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Thai windsurf team prepares in Spain and France for Beijing Olympics
Members of the Thai
Windsurfing team gather at the King Taksin Monument in Pattaya before
heading off for intensive training in Spain and France.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
The Thai national windsurfing team is practicing intensively in Spain
and France before going to China in August where they will compete in
the Beijing Olympics.
 Thailand
has some outstanding windsurfers and the Kingdom has high hopes of
success at the Beijing Games.
Pattana Bunyasawat, secretary general of the Windsurfing Association of
Thailand introduced three teams of Thai windsurfers at Pattaya City Hall
on March 2, where they prayed at the King Taksin Monument.
Pattana said that hopes are running high for the two star members of the
team, Ek Bunyasawat and Napalai Thansai, who have been performing
outstandingly during practice.
Participants in the Beijing Olympics will be taking part in two
categories: RS:X Men and RS:X Women. They will compete in Spain and
France over the next two months where a program is being followed that
has been certified by the International Sailing Federation.
Following this, they will return to Thailand on May 14 and then go
immediately to Bali where another competition is being staged in
preparation for the Olympics in August.
Late card blues for Doug
PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar
Herb Ishinaga
Tuesday, March 4, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford
It was one of the better days for golf as the weather had
suddenly turned cool again. The scores reflected the conditions as a lot of
the players played to their handicaps. The only problem was that the greens
were over-watered, again making putting difficult.
 Tuesday’s
winner Jim Hearn (left) with runner-up Paul Kraft.
As we stated a couple of weeks ago, the cut off for announcing the winner
for the day would be 12:30 p.m. We believe that most of us start at around 7
a.m. and should be back at the Caddyshack Two within 5½ hours after teeing
off. The fact is that most of us finish our rounds before 11 o’clock.
The winner for the day was Jim Hearn. It was the first time that Jim has
earned this position. Known as “Free Drop Jim” he had a good day scoring 38
points to squeak by Paul Kraft and Herb Ishinaga. Both the latter two came
in with 37 points apiece with Paul winning second on count back.
Herb again had a good front nine but died on the last half. Paul on the
other hand had a great back nine scoring 22 points.
Following the leaders home was Bob Benda. He scored 36 points to round out
the top of the field. Doug Powell, who turned in his card after the 12:30
p.m. cutoff, came in with 39 points!! It was the highest score of the day
but he missed the cutoff and missed the picture taking ceremony. Sorry Doug,
maybe next week will turn out better.
Pattaya City scrape
to a hard fought win
Paul Frain
Week eighteen of the MBMG International League saw Pattaya City move
closer to the Division 1 title with a hard fought victory over the visiting
Bulls Head Brazilians at Horseshoe Point, and thus stay nine points clear of
their nearest rivals Cosmos.
City started the game strongly and nearly went ahead in the 7th minute when
Danny Stevens skipped past the Bulls’ defender on the wing and passed inside
to Mark Brittain who shot wide from a good goal-scoring position.
The Bulls fought back but City’s defence held firm and with the visitors
employing five men in midfield and restricting the space, it seemed chances
were going to be scarce.
A miss-kick by the Bulls keeper nearly let in Carl Old but his shot was
finger tipped over the bar and further chances fell to Danny Stevens and Kai
Heckman but their shots were well saved by the Bulls’ keeper. Half time
arrived with the game still goalless.
Pattaya brought on some substitutes at the break to try and liven things up
and within four minutes of the restart they took the lead. The ball was
cleared from City’s defence and was chased by Emmanuel Tshuma who panicked
the Bulls defender into a poor clearance that went straight to City’s Alan
Mulberry. His first time shot from 35 yards went into the top right hand
corner past the despairing dive of the Bulls’ keeper.
It was the breakthrough City needed and they started to knock the ball
around with more confidence. A strong run down the left side by Emmanuel
Tshuma produced a shot which the Bulls’ keeper saved and moments later a
cross from City’s left full back, Wuttichai Lerkeatjarus, opened up the
Bulls’ defence but there was nobody in a City shirt to finish off the move.
The Bulls only came to the match with eleven players but they showed plenty
of fight and ran and hassled the City players throughout the game. Even when
the referee sent off one of their players in the 74th minute they did not
give up on the cause.
With the minutes ticking down Kai Heckman and Danny Stevens had further
efforts for Pattaya that were just off target and when the referee finally
blew for full time there was a collective sigh of relief in the City camp,
with the three points in the bag and another step closer to the title.
Pattaya City’s next game is at home to second-placed Cosmos on March 29,
kick-off at 4 p.m. This coming Saturday there is a friendly game at
Horseshoe Point starting at 4:30 p.m. Anybody who would like to come along
is most welcome.
Sriracha Football Club spends 5M baht to bring in three foreign players
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The Sriracha League Football Club has purchased three foreign
players for a total of 5 million baht, with the team entering the First
Division this year.
 Chatchai
Timkrajang, the Mayor of the Sriracha municipality (right) presents a team
jersey to Sama Agfa, a new signing from Syria.
Mayor of Sriracha Municipality Chatchai Timkrajang, who is also chairman of
the club, announced on February 27 that private organizations and
educational institutions in the Sriracha area and areas nearby had donated
the money to support the team.
The three new players are Cone Bacary of the Ivory Coast, who will wear the
No 20 shirt, Dummy Maki, also of the Ivory Coast, who will wear No 31, and
Sama Agfa of Syria, who takes the No 12 shirt.
The other players on the team are youngsters from educational institutions
including Assumption School Sriracha, Julapornrachawittayalai School, and
Chonburi Sports School. Importantly, several of the young players are on the
Thai National Youth Team, and the foreign players will give added strength
to the Sriracha side.
The team is regarded as having great potential, as some of the players are
under the age of 20 years and are considered to have a great future in the
sport.
The team, which has ambitions to appear in the Thai Premiere League, are now
seen as being at a similar standard to the Chonburi Football Team and the
Coke Bangpra Team, which are both senior outfits. The hiring of an
experienced coach is also expected to help them progress through the First
Division, which has a total of 16 teams.
Charity bowl will raise funds for Tourist Police volunteers
Charity bowls takes place this
Sunday, March 16 at the PS Bowl, central Pattaya.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Pattaya City, Pattaya-Taksin Lions Club and the Tourist Police are
jointly organizing a fund-raising bowling tournament on March 16.
The Sam Sai Yai Charity Bowling Competition was announced on March 3 at
Pattaya City Hall by Mayor Niran Wattanasartsathorn and city councilor Pisai
Panomwan na Ayuthaya, along with representatives of the Tourist Police and
Pattaya-Taksin Lions Club.
Niran said that the funds raised would go to volunteer officers who work
with the Tourist Police and towards the charitable activities of the
Pattaya-Taksin Lions.
The tournament will be held this coming Sunday at the PS Bowl in central
Pattaya above Tops Supermarket. There will be three team category awards
with trophies plus individual awards to the three highest male and female
bowlers.
