in the Philippines called Inside
Sports. In a recent column titled, ‘To err is human and to
forgive divine’, Mr. Nathanielsz wrote, “The concern stemmed from the fact
that (maybe) Revill suffered the attack while reading some really harsh
if not vicious articles criticizing the way he handled the highly
controversial IBF super-flyweight title fight between Z “The Dream”
Gorres and Australia’s Vic Darchinyan.”
Mr. Nathanielsz removes from the equation the fact that Mr. Revill’s
actions or inactions could also have affected a young person’s life or
career. Honest sports writers are not in the “forgiving” or “divine”
business. That’s God’s job. Honest sports writers are supposed to write
about the way it is or was with warts and all. To do anything else would
be a violation of the duty every journalist should honor. Of course they
don’t, but they should.
From all reports referee Revill was in over his head in a major fight
with hostile fans. It’s not his fault that he was in that position.
Blame the IBF the sanctioning body who equate ability to attending some
stupid “let’s place out soup coolers on someone’s backside” convention.
Mr. Revill is not a villain but just someone put in a place where he
didn’t belong. Yes Jeeves, just like me trying to write Shakespeare.
Boxing’s biggest draw and money maker, Oscar de La Hoya (38-5), will
have two fights in the coming year. The first will be outdoors at a
soccer pitch called the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, which
is really LA. His opponent will be Las Vegas resident Stevie Forbes
(33-5) who has had more ups and downs than a Yo-Yo. Good guy but
sometimes his train leaves the track. The May 3 fight will be billed as
a “Cinco de Mayo Celebration.” Of course it’s really Tres de Mayo but
close enough for the Golden Boy and Alta Mexico as California is called.
Now for the last time, Cinco de Mayo is the day that Mexicans celebrate
beating the French at war (when beating the French was a big deal). Let
the Coronas flow and the Pinatas’ get Pinatas.’ One suspects that Forbes
will play the Pinata and De La Hoya the whacker as Oscar tunes up for a
September 9 rematch with Floyd Mayweather jr. in Las Vegas.
Forbes, as mentioned somewhere in here, is a good guy but a little
quirky. His nickname is “2-pounds.” Here’s the deal on that. Forbes won
the IBF super-feather title from John Brown in December of 2000. The
rematch was held but Forbes missed the weight by “2-pounds,” so even
thought he eked out an SD he lost the title. Hence the moniker
“2-pounds,” although unlike a lot of boxing nicknames I’ve never heard
anyone say, “Yo 2-pounds, what be the haps?”
Forbes has a Thai connection. In 2004 he tried to take the WBA
super-feather title from Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai at the Foxwoods Resort
& Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. It was Yodsanan’s first title
defense of the crown that he won via a TKO in 7 from Ryuhei Sugita in
Japan. Yodsanan laid a 117-111 whipping on Forbes.
The Thai’s next defense was in Madison Square Garden where Vincente
Mosquera laid a UD (118-109, 116-111, 115-112) on him for the title.
Nanthachaiw was down in rounds 1, 3 and 11 while Mosquera hit the deck
in the third for the first time in his career. Since that fight Yodsanan
(53-3) has fought only in Thailand against questionable talent. Mosquero
(24-2) lost the title in August of ’06 to Edwin Yalero and hasn’t been
heard from since.
Even though Forbes has lost 2 of his last 3 he’ll get a great payday,
Oscar will get a tune up fight and the public will get to see Oscar live
and free on “almost free TV” for the first time since 2000.
The fact is that the boxing calendar is filling up quite nicely, thank
you. Ricky Hatton’s folks have apparently decided that his May 24 fight
will take place at the City of Manchester Stadium. That’s the report out
of the Manchester Evening News. The same source indicates that
Juan Lazcano (37-4) will be the opponent. If it is Lazcano give the nod,
big time, to Hatton. Lazcano’s hasn’t fought since February of ’07 when
he lost to Vivian Harris. Harris would then get KO’d next out by Junior
Whitter (35-1-1) in the Doncaster Dome for the WBC light welter title.
Another name tossed out there is South African Isaac Hlatshwayo (27-1)
who is the IBO (I Be Ordinary) welter champ. Many would like to see
Hatton-Whitter but it ain’t going to happen.
