Melia sails home six clear at Navy

PSC golf from The Bunker Bar

Monday, December 8, Plutaluang - Medal
A Flight
1st Gerry Cooney (10) net 72
2nd Mashi Kaneta (12) net 72
3rd Tony Scambler (6) net 71
B Flight
1st Gordon Melia (15) net 69
2nd Jan Van Spellen (22) net 75
3rd Jack Robertson (23) net 81
Near Pins: Gerry Cooney, Gordon Melia and Mashi (2).
The Bunker Boy’s haven’t played at the Royal Thai Navy Golf Course for a while so it made a pleasant change to be back here. Annual Champion Gerry Cooney got back into the groove, beating Mashi on a count back for a change (Gerry must have lost the most count backs this year at The Bunker). Tony Scambler came in third one point further behind in the A Flight.
The cut was set at handicap 14 so Gordon found himself in the B Flight and he duly won with a three-under par net 69 to win by six shots from Jan Van Spellen who’s got back into the swing of things pretty quickly since he has only just returned to Thailand after a year away. Jack Robertson was surprised to find himself in third place with a paltry net 81!
Wednesday, December 10, Greenwood - Stableford
1st Paul Smith (4) 39pts
2nd Jan Van Spellen (22) 39pts
3rd Brian Maddox (22) 37pts
Near Pins: Kevin Dunne, Larry Simpson and Paul Smith.
Playing Greenwood on a holiday so soon after the John Preddy Memorial Tournament was held there recently might not have been a good idea, however, for those who showed up we decided to play a stableford round and there were some good scores too with a count back needed to find the winner and for third place.
Paul Smith won the count back at the top to take the day’s honours, beating Jan Van Spellen into second place after both scored 39 points. Brian Maddox beat two others Mashi Kaneta and Gordon Melia to steal third place, all of them scoring 37 points. Only three near pin prizes were won today hole C3 proving too difficult for anyone to hit.
Friday, December 12, The Emerald - Stableford
1st Tony Robbins (12) 39pts
2nd Frank Nellison (23) 36pts
3rd PJ Redmond (21) 33pts
4th Colin Stokes (26) 33pts
Near Pins: Tom Jones, Colin Stokes and Brian Maddox.
Some of the regulars played the monthly Medal competition with the Pattaya Sports Club at the Royal Thai Navy course today, but the rest of The Bunker Boy’s played a stableford round at The Emerald course.
Tony Robbins had the best round of the day, winning by three points from Frank Nellison in the runner-up spot. Meanwhile three players finished with 33 points and had to be separated by a count back; third place went to PJ and fourth place went to Colin Stokes, with Bernie Stevens being the unlucky one to be left empty handed after the poorest back nine of the three.
The golfer’s who played at the Royal Thai Navy course with the PSC had a little success, Jack Robertson winning the C Flight and Gordon Melia scoring two 2’s.

Leif slays the ‘Green Monster’

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, December 8, Plutaluang – Stableford
Plutaluang North and South layouts were the venue for a stableford competition in two flights with the handicap cut at 18. This course is still good value for money even though they have put their prices up to equal other courses in the area.

Leif Kirkegaarde had a day to remember at Khao Kheow.

Don Richardson won the A Flight with 38 points, Takeshi Hakozaki was in second with 33 and Elias Magnusson was in third with 32. In the B Flight the winner was Jan Lovgren with 32 points ahead of Dave Richardson in second with 31 and Cilia Bosman in third with 30.
Near Pins: Svend Gaarde, Cilia Bosman, Jan Lovgren, Takeshi Hakozaki
Thursday, December 11, Khao Kheow – Stableford
For those who know this course, they will know that playing the A & B Nines into a strong wind is about as painful as going to the dentist and having an extraction without anesthetic. Well maybe not quite, but you get the idea. However this is also a great course so if you have a good round you know you deserve it. Ah, I remember it well, but I have a long memory.
On this day with a strong wind blowing, the ground fairly hard and the greens fast and tricky, we all knew it was going to be a day of low scores and except for the odd exception, and you always get one do you not, we were pretty spot on.
In the A Flight, 0 to 18, the winner was Bill Plath with 35 points on count back over Larry Simpson. Bill is just coming back to form after a new hip so it is nice to see him back. In third place was Ted Morris with 33 points.
In the B Flight, 19 up, the winner had by far the best score of the day when Leif Kirkegaarde came in with a very good 41 points. We do not often get scores like this at K.K. and Leif was “pleased” to accept a 2 shot Handicap cut. In second place was J.C. Lhoste with 33 points on count back over Jan Lovgren in third. T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: Jon Dean, Uwe Kessler (2), Mimi Dahlen
Long Putt: Peter Hammond, Bill Plath