Expats team up
for beach football
Eight international teams
will compete in the 3rd Pattaya City International Beach Football
tournament at Jomtien Beach from March 16-23.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Eight countries will compete in the 3rd Pattaya City
International Beach Football event, which will be held over the period
March 16 to 23 on the multipurpose field at Jomtien Beach.
The game is primarily to bring together Thais and expatriates who work
in or near Pattaya.
Deputy Mayor Wattana Chantanawaranon chaired a meeting on March 4 at
Pattaya City Hall to announce the details of the event.
Praiwan Arromchuen, Pattaya City councilor who is organizing the
competition said that along with a Thai team, there would be teams
representing Ireland, Finland, Holland, Germany, England, Norway and
Bangladesh.
Wattana said that not only is the competition an ideal opportunity to
bring together expatriates who will play and watch, but also help to
promote Pattaya’s beach sports both at home and overseas.
The eight teams are being divided into two groups of four teams each.
Wattana announced that Group A will consist of Bangladesh, Ireland,
Finland, and Holland, and Group B of Norway, England, Germany, and
Thailand.
No place for cheats
Golf from the Travellers Rest
Barry Hooper
Cheats do not prosper. Well that is certainly the case if they play
with the TRGG. Unfortunately in all sports there are those who want to win
at all costs. Golf apparently is no different. This past week it was
necessary for the group to disqualify a player for reported infringements of
the rules on the course and upon checking we discovered that the player had
also wrongly declared his handicap.
 Saturday’s
prize winners at Eastern Star with staff members from the Travellers Rest:
Dean Rice, Steve Carleton, Colin Cronin, Dow, Oil and Tan.
This will not be tolerated by the Travellers Rest or by any other golfing
group in Pattaya that comes to mind.
However on a better and lighter note I am happy to report that Tewin
Lamthong is definitely back on form and promptly took two wins in the week.
Monday, March 3, Green Valley - Stableford
A Flight (0-16)
1st Tewin Lamthong (15) 39pts
2nd Ito Akitoshi (8) 34pts
3rd Amphan North (11) 32pts
4th Gerry Power (12) 32pts
B Flight (17-up)
1st Peter Morris (27) 35pts
2nd Greg Mason (18) 31pts
3rd Kurt Bertelson (22) 31pts
4th Neil Morris (18) 31pts
Near Pins: Gerry Power, David Booth, Greg Mason,John Merritt
2’s: Kurt Bertelson and Gerry Power
Monday at Green Valley saw Tewin bounce back to form with 39 points to win
the A Flight. Ito Akitoshi came in second five points back and another lady,
Amphan North, finished third with 32 points.
Peter Morris took the B Flight by four from Greg Mason, with Kurt Bertelson
and Neil Morris in third and fourth respectively.
Tuesday, March 4, Phoenix - Stableford
1st Tewin Lamthong (14) 38pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (15) 35pts
3rd Ray Allison (15) 34pts
4th Steve Carleton (8) 34pts
5th Brendan Abbott (24) 34pts
Near Pins: Paul Hinson and Archie Christie
2’s: None
There was no stopping Tewin, even with a one shot cut in her handicap, as
she followed up Monday’s win with another at Phoenix on Tuesday. Fellow lady
player Mod Chaviraksa came in second, four back, and Ray Allison picked up
third.
Thursday, March 6, Greenwood (White Tees) - Stableford
A Flight (0-17)
1st Brian Gabe (16) 41pts
2nd Steve Carleton (8) 39pts
3rd Eddie Townsend (17) 39pts
4th Zed Beloglavec (11) 37pts
B Flight (18-up)
1st Andy Galvin (21) 41pts
2nd David McFeely (18) 38pts
3rd Neil Morris (18) 37pts
4th Tony Burnett (22) 36pts
Near Pins: Brian Gabe, Eddie Townsend (2) and Steve Carleton
2’s: Steve Carleton
Thursday’s outing to Greenwood again saw a very large turnout in two flights
for this popular course.
The winner of the B flight was Andy Galvin with 41 points, followed by David
McFeely and Neil Morris in second and third.
The A flight, after being corrected for the aforementioned disqualification,
saw Brian Gabe take the win with 41 points, and in second was Steve Carlton
on a count back over Eddie Townsend.
Steve also picked up the only ‘2’ of the day for a sizeable pot including a
carry over from Tuesday and promptly rang the bell back at the bar.
Saturday, March 1, Eastern Star (White Tees) - Stableford
1st Dean Rice (15) 35pts
2nd Steve Carleton (8) 35pts
3rd Andy Galvin (20) 34pts
4th Colin Cronin (19) 32pts
Near Pins: Brendan Moore, Andy Galvin
2’s: None
Saturday and the numbers were down a little for our usual weekend visit to
Eastern Star so we had just the one flight.
Dean Rice topped the honours list after a count back battle with Steve
Carlton, both finishing with 35 points. Andy Galvin was in third on 34
points and (Mr. second), Colin Cronin, found himself in fourth this time
around.
It was refreshing after events earlier in the week to see a player
disqualifying himself after admitting that there had been an inadvertent
infraction of the rules during his round of play. Well done Paul for your
honesty.
Reminder: If anyone is interested in golfing with the Travellers Rest
we play every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We meet at 7:45 a.m.
for breakfast and transportation and new players are always made to feel
welcome. Just call Tewin on 086 056 7019 for further information.
Norman, Alan, Mark & Brian claim the Pattaya AM-AM
IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, March 3, Khao Kheow - AM-AM (Stableford)
1st Norman Isherwood, Alan Griffiths, Mark Cooper, Brian
Kelly 81pts
2nd Roy Thornton, Mikael Andersson, Jeremy Masse, Robbie Bennett 78pts
3rd Trevor Schirmer, Barry Traynor, Brian Libbey, Roar Berger 76pts cb
41
4th Barry Winton, Yasuo Suzuki, Bubbles Davies, Stephen Beard 76pts cb
34
The 13th Pattaya AM-AM was a fairly subdued event this year, as the
inability of the organiser to get more than ten tee times during the
busy season at any reasonably priced quality course saw the usually
large field much reduced.
In spite of the lower numbers of players, the tournament was still very
competitive over the B and C courses, as the wind blew very hard, making
club selection extremely difficult for the whole day. This was reflected
in the scores, which pre-tournament day had been estimated to require
around 12 to 15 under for the winning team (84 – 87 points). AM-AM
scoring is the best two scores per team on each hole with an allowance
of 75% of handicap with a maximum of 18 shots per player.
In the event the scores returned were very good as the wind and very
fast greens made the golf difficult throughout the day.
The day’s winners were Norman, Alan, Mark and Brian who fitted together
well to deny the always dangerous Birdies Boys team, made up of Roy,
Mikael, Jeremy and Robbie, by three.