King Arthur Abraham (25-0), IBF middleweight champ, is going to have to
step up to the plate and fight a name or remain “Who?” Arthur fights
March 29 in Germany against Elvin Ayala (18-2). This is a joke. Ayala
hasn’t beaten anyone that could even with a stretch of the imagination
be called “competent.” Ayala’s two losses were to David Banks who has
lost 3 out of 4, albeit against good competition.
Some had Arthur penciled in against Kelly Pavlik June 7 in Madison
Square Garden. No-way Jose. Palvik is promoted by Bob Arum so his
opponent will also be promoted by Bob Arum. That means it will be John
Duddy or Felix Trinidad.
“Your Lordship, what do you call a deer with no eyes? No eye deer? Ok,
what do you call a deer with no legs and no eyes? Still no eye deer your
Lordship? I know, lager, cigars and music.”
Rasmusson shoots 65
to take the ‘Mug’
PSC golf from The Café Kronborg
Derek Brook
Monday, February 18, Royal Lakeside –
Stableford
Royal Lakeside was the host for a stableford competition
in two flights with the cut at handicap 18. As usual the course was
in stupendous condition with fast hard greens.
 Jesper
Rasmusson (left) receives the Monthly Mug from ‘Mine Host’ Bjarne.
The ever-steady Ebrahim won the A Flight with 38 points from Brian Gabe
in second on count back from Maurice Herberge in third, both with 37
points. Walter Bachli was in fourth on count back from Doug Good, both
with 36 points.
Jasper Rasmusson took the B Flight with 38 points ahead of Jan Lovgren
in second with 37 points. Leif Kirkegaarde was third on a count back
over Henry O’Brien in fourth, both with 36 points.
Near Pins: John Marritt, Dave Neal, Dave Richardson, Brian
Blackford
Long Putt: Don Richardson, John Marritt
Wednesday, February 2, Pattaya C.C. – Stroke Monthly
Mug
Well this is the competition that sorts out the men from the
boys. Stableford is Ok, but every once in a while all real golfers like
to test themselves and the only way is to play Medal. This month we
brought the day forward to Wednesday because of the very special day on
Thursday.
The only problem on this day was that the course was hard and dry and
the wind was howling. It was very dry with patches of hard sand covering
areas all over. It is always difficult to hit a ball off rock hard
ground. I remember a time in the ‘distant’ past when this course had the
best grass covered fairways around and the ball used to sit up.
Also the greens here are hard and very fast but the holes are getting
ragged and should be moved. Maybe they can’t make a new hole in the hard
ground!
On the day the course was nice and empty and we managed to get around
really fast with no hold up ahead. However with a hard course and a
strong wind it was expected the scores would be, ‘not very good’.
Back at The Cafe Kronborg we awaited the scores and we had at least one
good one. In the A Flight (0-19) the winner was Mike Rushant with a net
74, with Elias Magnusson in second with a net 75 and in third was
Maurice Herberge with a net 76 on count back over Cordell Fulton in
fourth.
In the B Flight, the winner was Art Bailey with a net 70 over Carole
Kubicki in second on count back. Of note was Arthur winning and walking
around, and at 79 years young, one we can respect. In third place was
Kenny Chung with a net 72 and in fourth was Henry O’Brien with a net 76.
So to the winner, and continuing his good form of late, Jesper Rasmusson
won very comfortably with a fine net 65. Well-done Jesper. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Art Bailey (2), Graham Buckingham, Agnes Gardner
Long Putt: Gordon Clegg, Maurice Herberge
Kraft on the mark once more
PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar
Well, we are getting into the third week of February. It seems that it was
only last week that we were celebrating Christmas. As the old saying
goes, time waits for no one.
 Tuesday’s
winner Paul Kraft (right) with runner-up Herbie Ishinaga.
The basic group was there as we teed off before 7 AM. Paul Kraft was up
to his old tricks as he hammered his drives and was again on top of his
game. This has been going on for the past few months. Paul was cringing
as he turned in his card knowing that he is going to get chopped, not at
the knees but down to his ankles. Playing another great round, Paul came
in with 40 point to take the honors for the day. For a Super Senior, he
is shooting great, great golf.
Coming in second place was his running mate Herb Ishinaga. Herb was
looking good until the turn. Doing the same as last week, he fell apart
on the second half. Herb scored 38 points - 20 points on the first nine
and 18 on the back. Paul on the other hand had 15 points on the front
and 25 points on the back.