Colin and Brian make off with the booty

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Thomas Cotton
Tuesday, December 9, Treasure Hill - Stableford
A Flight (0-15)
1st Colin Cronin 38pts
2nd Mashi Kenata 36pts
3rd Al Laurie 32pts
B Flight (16-up)
1st Brian Blackford 36pts
2nd Pat Morrissey 35pts
3rd Phil Barnsley 33pts
Near Pins: Jouni Jauhianiew, Mick O’Meara (2), Pat Morrissey.
Long Putts: Dick Kerr, Steve Hamstad
This day the challenge was to be at Treasure Hill Golf and Country Club, which brings to mind the adventure of Tom Sawyer in the Sahara Desert and the parable about the greedy camel driver and the poor dervish.
The rich camel driver denied alms to the poor dervish, who knew of a “Treasure Hill” full of gold and jewels which could only be seen by a special ointment, applied to the eyes, possessed of the dervish. The camel driver agreed to split the treasure with the dervish. But after finding and splitting the treasure, the greedy camel driver cajoled the poor dervish into surrendering over his share of the treasure. Unsatisfied still, the camel driver then insisted that the dervish share the magic eye ointment. In spite of the dervish’s warnings, the camel driver applied the ointment to his eyes and was immediately blinded. The dervish was left with the 100 camels loaded with treasure.
Out at Treasure Hill, the air was breezy and the greens were brown as they were undergoing maintenance. As such, landing on them was almost as perilous as landing in bunkers. There were no dervishes to be seen, but several hungry-looking dogs begging for bites. However, the golfers, themselves fattened on Bert’s breakfast, ignored the hungry dogs and slogged away at their games, hoping that their efforts would be rewarded with treasure back at Tropical Bert’s anon. And for a few, indeed their efforts were rewarded.

Husband & wife double-team the field

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

Another beautiful day as the Three Sisters Group teed off at 6:30 am on 9 Dec at the Pattaya Country Club. Still some morning dew on the course but the sun quickly dried that up.
The course was in very good condition although some fairways had low soaked spots that required a ball move. The wind was mild until around 8:00 am when it picked up enough to influence the balls flight.
The group gathered afterwards at the usual Caddy Shack II to sample some of Herbie Ishinaga’s hot and regular sausages but the first and second place members had to run off to Bangkok directly from the club. Rod Ishii came in with 41 points followed by his wife Sonyong Ishii with 39. Both Rod and Sonyong are here on vacation from Hawaii. Following them were Jim Hern with 34 and Bob Benda with 31. All scores were better this week with the lowest at 23.

Kilbinger takes Thai-Ger Line title in close finish

Thai-Ger Line Golf 10th anniversary tournament

Saturday, December 13, Green Valley - Stableford
On a sunny Saturday last weekend, 65 players met to celebrate Thai-Ger Line Golf’s 10th anniversary with a stableford competition at Rayong Green Valley. As the courses are not too busy at the moment, everybody teed off on time and the golfers were guaranteed a smooth round.

Joe Kilbinger and Saranya Chaiyanont (with trophies) were the men’s and ladies champions at the 10th Thai-Ger Line Golf anniversary tournament.

Joe Kilbinger came out on the top after recording a fine haul of 42 points to take the overall champions trophy. Steve Maskari had the best gross score of the day (74) for 37 points and also took second spot in the A Flight behind David Stockman on the same total.
Prapas-Jack Imaron and Pierre Bietry were both just one point shy of contesting the overall title as they won the B and C Flights respectively with 41 points apiece. Harry Riley (also 41pts) and Michael Kitzke (37pts) were the runners up in these flights.
Not to be outdone, the ladies contested their own division and Saranya Chaiyanont led her flight home with 36 points, closely followed by Lamun Hanley (35pts) in second and Regula Asaban (34pts) in third.
The presentation party took place later on the beach of Pinnacle Resort where Ingo and his crew proved their expertise and created an unforgettable romantic set up under the stars and the big full moon. The opulent buffet and free flow of drinks ensured that even the worst scores were soon forgotten and everybody had a good time.