Third spot was grabbed by the newly formed team consisting of Trevor,
Barry, Brian and Roar who snatched the last podium position from the
weak and failing grasp of Barry, Yasuo, Bubbles and Stephen after the
latter had led the field on the front nine by a fair margin but were
unable to last the pace, dropping seven shots over the last three holes
and finishing 2,2,1 points, against a par of 12.
Back at The Haven the usual buffet was dispensed with but the exhausted
golfers were enlivened when Lumyai blew the horn, as is customary on her
birthday, to start the evenings celebrations off in some style.
To make up for the enforced small competition an extra team event has
been organised for the 17th March on St Patrick’s Day as a team scramble
at Greenwood which will include a prize giving buffet as usual at The
Haven.
Wednesday, March 5, Eastern Star - Stableford
1st Cliff Hornsby 38pts
2nd Barry Traynor 38pts
3rd Brian Libbey 33pts
4th Trevor Schirmer 31pts
In his last competition before returning to The Canary Islands to
scratch together a little more cash to continue building his dream home
for the family in Ban Chang, Cliff Hornsby returned his best round since
getting back to Thailand five months previously. His just got the better
of Barry Traynor over the back nine as the latter faded after a good
start.
Brian Libbey took third place with a so-so round that was good enough on
the day to consign Trevor Schirmer to last place on the podium as the
course condition took its toll on the field.
Surprisingly there were no 2’s in the first division, which meant
another carry over to add to the first one on offer, but Cliff Hornsby
made it a clean sweep of the day with the only one in the second
division.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Stephen Howard, Mark
Cooper and Brian Libbey to the normal day’s events after they had played
in the AM-AM on the previous outing without a mention.
Friday, March 7, Green Valley - Medal
Division 1
1st Kenny Moss net 68
2nd Tony Barritt net 68
3rd Barry Winton net 69
Division 2
1st Chris Knapp net 71
2nd George Pittam net 73
3rd Geoff Picken net 74
Chris Knapp continues to dominate the second division whilst just
playing above or below his handicap and with the rest of the division
never quite able to get into contention on a regular basis, it is
reaping a fair number or results. This day’s event was no exception as
he slipped into first place ahead of George Pittam, who took his first
placing out of Soi 13 by a couple of shots, with George just edging out
Geoff Picken into third spot.
Kenny Moss Had his first win for some time after a very closely run
contest with Tony Barritt, which went to a count back on the back nine
after they both had excellent front halves. Indeed it was Tony’s best
round in Thailand as he broke 80 here for the first time since setting
up residence.
Kenny’s effort was no less commendable, but the win was tempered with a
little dampness after finding his clubs were nowhere to be found after
returning to Pattaya, having been assured that they were “all in the
boot”. Fortunately they were found the following day, and another lesson
learnt.
Barry Winton rounded out the first division winners after a very fine 74
gross that was a great step forward over his recent performances and is
hopefully a harbinger for better things to come as the IPGC Match Play
Season approaches.
Vic Barton, Martin Solberg and George Pittam shared the 2’s in the
second division whilst incredibly once again there were none in the
first division, making it an unprecedented third time roll over in that
division to be carried forward to the following week.
Back at The Haven The Doc welcomed back a small group in the form of
Yusuke Watanabe and Yukio Kikuchi on the first YuYuYu Tour of the year
led as usual by their intrepid guide and mentor Yasuo Suzuki.
Donovan’s readies for St. Patty’s Scramble
IPGC golf from Donovan’s
Donovan’s will host its first
annual St. Patrick’s Day 4-Person Scramble. It will be held at Eastern Star
Resort with first tee-off at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 17. Go by Donovan’s at
394/128-130 Third Road to sign up or call Steve Donovan at (081) 996-3026.
Donovan’s is located across the street, and just south of the X-Zyte Disco
parking lot on 3rd Road, between Cherrie’s Restaurant and the Platinum Bike
outlet. 1500 Baht will get you a green fee and caddy fee, a “Donovan’s” golf
cap, and an invitation to a St. Patty’s gala starting about 6 p.m. Irish fare,
with other typical buffet items will be featured, as will singing and such other
banality, traditional to the day. Tournament prizes will be awarded at the gala
as well.
Monday, March 3, The Emerald (White Tees)
- Stableford
1st Peter LeNoury (7) 39pts
2nd Des Griffith (5) 36pts
2’s: Peter LeNoury, Phil Moore
It was a lot of fun to see our old friend Peter LeNoury, that is, until he ran
off with all the loot. Peter’s fine 39 points, off a stingy 7 handicap, was
three points clear of the omnipresent Des Griffith
Wednesday, March 5, Treasure Hill (White
Tees) - Stableford
1st Steve Mascari (4) 35pts
2’s: None
The Pres topped out the smallish field with a modest 35 points at the
always-tough Treasure Hill track.
Friday, March 7, Burpaha (White Tees) -
Stableford
Blue Flight
1st Joe Mooneyham (11) 37pts
2nd Bob Patterson (6) 37pts
White/Red Flight
1st Tom Breslin (19) 38pts
2’s: Bob Patterson (2), Steve Mascari
Speaking of old friends, (and carrying off the loot), it was great to see Joe
“I’m in the” Mooneyham. I’m not sure that euphoria was shared by The Senator who
was nipped by Joe on count back for the top rung in the Blue Flight. Of course,
The Senator’s pain was salved by his duet of 2’s. Monsignor Breslin had the best
point total on the day with 38 points, albeit from the Whites.
Saturday, March 8, Green Valley (White
Tees) - Stableford
A Flight
1st Kris Kritsanajootha (7) 40pts
2nd Steve Mascari (4) 40pts
B Flight
1st Mike Craighead (23) 35pts
2nd Robin Edmond (15) 35pts
2’s: Bob Newell, Adi Mayer, Robin Edmond (eagle), Mon Thongkiew
It was the inaugural Saturday outing for the Intrepid Golf Society. The move
from Sunday to Saturday and the positioning of the fixture at Green Valley now
provides many old friends who are members there, and/or work during the week and
are desirous of playing both weekend days, an outlet to compete.
The move was apparently well received as a good-sized field took the challenge.
Kris Krits broke the ice with a count back victory over The Pres. - their
40-point tallies were a testimony not only to good play but also to the somewhat
shorter weekend setup of the course.
In a week of seeing the uniting of old friends, Mike the Mechanic took a count
back victory over newcomer Robin Edmond. While Robin lost the tally on the
inward nine, it should be noted that he tabbed a ‘2’ with an eagle on a par
four.
A double for Owen as Dave nabs the scotch
PSC golf from P J Pool Bar
Neil Duncan
Tuesday, March 4, Green Valley (White Tees) -
Stableford
A Flight (0-19)
1st Frank Waterhouse (16) 38pts
2nd David Gardner (9) 36pts
3rd Jeff Wylie (8) 34pts
4th Vinai Jumparnit (7) 33pts
B Flight (20-up)
1st Owen Walkley (25) 41pts
2nd Ian Campbell (24) 36pts
3rd Peter Mills (25) 36pts
4th Jim Walton (21) 36pts
Twenty-two of us turned out to play the evergreen Green Valley on Tuesday.