Running a close third was Fast Eddie. He tried to close the gap but only
managed 37 points to take third place by himself. Eddie had 21 points on
the front, but like Herb, he faded on the back nine.
Banjo in tune - again
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral
The Pattaya Golf Society’s Sunday roadshow continued at
Plutaluang on February 16 when the South and East nines were the chosen
track, on a fine day and an empty course.
As usual the single flight took to the course in eager anticipation of a
good day and hopes were high as some of the fancied candidates and usual
contenders had returned to the UK. Japanese golfer Kazu Agune is still
here however, and his steady 36 points took a share of third place with
newest PGS member Mark Morris who debuted with a similar score. One
point ahead was the ubiquitous David Thomas whose consistency was
rewarded with 37 points for second place.
The day’s best gross once again was achieved by Paul McNally, a fine 76,
but the main honours were reserved for the performance of Richard
“Banjo” Bannister whose fine 39 points were the epitome of a man in
form. He currently leads the group’s “Player of the Month” standings and
he will take some beating over the next few rounds.
An example of the honesty of golfers was the case of Jim Bell’s putt on
the first when, unknown to him at address, his caddy had placed the
wrong ball down and only after he had holed out did Jim realise his
mistake, and called his infringement. That’s what golf is all about.
The day’s birdie 2’s pot was shared by Bob Boyle, Syd Harrison, Vic
Barton and Mikael Lindberg and for Syd there was also the Booby Bevy as
he had chosen to return to the UK after this round. He’ll be back for
more golf with the OK Corral later in the year.
Khao Kheow back with a bite
Because of travel difficulties Khao Kheow has been off the
map for the Pattaya Golf Society for the past few months but now, as the
situation on Highway 7 has improved, it’s time to revisit the fine
course.
So it was then on Tuesday February 19, that the group called to play a
stableford competition on the C and A nines on a well presented course
and with a high wind to add to the spice of the day. The two flights
were cut at sixteen and under with the lower handicappers going off the
yellow tees and the rest going off the whites.
The course was to live up to its reputation as a fine test of golf and
only three golfers managed to get to par. In the white flight Vic Barton
and Bob Boyle tied for third place with 33 points each whilst two
in-form golfers, Jim Bell and Kazu Agune, recorded level par thirty
sixes for a share of the victory.
In the yellow flight Canadian golfer Brian Beaupre took third with a
finely crafted 33 points, achieving the day’s best gross of eighty in
the process, whilst Peter Masters went one better, his 34 points being
good enough for second. Make way for Rick Schramm, currently running on
turbo, who took Crystal Bay last week with forty points, and he followed
it up with an excellent level par performance this time to take the
flight victory.
The two birdie 2’s were shared by Brian Beaupre, C8, and Mikael Lindberg
on A5, and as Mikael had preceded his birdie with six consecutive
“blobs”, he was an automatic choice for the Booby Bevy.
It was good to return to the quality course at Khao Kheow.
Another “Master’s Class” at Greenwood
The most important competition in the month for the Pattaya
Golf Society at the OK Corral is the strokeplay medal event and this
month Greenwood was the chosen course on Macha Buccha Day, Thursday,
February 21. Needless to say the course was full but the quality of this
place is such that a large field turned out to play.
Greenwood didn’t disappoint and the course was finely set up with some
very fast greens and Thompson’s passion for reading every green
carefully was to pose problems for those golfers with “temporary”
caddies. Scores were destined to be tight on the C and A nines and David
Thomas, Stuart Thompson and Vic Barton did well to come in with net 71’s
for a share of second place.
The best golf of the day was exhibited by Peter Masters and his net 68
celebrated his week’s break from teaching chores. It was quality all
round and two-under at the turn only strengthened his resolve to build
on it and his similar back nine emphasized his consistency.
The three birdie 2’s gave shares of the pot to “Banjo” Bannister, Mike
Earley and John Mason and Len Jones’s day was complete when he was
awarded the Booby Bevy after a trying day coping with some reluctant
reception staff, telephonic interruptions and his own inability to focus
one hundred percent.