City snatch a point from the jaws of defeat

MBMG International League 2008/09

Paul Frain
Pattaya City traveled to Bangkok last weekend to take on the league leaders and last season’s runners up Cosmos. The matches between these two sides are always very tight and close affairs.
City opened up this game with some flowing football and put pressure on the Cosmos goal, but the finishing by Pattaya’s forwards was poor. Cosmos came back and took a shock lead in the eighth minute after some dreadful defending by City. The Pattaya defenders started playing the ball around inside their own six yard area when a Cosmos forward nipped in and robbed one of them to put it past a bemused City keeper.
Cosmos continued to go forward and nearly went two up with a shot from outside the area that just flashed past the post. The Bangkok team gained a number of corners and free kicks but their finishing lacked direction. Soon after a great run by a Cosmos forward, beating four City defenders, left him with only the keeper to beat but he put his shot wide.
The home side were moving the ball around nicely and sending some dangerous through balls, but good covering by the City defense, and Philip Walter in particular, kept the Cosmos forwards at bay. Soon after, however, an innocuous looking free kick was mishandled by the City keeper and the home team pounced to make the score 2-0. Indeed, it could have been worse for Pattaya as a third Cosmos goal soon after was ruled out for offside. Half time arrived with Pattaya down 2 goals to nil.
After the break City began to take the game to Cosmos with Paul Derbyshire having a couple of headers saved comfortably by the keeper. Emmanuel Tshuma had a fine run soon after and Pattaya kept the pressure on Cosmos, although the home team were dangerous on the counter and forced a great save out of the City keeper that could have finished the game as a contest.
City were still looking for an opening back into the match and they found one when Matheus Knorr went on a mazy run, beating five Cosmos players in the process, and was finally upended in the area. City were awarded a penalty which was duly converted by Carlos Old to make it 2-1.
Cosmos stormed back and City’s Darrel Mann was forced to clear off the line twice to keep the opposing forwards out. But City countered and a rasping shot by Carlos Old, who was just inside the Cosmos area, soared into the top corner of the net to equalize for Pattaya.
Cosmos were stunned by the goal and the tension mounted in the final 15 minutes as City pressed for a winner and thought they had won another penalty when Carlos Old was brought down in the penalty area, but the referee played on.
The full time whistle was sounded soon after with the final score Cosmos 2, Pattaya City 2. When these two sides meet it is always a very high standard of exciting football and it is a credit to both sides. Fortunately for the fans both teams have to meet each other one more time this season.

Chonburi FC sign Zico

Former national hero to coach local Premier League outfit

Ariyawat Nuamsawad
Chonburi Football Club has secured the signature of Kiattisak ‘Zico’ Senamuang, the former Thai national team player, as coach for the team in preparation for the Thai Premier League 2009 season.
After pondering offers from many clubs Zico finally chose to coach the Sharks, saying that he viewed the club to be the most professional in Thailand and adding that “money was not an issue.” Jaded Meelarp, former coach and Jakkapan Panpee will be the assistant coaches.
Zico will begin his contract this month, with the first tournament of the Queen’s Cup being hosted in Chonburi. The contract is said to be on a yearly basis with a good salary, if not as much as had been quoted in various newspapers.
Chonburi courted Zico’s services after closely following his success in coaching the Hong-an football team in Vietnam. It hoped that he will be able to solve the weaknesses in the team’s attacking play which led to a dearth of goals at the end of last season.
The football club also plans to use Zico in other marketing campaigns such as attracting young talented players to the club as well as activities involving the local fans. The club is confident that the new coach can lift Chonburi back to the number one spot.
Zico said that with the professional set-up at Chonburi it should give the club a good chance of success in all tournaments, whether it be the Queen’s Cup, the Thai Premier League or the AFC cup, and he added that he also wants to prove to himself that one day he could coach the Thai national team.

Aussies dominate; Thai teams excel at 22nd Phuket King’s Cup Regatta

Peter Cummins
Australian sailors took five of the major categories, while Royal Thai Navy men from Sattahip and Radab Kanchanavanit from Royal Varuna, won two of the other events in the 11 classes comprising the 22nd Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, sailed from 2-6 December.

The IRC 1 fleet under full sail on Day 2 of the regatta. (Photo/Guy Nowell)
The regatta opened at the host venue, the Kata Beach Resort, and tribute was paid to the ongoing principal sponsor, Raimon Land which has agreed to underwrite the Regatta through 2012. Given the dire world economic situation, it is amazing – and a great tribute to HM the King Bhumibol Adulyadej – that so many companies in the public and private sector support this great yachting extravaganza which puts Phuket and Thailand in a most positive light; rather good exposure, one could surmise, given the prevailing conditions.
Thailand Elite, Siam Winery (Mont Clair wines), Mom Tri’s Boathouse, Phuket Magazine and Sunsail, join numerous media sponsors in promoting this event. Probably the luckiest of the supporters was Thai Beverage (Chang Beer), whereby the front façade of the Kata beach resort was a tableau of rampaging elephants (in concrete, of course).
The annual regatta, sailed under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, featured many Pattaya sailors, including Kevin Whitcraft, President of the Organizing Committee and Royal Varuna Commodore, and Chris King, who has also served in both these capacities.
In spite of the chaos reigning at the two major airports prior to the event, some 45 Royal Varuna members and staff went to Phuket to sail in and/or help manage the regatta. They went by air, by car, and some like Richard Eyre went by their own craft, sailing around Singapore on his Corsair 37 all the way from Ocean Marina to Phuket. Others like Dave Wales towed their craft overland. Dave had some gear failure which knocked his Corsair “Sting” out of the regatta, but he came up smiling.