This is a popular venue for us who mainly reside East of the Sukhumvit
Highway - and not only because of how easy it is to get to here.
David Gardner (center)
scoops the scotch
from “Paco” with the other day’s winners in attendance.
Near pin wins in course order: Jeff Wylie, Vinai
Jumparnit, Jack Robertson and Ken Hole whilst Peter Mills nabbed the
longest first putt on the 18th green. The average score for the day was
an unusually high 32 points.
In his innocence a welcome newcomer unwittingly turned up using a
Heathrow duty free plastic bag as his kit bag. Are we not posh, a gaggle
of geezers or what? Realizing his gaff the gent then attempted to
disguise it by double bagging his crumpled duty free bag in Green Valley
plastic bags. Oh dear, oh dear!
In the inquisition that inevitably followed (his kit on the carpet so to
speak) it came to be seen that our man had also purloined the
complimentary free comb - innocently he claims. Whatever next!
Thursday, March 6, Plataluang S & E (White Tees) -
Stableford
A Flight (0–19)
1st David Gardner (9) 37pts
2nd Peter Fitton (18) 36pts
3rd Frank Waterhouse (16) 34pts
4th Bob Martin (17) 33pts
B Flight (20-up)
1st Owen Walkley (25) 34pts
2nd Leroy Huntingdon (25) 32pts
3rd Jim Walton (21) 32pts
4th Willy Nachbur (24) 31pts
Twenty-three turned out for Thursday’s competition at the ever-popular
Navy course, although some players had their day marred by the too
frequently encountered scourge of slow play.
Near pins in course order went to Ian Campbell, “Paco”, Leroy Huntingdon
and Alan Tookey and the longest first putt on the 18th green went to Ian
Campbell. The Paradise Bar golf shirt went to Andy Macara whilst Good
Ol’ David Gardner, complete with the casual sandals, scooped the liter
of Black Label that was most generously sponsored by “Paco” for the best
score over five hidden holes.
The average score for the day was 31 points.
It turns out that Tuesday’s newcomer gentleman actually possess quite
the smartest kit bag that has ever graced our group. A black and white,
real leather Adidas job complete with a Concorde bag tag. OTT or what?
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
A Cup shocker …or three
What a week we’ve just had, and what a fantastic season
this is turning into for English football generally. To have three
representatives in the final eight of the Champions League, perhaps four if
Liverpoo+l have eased past Inter Milan by the time you read this, is truly a
magnificent achievement.
There’s still a long way to go before the English can start congratulating
themselves on having the best league in the world, but three from last
season’s final four followed by this season’s achievements demonstrate the
growing strength of the Premier League.
It got even better at the weekend, but for exactly the opposite of reasons.
After a set of crazy results that Nostradamus himself would have had to have
downed several too many Singhas to predict, this year’s FA Cup competition
was blown wide open. Unbelievably we’ll head into the semi-finals with no
representation from any of those ‘Big Four’ sides mentioned above, and I,
for one, couldn’t be more delighted.
Don’t let anybody convince you that the big boys weren’t trying, either.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was spitting feathers after referee
Martin Atkinson refused to award his full-strength side a penalty at Old
Trafford when Portsmouth’s Sylvain Distin clattered into Cristiano Ronaldo.
Their complaints had some foundation: had it occurred anywhere else on the
pitch a free-kick would almost certainly have been awarded, but their
allegations of bias by the referee went a little too far.
Carlos Queiroz, Ferguson’s number two, is likely to be charged after
describing Atkinson as a “robber” and insisting that a new rule should be
introduced allowing referees to be replaced during games. “I feel sorry that
the game has moved to the situation where referees deserve red cards,” he
said. “This referee deserves somebody to come to the side of the pitch after
five minutes, give him a red card and pull him out of the game. That is my
opinion of this robber.”
Sour grapes, perhaps, but let’s take nothing away from the achievements of
Portsmouth, whose win at Old Trafford was the side’s first since 1957. But
it was one of those weekends.
Championship side Cardiff City travelled to the Riverside stadium on Sunday
expecting a tough test against Premier League Middlesbrough, though it was
anything but that as goals from Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson saw the
Welsh side through.
City’s manager Dave Jones, whose starting team cost a million pounds in
transfer fees – around a twelfth of the sum Southgate thought appropriate to
pay for new striker Afonso Alves - understandably insisted it had not been
as easy as it had looked.
“I said we’d have to be at our best and they’d have to be a bit off their
best and that’s pretty much how it worked out,” he said. Can Cardiff repeat
the FA Cup winning feats of 1927? “You have to dream, of course you do,”
said Jones.
On any other weekend Cardiff’s achievements would be enough to hog the
headlines, but that honour obviously falls to Barnsley. Not given a hope
against a strong Chelsea side eager to make up for their Carling Cup
disappointment against Tottenham, the Tykes battled to a staggering 1-0
victory and a first visit to the FA Cup semi-finals since 1912. You can’t
deny that the Yorkshire side have earned their place more than anybody after
also dumping Liverpool from the competition at Anfield in the last round.
The day was all about Barnsley striker Kayode Odejayi, who once cost
Cheltenham Town 5,000 pounds from non-league Forest Green, though by then he
had considered quitting to return to his studies having failed to make the
grade at Bristol City. He was later sold onto Barnsley and has endured a
tough time at the club, drawing criticism from his own fans.
“There is nothing worse than being booed by your own,” said Odejayi, “but
hopefully this will go a long way to winning them round.” This was his
second goal of the season and reward for a fine display. Odejayi, like his
team-mates, was hoisted from the field of play by those delirious fans who
had previously doubted him. How quickly things change.
With West Bromwich Albion spanking Bristol Rovers to make up a very unlikely
last four in the competition, the FA Cup is more wide open than at any time
in living memory. The last time the FA Cup’s semi-finals contained three
teams from outside the top flight was a century ago when First Division
Newcastle United were joined by Fulham and the eventual winners,
Wolverhampton Wanderers, of the Second Division. Southern League nobodies
Southampton made up the numbers.
But it’s not good news for everyone. The English Football Association,
trying to pay back a rather expensive redevelopment of Wembley, refused to
rule out reducing ticket prices for the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley to try
to ensure the 90,000-capacity stadium is full for the semi-finals. The
arrival of three sides outside the top flight, the first time since 1908,
causes headaches for the FA money men. Which is such a shame.
The unexpected progress of West Brom, Barnsley and Cardiff raises a real
prospect of neither match being sell-outs. An FA spokesman confirmed a price
reduction on tickets had not been ruled out but the governing body is
confident all four teams will bring large numbers of fans.