But golf was to be the winner on a day when Peter Masters’ performance
helped to set up a tight race for the Society’s “Player of the Month”
trophy with only three events to go. Current standings and other news
and features can be seen at Pattaya’s best golf website at
www.thebunkerboys.com
The week belongs to Martin Grimoldby
IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, February 18, Khao Kheow,
Stableford
1st Martin Grimoldby 40pts
2nd Brian Beaupre 34pts
3dr Ian Bakewell 34pts
4th Trevor Schirmer 32pts
5th Glyn Nicholas 31pts
6th Alan Griffiths 31pts
Off the yellow tees, which are now playing over 200 yards more than
shown on the official card, and even though three counting players
played within the buffer zone, the conditions were so difficult that the
CSS on the day moved out to 73.
This made Martin Grimoldby’s four-under handicap even more remarkable
and was further underscored by the six-shot margin of victory over two
of the 5 handicappers in the field who trailed him into the clubhouse.
The first of these was Brian Beaupre, who can always be relied upon to
be there or there abouts, just getting the better of Ian Bakewell on the
very tight count back after both had bettered handicap on the outward
half.
Trevor Schirmer led the best of the rest by a shot from Glyn Nicholas
who in turn just pipped Alan Griffiths for the last place on the podium.
Martin Grimoldby and Russell Exley shared the 2’s in the first division
and as usual when he plays, Glyn Nicholas, who had only played because
he thought it was a triple roll over, had the only one in the second
division.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new member Alan Heywood
and Ayako Pueschl.
Wednesday, February 20, Mountain Shadow - Pairs
Scramble
1st Alan Griffiths & Fred Land 48pts
2nd Russell Exley & La Keith 46pts
3rd Barry Traynor & Tony Barritt 46pts
4th Phil Groves & Yasuo Suzuki 44pts
5th Alan Howell & Frank Hughes 43pts
6th Paul Taylor & Doug Campbell 42pts
7th Roar Berger & Ole Stamnes 42pts
8th Barry Winton & Stephen Beard 40pts
9th Trevor Schirmer & B.J. Smith 39pts
10th Alan Duffy & Mike Flynn 38pts
Off the blue tees the monthly 2-person scramble is always a hotly
contested affair and this month’s competition was no exception with Alan
and Fred starting out as hot favourites and finishing as predicted. They
were closely chased home by Russell and La, a couple of shots behind, as
they in turn just edged out Barry and Tony for third with a stunning
count back, even though they had to endure a round with Barry and
Stephen when every shot was a test of concentration with the continuous
chatter in the background. But to be fair, The Doc had not been out for
a few weeks and there was a lot of catching up to be done
Phil and Yasuo, playing their first pairs together, melded fairly well
as they took fourth place by a shot from Alan and Frank. It was also
good to see Paul and Doug near the top and they could have been so much
better with a quicker start, but they were still good enough to keep
Roar and Ole behind with a better inward half.
Barry and Stephen fitted more like a hand and a shoe than the
traditional pairing but still managed to get it round in under par ahead
of Trevor and B.J., who were just a shadow of their former selves as the
perennial pairs favourites. Alan and Mike got the last mention in a long
list of do-wells.
Due to the format the 2’s competitions were postponed.
Back at The Haven Adi and Tik Meyer were welcomed back prior to the
prize giving.
Friday, February 22, Green Valley - Stableford
Division 1 (0-13)
1st Martin Grimoldby 44pts
2nd Phil Groves 35pts
3rd Brian Beaupre 35pts
Division 2 (14+)
1st Vance Millar 34pts
2nd Chris Knapp 34pts
3rd Alan Griffiths 34pts
4th Brian Kelly 34pts
Once again it was Martin Grimoldby with an exhilarating gross 72 off his
8-handicap that took the first division by storm. His round included a
treble and five birdies, and it promised much more after birdying the
first three holes, but as is very normal in those circumstances, he
suddenly realised that he was heading for a very low round and the
pressure began to mount and the shots slipped away. In the event 44 was
a very, very good result and certainly no less than he deserved to cap
an outstanding farewell to his Pattaya week.
Phil Groves, with a steady one-over, lagged a bit adrift but was still
hot enough over the last few holes to easily take the count back from
Brian Beaupre in third.
The second division was very closely contested with Vance Millar taking
his first win out of Soi 13 for some considerable time. He had to rely
on a very good back nine after a slow start, which saw a nil return for
the first three holes until he got his bearings and buckled down to
snatch it away from Cap’n Chris Knapp. The Cap’n also just managed to
pip Alan Griffiths, now a stranger to the second division, on the last 6
as Alan tired badly. Brian Kelly was another to slow down on the inward
nine after a promising beginning.