The Royal Thai Navy fared well with wins in 2 separate race categories. (Photo/Guy Nowell)
Many of the other sailors, arriving in Bangkok from the four corners of the globe, climbed aboard anything with wheels and bolted for Phuket, leaving the political factions occupying the airports to stake out their territories.
Even the press corps and media joined the fray, with this Pattaya Mail correspondent taking an overnight, 14hr bus ride to be in Phuket. He was later heard complaining in the media office that he was “bus-lagged”!
On the water, it was Asian Yachting Grand Prix champion 2007-2008 Aussie Ray Roberts who added another accolade to his burgeoning portfolio, including his third King’s Cup (1995, 2005), by winning the Racing Class Division. But, it was close: only one point separated the winner (15), from equal-placed second Neil Pryde (Hong Kong) and HK’s Paul Winkelmann/UK’s Steve Dodd (16) - Neil moving up to second place on a count-back. Defending champion HK’s Frank Pong had to settle for fourth place this year on 18 penalty points.
Australian skipper David Ross (8), likewise, had a narrow escape to win the Premier Class by one point from Belgian Peter Cremers (9) and Aussie compatriot Jon Wardill (16)
Yet another Aussie, Phuket-based Scott Duncanson, was the undisputed Sports Boat champion (6), from hard-driving Japanese Kenchi Takahashi (8) and Denmark’s Thai-based skipper Morten Jakobsen (16).
And you guessed it, Aussie Matt Allen, Commodore of the prestigious Sydney harbour-side Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, racked up his second win in South East Asian waters, bolting home with a perfect score in the IRC One class, helming his Beneteau First 44.7 “Ichi Ban”. Following a number of successful races on Australia’s east coast, and his win at this year’s Koh Samui Regatta, Matt will head back to Sydney to participate in the Sydney-Hobart blue water classic at year’s end.
Finally, the Antipodean stranglehold on the top was broken by the Thai teams in the IRC Two class where the Royal Thai Navy sailors, who had been battling each other all week, saw CPO 3 Wiwat Poonpat (8, RTN #1) narrowly beat N.C. Pontap Sukudom (10, RTN # 2), with the UK’s Peter Dyer (12) just behind in third.
The Netherlands, Germany and UK provided the three top sailors in the Sunsail One Design, with Achim Griese (4), Jan Ruedel (10) and Nick Rose (12), first to third respectively.
Japan came to the fore in the Bareboat Charter class, with Toru Inoue being elevated to number one after a count back over Germany’s Hans Kristeit, both finishing on 7 points, with Aussie team Mike Crisp and Tony Pfeiffor way back in third on 15.
British sailors dominated the Firefly 850 class, with Peter Dyer (8) and Roger Kindon (15) first and third, sandwiching Germany’s Hans Rahmann in second (13). Actually, Roger finished on equal third points with Kiwi sailor Brent Gribble who was relegated on a count-back.
Thai champion sailor Radab Kanjanavanit (5), a veteran of successive King’s Cups, was master of the Multihulls ahead of the UK’s David Liddell (8) and Aussie Bob Brindley (13).
The Russian teams, entering the Phuket King’s Cup for the third time, were proud to see Oleg Kasnoperov from home port Vladivostok take out the honours in the Ocean Rover class on 5 penalty points (at the post-regatta press briefing Oleg seemed quite pleased too!) The Russian team was well clear of Japan’s Keitero Kurihara (10) and USA’s prime entry, Marc Chapus, third (12).
Finally, in the Classic Class, it was British veterans Paul Brunning/Chris Edwards first on 5 points, followed by the “training vessel”, replete with 24 students, “learning the ropes” so to speak and piloted by James Stoll and Simon Koch, with a German/UK duo, Ralph Gortz/Simon Jupe, third on 9 points.
The wind gods smiled on the 22nd Regatta this year, with an overall average of about 15 knots, relatively steady north-easterlies and clear skies.
As Phuket Governor Dr. Pricha Ruenghcan pointed at the Royal Awards Ceremony, “This, the 22nd sailing of what is now a world-renowned Regatta, established in 1987 to honour our King on his 60th birthday, has not only withstood the test of time but, rather, it has thrived.” The continuing success, the Governor concluded, “becomes even more remarkable, when placed within the context of the world economic gloom which assaults us from all quarters.”
And so, the curtain came down on another Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Many, such as Hong Kong’s Neil Pryde, pointed out that in spite of the difficulties many participants encountered on the way to Phuket, it was “one of the best on record.” And from the original entry of almost 100 craft, only five did not arrive.

Big putt wins a ‘2’

Campbell returns 40-pointer at Greenwood

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Neil Duncan
Tuesday, December 9, The Emerald (White tees) - Stableford
A Flight (0-15)
1st Mike Jackson (14) 32pts
2nd Bob Drumm (11) 31pts
3rd Frank Waterhouse (12) 29pts
B Flight (16-up)
1st Nigel Cannon (23) 33pts
2nd Peter Mills (23) 33pts
3rd Rob Gandley (20) 30pts
Good Ol’ David divided the twenty one players into two divisions and off we went in glorious sunshine with a stiff cooling breeze. The conditions were conducive to good scoring so it is surprising that the average score was only 27.1 points.