“We don’t see the competition has been undervalued - the level of interest
is great,” said the director of communications, Adrian Bevington. “It will
be the first opportunity for these clubs to play at the new stadium, which
presents new excitement in itself. I am sure a large number of their fans
will be excited by the prospect of going to a semi-final at Wembley.”
Let’s hope so. Back to Cardiff’s David Jones for the final word.
“Everybody will want to avoid the Premier League club but Barnsley have
beaten two top sides, they won’t fear anybody, and I don’t see why we
should,” he said. “When we play as well as we can do, I’ve always maintained
we’re a match for anyone.”
All four sides that remain in the competition are entitled to exactly the
same opinion. The FA Cup has excelled itself with surprises this year, and
that’s why there’ll always be a place for knockout football, and even the
Champions League is exciting at this time of year when the games start to
mean something. I’m quite looking forward to the season’s run-in.
Curbs next to go?
“You’re s**t if it’s not 4-0,” chanted West Ham’s supporters to
the Tottenham crowd on Sunday, but in the end the scoreline was exactly
that. Expect Alan Curbishley to be the next manager to leave his club this
season after a third straight 4-0 defeat as his side continue a poor
late-season run that is reminiscent of Curbishley’s time at Charlton
Athletic.
In other exciting managerial news, the Dutch football association has named
Bert van Marwijk as Marco van Basten’s successor as Holland coach. The
Feyenoord coach will take up his position at the start of July, when Van
Basten stands down.
Shall we sing
a song for you?
Spanish side Espanyol are offering fans the chance to be in the
stands even after they are dead. The Barcelona-based Primera Liga club have
unveiled plans for a repository for 20,000 fans’ ashes at their new stadium
Cornella-El Prat, which is under construction and scheduled to open in
November.
“Football clubs today don’t depend as much on their results as on the
sentimental link they build with their fans,” Espanyol director general
Pedro Tomas told sports daily Marca last week.
The columbarium will occupy 1,000 square metres over three floors in a
corner section of the stadium. There will be 5,000 niches available, each
capable of holding four urns. Espanyol expect to earn around 4.5 million
euros over the period, they said on their website. Media reports say devoted
supporters can expect to pay around 4,000 euros per niche, for a 15-year
period from the deposit of their first urn.
OK golfers make successful
Saturday switch
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral
Saturday, March 1, saw the Pattaya Golf Society’s switch
to Saturday golf with a visit to Plutaluang to play a stableford event over
the South and East nines and the immediate impression was that of a more
relaxed and less frenetic round on a virtually empty course. The field got
under way on time, carts were available for those who needed them and a good
day was in prospect from the start.
Golf and good scoring is never easy at this venue and so it was that Chris
Voller’s 30 points was good enough for third place, two behind the old
warhorse John Mason whose 32 was restricted by an inability to score on
South two and three. The best score of the day came from Freddy Braun whose
37 points reflected his final Sunday score last week. The Swiss golfer is
not long but invariably straight and this is the recipe for success on this
course.
There were no birdie 2’s and the pot was rolled over until next weekend. On
the eve of his departure for the UK, Denis Smith must have had “check-in” on
his mind as he failed to check out of a bunker on East 7 and the excess
baggage of his unsuccessful attempts gave him the unwanted upgrade to ‘Booby
Bevy’ class!
The transition to Saturday golf had been seamless and the group from the OK
Corral is looking forward to more of the same as the year progresses.
Partners in perfect harmony
Tuesday, March 4, a large group represented the Pattaya Golf
Society in a pairs better ball tournament at Eastern Star on a warm, humid
day. The course has stood up reasonably well to the rigours of the recently
departed high season but the greens were on the slow side and quite
inconsistent.
Fifteen teams took part and with the stroke play format the scene was set
for the lower handicappers to make their mark.
Scores were indeed good with the average for the field standing at a very
healthy 69 but a glance at the finishing leaderboard showed that the first
single figure handicapper was only in fourth place and that honour went to
the redoubtable duo of Paul McNally and David Thomas, with net 68.
They had been usurped by Len Jones and Freddy Braun whose net 67 was a
reward for some fine golf by the Swiss maestro Freddy who has found a rich
vein of form of late. They were joined as runners-up by the Swedish husband
and wife pairing of Mikael and Helene Lindberg whose game was in obvious
harmony.
The winners on the day were another matrimonial duo, Dave and Margaret
Wilkinson and their net 64 was due in no small part to Margaret’s fine
birdie on number three which also paid her handsomely.
The absent pairing of Keith Stanbury and Bill Whiter at the presentation
meant promotion to the ‘Booby Bevy’ berth for Jim Proctor and Evan Millar
whose game may have been in desperate shape but it was played with some fine
good humour, as befits the noble game.
It had been a day to savour for the golfers and rest assured there will be
more like that to come.
Murphy’s Law at Bangpra
In the whole of the province the golf club at Bangpra is
currently in the finest condition of any course and it’s all the more
surprising because in parts the course resembles a construction site with
heavy digging machines and countless excavations as the new management
attempts to upgrade the course with cart-paths, some new tees and some
subtle rerouting of holes. The greens and fairways are in excellent
condition and the club was the perfect host on Thursday for the Pattaya Golf
Society’s stableford event.
The large field, cut at twenty and under, took to the first tee well before
time and the joy of playing on an empty course was apparent to all. There
were to be some excellent performances and in a competitive top flight
Stuart Thompson fired 35 points for third place, just one point behind
runner-up Phil Mitchell, his 36 points giving him his best performance this
trip. The flight winner was Paul McNally and his best gross of level par 72
gave the accomplished golfer a points tally of 39 for his finest round since
arriving in the Kingdom four months ago.
In the second flight the consistent Freddy Braun ended a fine week with a
share of second place, matching his 33 points with that of Ronnie Ramsay.
The day’s best stableford score was recorded by wily Pat Murphy and he took
the flight with 41 points, his best tally for many a month.
The large 2’s pot was shared by Len Jones and Chris Voller, the latter’s
chip-in on the twelfth matching the subtle long putt of the former on the
eighth.
The ‘Booby Bevy’ went to Jim Proctor for picking up the wrong golf bag on
his way back, thus leading to the organiser’s extended telephone debate with
an anxious Scandinavian all the way down Highway Seven. All’s well that ends
well and ultimately everyone enjoyed the joke at the end of a fine day at
Bangpra.
Outbackers tackle team
from ‘Down Under’
PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Joey’s Column
Monday, March 3, Burapha - Stableford
Div A (0-15)
1st Chris Davisson (11) 38pts
2nd Paul Buckland (11) 38pts
3rd Ken Little (12) 37pts
Div B (16-19)
1st Neil Hughes (16) 41pts
2nd Jate (18) 40pts
3rd Dennis Persson (18) 37pts
Div C (20+)
1st John King (28) 42pts
2nd Barry Rothberg (20) 39pts
3rd Reg Smart (25) 37 pts
2’s: Brian Maddox, John King & Ken Little (2).