With Glyn Nicholas not playing it was of little surprise that there were
no 2’s in the second division but Alan Griffiths, with one and Martin
Grimoldby with two shared the first division.
Before the presentation Magne Gunnarson was welcomed back and there was
a big farewell to the man of the week, Martin Grimoldby, who has to
return to his weekday job in the UK for a couple of weeks or so, much to
the relief of the rest of the first division contenders.
Treasure Hill humbles the field
IPGC golf from Donovan’s
Monday, February 18, The Emerald
(White tees) - Stableford
1st Des Griffith (8) 43pts
2nd Doug Hollingworth (11) 35pts
It was a sparkling gross 73 by Des Griffith and with it he said hello to
the top step of the podium and goodbye to his six-handicap. Doug
Hollingworth had the better inward nine to take the second step of the
podium out of the grasp of old friend Brian Kelly
Wednesday, February 20, Treasure Hill (White tees) -
Stableford
1st Struart Hibberd (8) 31pts
2nd Phil Mitchell (6) 30pts
2’s: None
The single digits dominated the field but not the golf course as mates
Stuart Hibberd and Flipper topped the prize giving with very modest
scores of 31 points and 30 points apiece. But the money still got spent.
Friday, February 22, Bangpra (White tees) - Stableford
1st Steve Mascari (41) 40pts
2nd Des Griffith (6) 35pts
3rd Jim Bell (20) 34pts
2’s: None
It was a week of “no-2’s” but there were still accomplishments (witness
Des Griffith’s gross 73 on Monday) and the best of the week was provided
on this day by The President who shot 72 off-the-stick on the demanding
and slippery Bangpra layout. The resultant 40 points topped the newly
adjusted Des Griffith by 5 points and newly arrived Jimmy Bell by six.
Nok leads SaBai Friday into
second place with 615 series
Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League
200 Bowlers: Maliny, Ooy,
Bill, Dang, Mai, Nual, Nok, Tui and Rich.
Beaver Bar & Grill did just enough to stay in first
place after splitting their match with the strong House of the Golden
Coin team as both teams struggled with the lane conditions. Nok bowled a
great 615 series with games of 183, 221 and 211 to lead her SaBai Friday
team to a four-point sweep of Brother D and jump into second place.
Tiger had a 527 game for SaBai and Dang rolled a 535 series for Brother
D.
Diamond Shop won all four points from Café Ole with Nual bowling a 561
series and Bill Key had a 554-pin count. Rich Montana bowled games of
183, 197 and 221 for Café Ole but that was not enough to win one point.
Jack Tar won four points from Balls Galore behind Mai’s 216 game, 559
series and Barry’s 549 series. Canada got three points from VFW Post
9876 with both bowlers with Canada bowling a 500 series each. Ooy bowled
a 566 series and Sven a 519 for Canada and Lance had a 542 for VFW.
Montana won four from Café Kronborg led by Maliny’s 206 game, 528 series
and Antero’s 510 series. Kran was best for Café Kronborg with a 516 pin
total.
Doug Campbell takes
it from Sus at the Emerald
PSC golf from the Beaver Bar & Grill
Friday’s winners L-R:
Doug, Ian, Jim, Paul, Sus,
and Eddie with Beaverette Jang.
Trevor Carnahoff
Friday, February 22, The Emerald - Stableford
With 29 players out under ideal conditions, the scoring at
the Beaver Bar Friday outing continues to impress—if you do not shoot
your handicap you are out of the money.
Doug Campbell (Hcp 18) is playing consistently well and is never that
far outside the winner’s circle. This time he took first prize with 38
points on count back from Sus Ige (Hcp 14). Both players scored 19
points on the back nine but Doug managed 14 points on the last six holes
compared to 11 by Sus.
Third prize on count back went to Ian Covill (Hcp 15) returning to the
golfing scene after a long absence to score 36 points, taking out Paul
Kraft (Hcp 21), Eddie Blackwell (Hcp 12), and newcomer Jim Fortune (Hcp
28) respectively all of whom recorded 36 stableford points.
Near pins were awarded to Sus Ige on hole #7 and Walt Straub on hole
#15.
Beaver Bar & Grill hosts golf at Emerald every Friday between 7:30 and
8:45 and on Mondays from March 3 at Green Valley. Sign in at the Emerald
for Friday golf and check tee times at the Beaver Bar for Monday golf.
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