Thursday’s flight winners: Ian Campbell (left) with John Roddis.

The absence of two irons in one player’s bag reminds us all to check that all is in order with our equipment when we finish a round of golf or leave a bar for that matter.
Near pin dividend payouts in course order went to Rob Gandley, David Gardner, Graziano Amodeo, and Peter Mills whilst scribe lagged home the longest first putt on the 18th green.
Thursday, December 11, Greenwood C & A (White tees) - Stableford.
A Flight (0-14)
1st John Roddis (11) 35pts
2nd Mike Jackson (14) 33pts
3rd David Gardner (9) 32pts
B Flight (15-up)
1st Ian Campbell (22) 40pts
2nd Rob Gandley (20) 36pts
3rd Ken Hole (15) 36pts
The greens at Greenwood were in tip-top championship condition and such a joy to putt on that most in the group took the opportunity of putting on them three times and more on several occasions.
Paul Bartlett had a field day with the technical prizes, taking two near pins and the longest putt and leaving just one other near pin bonus for David Gardner. The average score of the fifteen cards returned was a well-improved 32.4 points.
Friday saw eight of our group turn out for the PSC event at Navy. Our Canuck from Campbell River, Dennis Jaycock had an out-of-body experience of a sort when with 34 points in the bag and the last three holes on South to play with a shot on each hole he still had 34 points at the end. No shining lights etc. were reported by Dennis just a slowly descending red mist edged with black despair.

IPGC elects new golf committee

The IPGC golf committee.

A meeting was held last month to elect IPGC office bearers for the ensuing year. The IPGC is 8 years old and decided recently to operate under a constitution as it was felt this would be best for the 1,600 active members. This constitution was recently adopted and can be viewed at the IPGC web site www.ipgc.org.
The meeting was held under the new constitution format and as such, 2 members from each golfing venue were present. Each golfing venue is represented by the golfing organiser plus one elected member. The following positions were filled for the next 12 months: Chairman: Bob Newell; Honorary Secretary: Stuart Thompson; Honorary Treasurer: Stephan Beard; Public Relation: Len Jones; Course Liaison: Barry Winton.
Other Committee members include; Colin Davis, Russell Exley, Glyn Evans and Paddy Wilson.
The IPGC organize golf outings from Lewiinski’s Soi 13/3; The Haven Soi 13; PGS Rabi’s Elephant Bar, Soi Buakhao; Jomtien Golf, Siam Cats Bar, Soi 5 Jomtien and the Steve Mascari Group.
The group welcomes all golfers and plays friendly and competitive golf every day of the week using the UK based CONGU Handicap system. The committee would like to wish everyone an enjoyable golfing experience whilst in Pattaya.

Organized mayhem, but still a grand day out

The PSC 85th Monthly Open Golf Tournament

Derek Brook
Friday, December 12, Plutaluang
Now read carefully because even I am not sure I fully understand, and I am only going to tell you once. Normally we have an 18-hole course and play four men’s flights and a ladies flight. On this day we had 27 holes and we played three different 18 holes. One group played South and East, one group played North and East and one group played North and South. Each group had three flights (A, B and C) and the ladies played North and South and had one flight but only a winner and second. The reason for this is that by using this method it was possible to turn out over 165 golfers. Now we all understand, do we not?

Nigel Irvine (left) accepts the Karl Listlevan Trophy for the Best Low Gross score from the PSC golf Chairman Perry McNeely.
Confused? Well so were the organisers at the time, not Perry though, he knew! However, if you do not try something different at times you do not know if it will work, and surprisingly it did. Just to complete the ‘what else can go wrong,’ later at the presentation at Shenanigans the microphone did not work and we had to have a group of presenters call out the results. All were reported well the day after but they cannot talk, luckily for us.
So how did the day go, and how did people enjoy it? Well, the answer to that is ‘simply great’ and all who participated had a ball, whether they understood it or not. And why not, a great day out, a night at Shenanigans in Jomtien where the food was absolutely excellent and the spectacle of the organisers losing their voices. Great!