Somebody twisted Capt’ Bob’s arm today, the Outbackers were back off the
white tees on the C & D nines, and they were quick to take advantage with
the top three golfers in all three divisions bettering their handicap;
notably, Neil Hughes and W. J. (John) King with 41 and 42 points
respectively.
 Wednesday’s
winners at Khun John’s (from left to right): Stephen Mann, Margaret Randall,
Alan Bishop, Barry Chadbourn, Kathy Doody and Ian Button.
A warm welcome also to Jate, from Horseshoe Point with an excellent 40
points and to Alan Freeman, Reg Smart and Peter Habgood all first time
players with the Outback Golf Bar.
‘The Outback Golf shirt’ was awarded today to Peter Gibson a newcomer to the
great, but sometimes frustrating, game of golf.
Wednesday, March 5, Green Valley - Stableford
Div A (0–17)
1st Stephen Mann (13) 40pts
2nd Ian Button (17) 36pts
3rd Barry Chadbourn (17) 35pts
Div B (18+)
1st Alan Bishop (18) 36pts
2nd John King (26) 36pts
3rd Peter Allen (26) 35pts
The Girls
1st Kathy Doody (17) 37pts
2nd Margaret Randall (20) 35pts
3rd Trudy Chadbourn (24) 27pts
The Thai-Australia International Cup has now been played for a number of
years. It started with a group of golfers from Lakelands Country Club in
Perth, Western Australia visiting Thailand in 1994 and falling in love with
the great golf courses and the fantastic Thai people. Eventually the group
expanded to include golfers from other states in Australia including as far
away as Broome in the North.
The group varies in size between 40 and 60 players each year. Thai Airways
International have in the past sponsored the event and the cups are kept in
Thailand at Khun John’s Restaurant on the banks of Mabprachan Lake.
The competition, which starts on Monday, March 10, is played over 4 rounds
and this year’s courses are Laem Chabang, Khao Kheow, Siam Country Club and
Siam Plantation. The winner of the event receives a return airfare to the
next year’s event to defend their title.
As part of their warm up routine, they threw down a challenge to the Outback
Golf Bar, who lined up an equal number of players. The total Stableford
points were added up from both sides resulting in an Outback win by a
comfortable margin of 826 points to 770.
There was also an individual competition split into two divisions for the
men and one for the girls followed by a meal and presentation at Khun
John’s.
There were lots of 2’s today but no prizes, instead there were near pin
awards as follows: 2nd Anton Rowbottom, 9th Ian Button, 12th Barry Chadbourn
and 16th Murray Smith.
The ‘Outback Golf Bar shirt’ went to Anton Rowbottom for his help on the
day, thanks Anton.
Friday, March 7, Eastern Star - Stableford
Div A (0–18)
1st Kathy Doody (17) 36pts
2nd Jim Wickstrom (2) 36pts
3rd Bob Martin (17) 35pts
4th Bruce Milner (14) 34pts
Div B (19+)
1st Jed Goodridge (19) 34pts
2nd Dave Mawford (23) 34pts
3rd Peter Gibson (36) 32pts
4th Brian Maddox (18) 31pts
2’s: Don Frances
It is a long time since the Outbackers came here and it was reflected by
some of the poor scores returned by some of the regular players. Course
specialist Jim Wickstrom was the best of the men on 36 points, to be beaten
only on count back by Kathy Doody.
It was the regular monthly ladder winner Mike Waltschek’s last game before
he returns to the UK for a few months and Kathy has her sights on taking
over his No. 1 spot. At least the rest of the Outbackers might have a chance
now! Have a good trip Mike! We’ll miss you mate.
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.
The Bus Trip this month is to Bangpakong on 26th March.
The Square Ring: by Howie Reed
Most of the stories that come out prior to a fight, at
least verbally, are useless garbage. The past week was a great example.
Prior to their fight at The O2 Arena in London, David Haye (20-1) and
Enzo Maccarinelli (28-1) gave us the usual spin. Seems David Haye
changed gyms and hotels in the days and week leading up to the fight. He
took these steps to avoid being “spied on.”
“It sounds as if Haye is running scared - but there’ll be no hiding
place on Saturday night,” said WBO champ Maccarinelli. “To be honest I
don’t need to spy on Haye because I know exactly how to beat him, and
have done for ages. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great champion and I’ve
got a lot of respect for him, but there’s only one winner in this fight
and that’s me.”
Hayes answer? “I will be ruthless.” He was, and also arrogant, almost
Chris Eubank like. More on this fight later.
“Surprise, surprise,” as Gomer use to say. Ricky Hatton, maybe the most
popular boxer in the world, has signed a promotional deal with Golden
Boy Promotions. After he fights Juan Lazcano on May 25 he’ll be off to
the USA for some really big money fights.
“I know that each one of my fights will be bigger than the last, not
only for me, but for all of my loyal fans,” said Hatton. Golden Boy
Promotions, which is Oscar De La Hoya, probably has Hatton-Mayweather II
somewhere on the drawing boards.
Scot Alex Arthur doesn’t get a lot of credit for being the WBO 130lb
champ. Mainly that’s because all his fights have been in the UK while
ducking the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez (48-3) and Joan
Guzman (28-0), who are the best in the division. That comes to an end on
April 26 in Edinburgh when he takes on Guzman.
At least one person, Guzman, doesn’t think much of Arthur. “I am tired
of hearing the British and Scottish say I am not going to show up for
this fight. Arthur should be scared and running for cover. I am the best
pound-for-pound fighter in my division, and I can’t wait to get there
and show him what this proud Dominican has to offer. I am going to take
Arthur’s head off as payment to the British for spreading rumors that I
am scared of fighting him.”
One guy that ducks no one is Thailand’s Terdsak Jandaeng (29-2) who gets
a shot at the WBO feather title on the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez
Sunday. Steven Luevano (34-1) is probably the least known of the 124lb
champs. His lone loss came against a non-descript opponent (Martin
Honorio) but then so did all his wins with but a few exceptions. Give
Luevano credit though for traveling to London and taking the WBO title
from previously unbeaten Nicky Cook (27-1).
On records alone Jandaeg would be considered to have a good chance of
capturing the title. His two losses came against Joan Guzman and Juan
Manuel Marquez, both quality fighters. The problem is that Jandaeg has
no quality wins and both losses came in the USA. Las Vegas is part of
the USA, so it probably spells trouble. Against Marquez at Lake Tahoe in
’06 Jandaeg was not competitive and he may not be this time out either.
Then there’s WBA light heavy Danny Green (25-3) as he prepares to defend
his title against Hugo Hernan Garay (20-3) in Perth on April 27.
Aussie ring legend and former Green trainer Jeff Fenech has been less
than kind about Green’s training methods. One scribe called his comments
a “withering attack.” Green answered back by saying that if had he
stayed with Fenech he’d either be “seriously injured or retired.”