Leif Linner (left) with the Dr Sam Trophy for the Best Stableford score.
The day started out as normal with the new higher numbers of hopefuls signing in to play one of the three 18 holes, and then going down to the start. The fun began as the players tried to work out where they were playing and how they were to proceed. Somehow it all worked and I can report that there were only isolated sightings of the ‘Where the **** are we bird?’ and only one group played the wrong back nine. However, as is usual one of the back nines was invaded by the dreaded 6-ball crowds and as such was rather slow. Good ‘ere innit? The answer is yes as the courses were in great condition and even I, who am not a big fan of this venue, have to admit they were in fine shape.
Round over we all relaxed in hot showers, and all were pleased that there were sufficient lockers to go around, fiendish these ‘military types.’ However, there was a shortage of keys for the lockers which were locked, but never mind, the bosses and staff of this fine establishment are always most helpful and the thanks of PSC goes to them for their kind help.
Leaving the course to have a break before the hard task of eating and drinking at Shenanigans, Jomtien, we at least could smile as Max and Tim beavered away at trying to understand who should win. Rather them than me and generally they were correct.
Before we get to the evening venue, we could not put on such a fine day without the special group on companies and people who help, such as Perry’s team, and those who sponsor; namely Shenanigans, Jamesons, Moore Bar and Grill, Diana Group, Green Bottle, Pattaya Driving Range, Moon River, Blue Parrot, Trattoria Italiana, MBMG Insurance, Apex Profound Beauty, Tequila Reef, Cafe New Orleans, Sunset Cafe Restaurant, The Drum and Monkey Bar, Tahitian Queen Rock n’ Roll Bar, Dusit Hotel, The Outback Golf Bar, The Bunker Bar, The Golf Club, Tropical Bert’s Beach Bar, Cafe Kronborg, Phoenix Golf Group, The Beaver Bar, The Caddy Shack Restaurant and Bar, P.J. Pool Bar, The Three Sisters, The local media, Sinto Trading Co, Ltd, and of course Pattaya Sports Club. Special thanks go to the Shenanigans publican, Simon Dutton for his solid support.
All the players gathered at Shenanigans Jomtien, yes I know, I did not know they existed but we all do now, and tucked into the fine food provided by this establishment. It really was first class and more than enjoyed by all.
The on to the presentation, and here we had fun when it was realised the microphone was not working, so of course we all took out turns at shouting the results as all the players gathered around. In fact it was quite cosy.
Let me start the results by getting the easy one out of the way. Usually we do not have that many ladies play but this time we had a record number as far as my memory serves, so we could have a fairly full flight. As said, the ladies played the North and South course and the winner and runner up both had 39 points. So the winner of the ladies flight with 39 points was Yui Bietry with Usa Chaiyosit in second place.
In the men’s competition we will start with the winners in the North and South 18 holes. The winner of the A Flight, 0 to 16, was Jeff Wylie with 35 points with Mike Jackson second with 33 points. In the B Flight, 17 to 21, the winner was Brian Blackford with 38 points ahead of Dennis Jaycock in second with 34 points. In the C Flight, 22 to 36, the winner was Leif Linner with 40 points ahead of Jiri Scaba with 30 points.
So to the North and East 18 holes and you will see that the handicaps in the flights were slightly different and were according to the equal split of players in each flight just on each 18 holes. The winner of the A Flight, 0 to 11, was Kris Krisanajooth with 36 points on count back over Ian Halfpenny in second. The winner of the B Flight, 12 to 16, was Richard Garland with 38 points ahead of Bob Lindberg in second with 34 points, and the winner of the C Flight was Vladamir Ermakov with 40 points ahead of Charles Sheppard in second with 37 points.
In our third category we had the South and East 18 holes where the winner of the A Flight, 0 to 15, was Nigel Irvine with 42 points ahead of The PSC Golf Chairman Perry McNeely with 39 points. In the B Flight, 16 to 21, we had our old friend and ‘Golf Organiser’ Tony Duthie the winner with 38 points ahead of Bob Finden in second place on count back. In the C Flight the winner was John Jack Robertson with 34 points ahead of Don Carmody in second with 30 points.
Now just to add some glitter to an already ‘star bannered night,’ Dave Richardson came along from the Cafe Kronberg, this bar is in effect the ‘Home’ of golf in Pattaya for many years and where many signed up to join the PSC. Many ‘legends’ strode the stage at Caesars’ and then the Cafe Kronborg and we remember two of them annually at this tournament with the Dr Sam Trophy for the Best Stableford winner, this year Leif Linner with 40 points, and the Karl Listlevan Trophy for the Best Gross, this year won by Nigel Irvine with a gross 73. Well played both and Dave ‘The Admiral.’
Prize presentation over, and I hope you all understood because it has taken this write up for me to come to grips with it, I hope, we then went into the ‘Lucky Draw’ and a fine night was had by all. I will now rest my typing finger. T.T.F.N.
Technical Awards
Long Drives: Pat Morrissey, Ernie Hill (2), Jiri Skaba, Chris Balzi, Chris Holmes, Michael Wiche, Bob Finley, Moon Chanogara
2’s: Gordon Ramsey, Paul Smith, Bryan James (2), Richard Garland, Michael Lefebre, Charles Leslie, Jeff Wylie, Ben Finden, Robin Lennon (3), Ian Halfpenny, Ron Dalen, Graham Beaumont, Barry Traynor, Reiner Helling, Pierre Bietry, Anders Pederson.
Near Pins: Imira Goransson, Ron Dalen, Peter Hammond, Don Richardson (2), Britt-Marie Wimmerstedt, Brendan Byrne, John Swanson, Tony Chetland, Jeff Wylie, Les Charles, Robin Lennon (2), Jim Bryan, Pierre Bietry, Anders Pederson, Charles Sheppard, Peter Henderson.

Flight winners from the North and East course.

Flight winners from the North and South and the ladies winner.

Flight winners from the South and East course.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

“Your Lordship, even you, a barely single digit IQ Yank, must realize that this is the last column before Christmas.  I want to ask, are you going to do one of the insidiously mundane columns where the boxing fan comes down the stairs on Christmas morning to find beautifully wrapped boxing presents left by unscrupulous promoters and sanctioning organizations under the tree?  Are you going to go through the painful reader process of opening each and every present with comments about what’s on board for next year?
“Are you also going to waste the readers’ time with sophomoric remembrances of your childhood when your family was so poor all you got for Christmas was a lump of coal?  For toys your Mom cut a hole in the front pocket of your torn and tattered jeans?
“And are you going to share your dreams of fights to come like sugar plums would dance in the head of a normal person?  Are you going to bore us with your tedious preparations of your Christmas dinner which surely will entail detailed instruction on preparing a turkey?  Every reader knows that in 40 of 52 weeks you prepare and present a turkey disguised as The Square Ring.  Well?”
“Not now, Jeeves.”
Pacquiao-Oscar
The Pacquiao-De La Hoya execution generated more emails to TSR than any fight in memory.  Even taking into consideration that the memory isn’t now what it once was, it’s still a unique milestone.  Even Un-Tall-Paul, hater of everything boxing, took to the keyboard.
“I know nothing of boxing other than what I read in your erudite columns.  I don’t normally arise early except on golf days, but I arose at 8AM to see my hero, super boxing star Oscar De La Hoya only to find out that he didn’t start his slow dance till 11AM.  He seemed to be asking Manny Pacquiao to please stand still so he might knock him out.  To see him hold his right hand ready for a knock out punch that was never delivered was sad. 
“My American friend of Mexican ancestry gleefully relieved me and my fellow De La Hoya fans of (as Bernard Trink used to say) a few coins of the realm.  So sad to see a true professional get knocked around the ring as happened.”
Great comments with the exception that De La Hoya’s KO punch was the left, which he never threw either.
From Lady D’Eva
For those that care, the fight did 1.25 million PPV buys which was 750,000 under what was expected.  Still $70 million USD’s ain’t chump change.
Lady D’Eva Futch knows boxing and pretty.  She learned boxing but was born with pretty.  Her late husband Eddie Futch was not only a great trainer but taught others to be great trainers.  One of those was Freddie Roach who trained Pacquiao.
“The outcome of this fight is a great example of great coaching,” said Lady D’Eva.  “DLH faced not one but two opponents.  When you have a trainer who was as emotionally motivated as Freddie Roach, the outcome was clear.  I though the Pac-man would win for that reason.  I am a great Freddie Roach fan.  I also know that it takes a great man to admit his weakness/follies like DLH did.  I cried about the sadness of a fallen, great champion who said, “You were right Freddie … I didn’t have it anymore.”
Valuev-Holyfield… anyone care?
“As his Lordship is trying to become a member in good standing of the ‘boxing community,’ he must report on heavyweight boxing each week.  Now after all the ‘blather’ the WBA heavyweight tile holder, the Russian behemoth Nikolai Valuev (49-1), will return to defend against Evander Holyfield (42-9) on Saturday night in Zurich.
“As if by magic the WBA just weeks prior to the fight ranked Holyfield #12, so it counts as a title defense.  ‘Worthy opponent’ is the term they use.  The encounter (little dodgy to call it a fight) will take place in the Hallenstadion where the world knows Muhammad Ali stopped Jurgen Blin in 7 back in 1971.
“The 46-year old Holyfield’s best days were in the last century.  The best, some would argue, was the second Lennox Lewis fight which some and TSR thought Holyfield won.
“‘He is very experienced but I have no doubts that I will beat him,’ says Valuev.  A 1985 Skoda has experience but after being driven by an immigrant cabbie it doesn’t work too well now.”
Sugar not so sweet
Drugs and particularly ‘performance enhancing drugs’ have been in the sports spotlight for a number of years.  For the most part the stigma of “PED’s” haven’t hit boxing.  Some think that’s because the masking agents are as good as the “PED’s”.
The New York Daily News is reporting that in his 2003 grand jury testimony, “Sugar” Shane Mosley injected himself with EPO, which is a performance enhancing substance.  He did this just prior to his second fight with Oscar De La Hoya.  Mosley won that fight on a UD with scores of 115-113 all around.  One of the judges was Thailand’s Anek Hongtongkam.  Mosley is now De La Hoya’s business partner.