Green said, “He (Fenech) has the intelligence of a primary school-aged
student. To anyone who doubts my methods, the proof is around my waist.”
Note to Green - bigger waist sometimes means more intelligence. Ask the
Lord of Pattaya or the Lord of the Square Ring about the “bigger waist
equals smarter” theory.
No one should not be surprised to hear that some “strange things” went
on in Mexico prior to last Sunday’s big fight card. Many may remember
the name Jose Luis Castillo as the boxer that couldn’t force himself to
make the weight twice against the late Diego Corrales. Why anyone puts
him on a fight card is a mystery. He’s at it again.
Fighting in a WBC elimination bout at 140lbs, Castillo didn’t report for
the required 7-day weigh-in. Then 3 days before the fight he weighed
147.5lbs. Never do I side with ‘Gas Bag’ Gary Shaw - but this is the
exception.
“The rules are explicit and we expect the WBC to enforce them,” said
Shaw. “I’ve been down this road too many times with Castillo and I will
not tolerate it again. Castillo, his manager and promoter have a
responsibility to adhere to the rules and the WBC is equally accountable
to enforce them. All parties know Castillo’s history for not making the
weight. I’m confident the WBC will make sure Castillo and his team don’t
try to manipulate the scales at the official weigh-in, like they did for
the first rematch with Diego Corrales.”
The day before last week’s fight Castillo pulled out of the contest
saying, “I am very sorry.” He’s right about that!
It was ‘kiss your sister’ time at the Ryogoku Sumo Arena in Japan last
Saturday night where WBC fly champ Daisuke Naito held onto his title.
The rematch with ex-champ Pongsaklek Wonjongkam ended in a “flat-footed”
draw.
The three judges scorecards “appear” reasonable: Alejandro Rochin
(Mexico) had it 115-114 in favor of Naito, Jae-Bong Kim (Korea) 115-114
for the Thai invader and Hubert Minn (USA) 114-all. No harm.
Ace boxing scribe Joe Koizumi wrote: “For Pongsaklek it looked like a
draw at best or a defeat by a slight margin. The previously formidable
Thailander was just a disappointment as he visibly ran out of gas and
seldom tossed punches positively from the fifth round onward.”
Still, no harm, no foul, no winner - how about a “do-over?” Book it
Dano!
It was 2 a.m. in London last Sunday morning as 20,000 boxing fans jammed
into the O2 Arena to watch David Haye and. Enzo Maccarinelli defend
their respective cruiserweight titles.
In the days leading up to the opening bell, Haye, a Brit born just a
stones throw from the 02 Arena but now living in the Turkish portion of
Cyprus, said: “He’ll fall with the first big punch.” He lied. It took
2:04 of the second round to knock Maccarinelli goofier than a Baht cab
driver during Songkran. Maccarinelli reeled around the ring like a
giraffe on ice skates. Haye also lied because it wasn’t one punch but a
“virtual cornucopia” of punches.
Haye, who weighed in at 198lbs, will now move up to heavyweight and
Maccarinelli will go back home to Wales.
Any time TSR gets things 50% right it’s a good column. Last week TSR
predicted that the fight between Oleg Maskaev and Samuel Peter would be
a stinker. It was!
Fought in a bullring (who would have ever thought that there would be an
indoor bullring? Not TSR, still 50% is OK by us), Maskaev brought not a
darn thing to the table. For 4 of the first 5 rounds things were
somewhat pedestrian. The 3rd round was the exception where both landed
some good shots that sent wake up calls. The end came at 2:56 of round 6
with Maskaev hopelessly unable to defend himself.
“I hit him with one and I hit him with another. Then I cracked him up,”
said Peter afterwards.
Maskaev’s response? “He didn’t knock me out. He shook me and knocked me
back and the referee stopped it.” Good referee!
This coming Sunday the boxing world, such as it is, will be focused on
Las Vegas for the rematch between Manny Pacquiao (45-3-2) and Juan
Manuel Marquez (48-3-1) for the WBC jr. lightweight title.
In this case the fact that a title is at stake means very little. The
anticipation of a replay of May 8, 2004 is what fuels this event. Their
first encounter saw Marquez down three times in the first round. When
Nevada Judge Bert Clements miss-scored the round at 10-8 rather than
10-7 and Canadian Judge Guy “where’s my white cane” Jutras scored the
fight for Marquez 115-110, the Mexican escaped with a draw.
Since then Marquez has gone 6-1 with only a road loss to Chris Johns in
Indonesia. His last two wins look more impressive than they actually are
as both former champions Marco Antonio Barrera and Rocky Juarez are on
the down side of the mountain.
The move to 130lbs shouldn’t be a problem for Pacquiao as he’s 6-1 at
that weight. The lone loss came against Erik Morales, a result that was
subsequently reversed twice with 10 and 3 round KO’s. Since Marquez #1,
Pacquiao has also beaten Oscar Larios and the fast fading Marco Antonio
Barrera.
There is no doubt but that Pacquiao may be the best boxer/fighter to
come down the pike in some time. The rap on him, in some circles, is
that he’s too much of a playboy and not really training as he should for
this fight. If that’s true he’ll get his fanny handed to him by Marquez.
This ones probably a toss up with the betting favorite being Pacquiao.
The Square Ring likes Marquez in this one. But only a little.
It looks like Kelly Pavlik will face Brit Gary Lockett (30-1) whose
claim to fame seems to be that he’s beaten the usual Euro trash that
populate the WBO middleweight division and so he gets a title fight. The
June 7 date will probably not be part of New York’s Puerto Rico Day
celebrations as neither fighter is from Puerto Rico.
“Your Lordship I have a communication from Patrick, who you choose to
call The Flying Frog. He opines that ‘the only guy who has a chance to
beat Pavlik is Arthur Abraham - not John Duddy, nor Felix Trinidad.
Duddy needs a bit more routine before going for a world championship
(could cost him his popularity in New York) and Trinidad is getting too
old to fight youngsters (I know, ha ha). For the moment Pavlik is the
best in his weight class.’
“As you pointed out Your Lordship, Abraham is going to have to step up
the level of his opponents. Defending against Elvin Ayala (18-2) on
March 29 doesn’t meet that requirement. By the way, why do you always
say Patrick and his Belgium Restaurant serve the ‘Stars’ of Pattaya?”
‘Cause Jeeves that’s my eating home when I’m in Pattaya. There is
evidence that Palvik may have suffered some brain damage in his two
fights against Jermaine Taylor. Last week he was out campaigning for
Hillary Clinton.
And on that note Jeeves –the lager, cigars and some soothing music if
you please.
Trante triumphs again
PSC golf from The Caddyshack
Monday, March 3, Emerald -
Stableford
Today we travelled to the Emarald Golf course to play a
stableford competition with the field split into two divisions.
Doug Carysforth recorded 31 points to finish runner-up in the second
division, much to his amazement, but the division’s top honours went
to Gus Dickie who scored 39 points off his 30 Handicap. This was
Gus’ first win at the Caddyshack and the last he will see off his
present Handicap.
Division One saw Jeff North scoring 33 points for second place, but
it was that man again Damien Trant who once again finished ahead of
the field with 40 points to record his third successive win. He
mentioned after picking up his prize that if he could only putt, he
would be a half decent golfer.
Just to add salt to his opposition’s wounds, Damien was the only
golfer to have a birdie ‘2’ and took the grand prize all on his own.
With no hesitation he quickly bought all the golfers a drink which
seemed to stem the flow of banter his fellow playing partners had
lined up.
Wednesday, March 5, Mountain Shadow - Stableford
Today we travelled to the lovely course at Mountain
Shadow for a stableford competition.
With numbers down a little, maybe due to the Caddyshack’s
forthcoming Matchplay league game on Friday and players resting,
there was only one division and it turned out to be a spectacular
finish between three golfers all scoring 30 points each.
Losing on count back and being placed third was Archie Armstrong, in
second place was Graham Dietrich, and the winner on the day was Dave
Hester with the best back nine.
Yasuo Suzuki turned up the revs on a par-3 and got a birdie, and on
the day he was the only golfer to achieve this feat so with a big
smile he picked up the pot all on his own.
Gabe hits winning 44 at Bangpakong
PSC golf from The Café Kronborg
Derek Brook
Monday, March 3, Bangpakong, Stableford
The immaculate Bangpakong Riverside course was host to a stableford
competition in two flights with the cut at Handicap 17. The course was
in it’s normal fine condition and the management here are now
restricting groups to no more than 4 players.
 Doug
Maiko and Brian Gabe both had 40+ point returns at Bangpakong on Monday
to win their respective divisions.
Doug Maiko won the A Flight with 41 points, ahead of Doug Good in second
with 39 points and Tristan Gilbert in third with 38 points.
In the B Flight the winner was Brian Gabe with an amazing 44 points,
ahead of Graham Buckingham in second with 40 points and Patrick Poussier
in third on count back over Martyn Topham and Jasper Rasmusson, all with
36 points.
Near Pins: Martyn Topham, Sirkka Poukkonen, Tristan Gilbert, Jan
Lovgren
Long Putt: Cordell Fulton, Sirkka Fulton
Thursday, March 6, Burapha, Stableford
We have been here before, in fact several times of late so I will not take
time to tell you how good the course is nor how fine the chicken fingers
are in the restaurant. We will get on with the results that came in
after playing the A & B Nines.
In the A Flight, 0 to 16 the winner was a Canadian. Beware all who play
here - the Canadians are coming! So the winner was Tristan Gilbert with
43 points, in second was Steindor Eidssonn with 39 points who finished
ahead of a three-way count back for third on 38 points that saw Alex
Kazazis edge out Derek Brook and Johann Reynisson.
In the B Flight the winner was Steve Compton with 40 points on count
back over Kris Helgasson in second. In third was Dave Richardson on 39
points. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Walter Bachli, Graham Buckingham, Jasper Rasmusson,
Steindor Eidsson
Long Putt: David Pederson, Henk De Bock
Evans above! Andy on fire at Burapha
PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
Derek Brook
Tuesday, March 4, Burapha, Stableford
The ‘Alan Bolton Golfer of the Month’ award for February was
to be presented on this day, and as it was the simplest decision of them
all we will call it first. The winner was Brian Downing, and a
well-deserved award it was too. Well done Brian.
 Craig
Turner of Alan Bolton Property Consultants (left) presents the February
golfer of the month award to Brian Dowing.
To set the scene for the day, the test was to be Burapha’s A & B nines
and as usual the course was in fine condition. There were to be two
different competitions, the normal weekly one for the players of Bert’s,
and a Matchplay versus The Cafe Kronborg for ten players from Tropical
Bert’s. This was technically an away match for Tropical Bert’s but the
two captains were happy to tag on at the end of the competition. Somehow
it all worked really smoothly. Amazing.
In the competition, run by Dick Warberg, we had some really outstanding
scores or some might say a ‘bit special’.
Andy Evans, ‘on the wagon’ for the last few weeks has started to turn in
scores we all knew he was capable of, and he will shortly be sporting a
new, realistic and improved handicap, and we may let him play off the
white tees. On this day Andy won with 48, yes 48, points. In second, and
probably feeling a little hard done to, was Pat Morrison with a superb
43 points. We then go back to the ‘mere mortals’ with Mick O’Meara in
third with 38 points and John Vincent in fourth on count back over Mark
Brenton in fifth, both with 37 points.
So to the Matchplay, and as I do the reports for both Tropical Bert’s
and The Cafe Kronborg, why not report here as this was technically the
home match of The Cafe Kronborg, albeit played on Tropical Bert’s golf
day.
This was a rematch from the previous week where both teams had fought to
a hard earned draw at Greenwood. Many players from The Cafe Kronborg had
put in some fine performances in the intervening period, but in true
USGA style, the handicap ‘chops’ would not be in force for a few days
yet, so another hard struggle was expected with most of Bert’s team
having to give shots.
Whilst I cannot run through all the matches, I think it noteworthy to
comment on the match between the two captains, Dave Richardson and Perry
McNeely. This was a real struggle and the result fluctuated from hole to
hole. Dave played very cleverly and won nearly all his ‘shot holes’, but
with 2 to go all was level. This should have been to Perry’s advantage
as all the ‘shots’ were used up, but with his low handicap, under the
pressure, he put the ball in the water at the Par three 17th to allow
Dave to be one up with one to play.
The last is a par five, and Perry should have been favourite to take it.
In fact he played it really well and birdied it to halve the match. Well
played both captains.
While this was going on the rest of Tropical Bert’s team were gradually
creeping ahead despite some really excellent performances by The Cafe
Kronborg boys. The end result was a win to Bert’s by 6½ to 3½.
Ed’s note: A full list of the individual scores can be
found in this week’s MBMG Matchplay report.
Near Pins: Dick Warberg, Andy Evans, Carole Kubicki & Pat Hanafin
Long Putt: Robin Lennon
Tuesday’s individual
stableford winners pose for a photo back at Bert’s.
Beaver Bar & Grill closes on first place
Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League
200 Bowlers: Barry,
Tukata, Rich, La, Mai, Nok, Jan & Konrad.
Beaver Bar & Grill won all four points from Diamond
Shop and closed to with in one half point of first place. First place
team SaBai Friday split their match with Balls Galore with each team
getting two points.
Brother D won three points from Jack Tar but still dropped from second
to third place. Montana moved from seventh place up to a tie for fourth
after winning all four points from Canada. Café Ole took three points
from House of the Golden Coin and Café Kronborg won three from VFW Post
9876.
Best series of the week were bowled by: Rich Montana 577, La 571, Nok
563, Tue 555, Antero 542, Kran 539, Tukata 530, Tiger 527 and Mai 525
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