This news came to light just days after it was announced that Mosley would meet Antonio Margarito on January 24 in Las Vegas.  Margarito is a hot commodity since he put the ‘big hurt’ on previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto.  Their rematch is scheduled for June in New York.
Just days after the release of the Daily News story the fight was moved from Las Vegas, Nevada to Los Angeles California.  Why?  Promoter Bob (I’m telling the truth) Arum said, “Because it’s an LA fight and the MGM/Mirage (Las Vegas) only planned on buying 40% of the tickets.”  Is the Staples Center (LA) going to buy more?  Don’t be silly.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Officer, Keith Kizer, told the LA Times, “I didn’t think the fight was moved for Mosley to avoid additional scrutiny or possible discipline in Nevada after the release of grand jury testimony in which he (Mosley) admitted taking performance enhancing injections.”
In the words of Mr. B. Bunny, “What a maroon.”
Yak-yak-yak…
Double talk
TSR reported that three well-known boxers were in danger of becoming “persona non-grata” with the WBC.  At their convention the WBC took a firm stand against those that had failed to pay sanctioning fees or “step aside” fees while their titles were put on hold.  The three in question were Humberto Soto, Kelly Pavlik and Manny Pacquiao.  Just days after, the headline in a very popular boxing news web blared, “Boxers pay Fees.”  Well not really, if someone bothered to read the story.
The WBC in a press release stated, “All matters have been agreed and resolved.”  Did the boxers pay the fees?  Is up to you!
Straight talk
Vic Darchinyan (31-1-1) is somewhat of a character, which is an understatement.  He’s a whack job waiting to happen.  He also happens to be one heck of a fighter who’s tougher than a mamasan when the Navy’s in town.
On February 7, 2009 he’ll finally meet in the ring Jorge Arce (51-4-1).  He doesn’t rate Arce.  “I can’t get enough of Mexican fighters,” said Darchinyan.  “They bounce real good off the canvas when I hit them.  Let’s see, I’ve stopped Cristian Mijares, Victor Burgos and Luis Maldonado over the past two years.  Unlike Jorge Arce, those three fighters were very tough hombres.  Defeating Arce won’t take much training.  It won’t even be a fight for me!”
No doubt there how he really feels.
Results - The SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany
“If you got up at 4AM in the Land of Smiles to watch Wladimir Klitschko (52-3) defend his IBF/WBO heavyweight title against Hasim Rahman (45-7-2), shame on you.  When his Lordship pronounces a fight a ‘stinker’ - stay in bed.  Recover from Saturday night so you’ll live to party another day and night.
“As predicted, Wladimir Klitchko had no trouble dispensing with Hasim Rahman at 44 seconds of round 7.  He had no trouble because Rahman never made an effort.  Klitschko landed jabs and hooks at will with the regularity of a bar girl asking for a ‘lady drink.’  Rahman did try the ‘dope on the ropes’ ploy, which just allowed Klitschko to land more punches with no fear of retaliation, not that there was any retaliation anyway.”
The Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Rousing IBF cruiserweight title fight last week between no longer champion Steve Cunningham (21-2) and now champion Tomasz Adamek (36-1).  The main difference between a cruiserweight and a heavyweight, besides a few pounds, is that the cruiserweights usually can’t hit.  If they could hit they’d add 10 or 20 pounds and become heavyweights, which translates to big money.
Adamek, originally from Poland now resides in Newark NJ, which made him the hometown favorite.  In the second round at the 2:59 mark, Adamek landed a right followed by a left which sent Cunningham down for the second time in his career.  In the 4th Cunningham mounted a vaunted attack, landing at will, only to have Adamek score a knockdown and win the round.  Cunningham would again kiss canvas in the 8th and yet in the end some had the fight very close.  TV boxing expert Wally Mathews had is 115-115.
Adamek won the fight by scores of 116-110, 115-112 with judge Clark Sammartino having it for Cunningham 114-112, even though he was down three times.  TSR had it 115-112 so that’s the way it was.  My, that TSR guy is good.
And finally…
“Your Lordship, before you get into the ‘I love the world’ holiday spirit, might I point out that you incorrectly reported that Manny Pacquiao’s first world title win, against Chatchai Sasakul, was for the WBO flyweight crown. Cousin Bruce writes, ‘Manny beat Chatchai for the WBC flyweight title, not WBO.’
“As I bring you lager, cigars and music, I will announce that I will be going to Bangkok to attend the big free Christmas Eve Party at the Silver Dollar on Washington Square.  I will then spend the night enjoying Christmas dinner with your pal Doug at Bourbon Street where a bountiful Christmas buffet fit for a king will be served.”
“Thank you Jeeves, and to Sir Frog, Monkey House Fred, The Lord of Pattaya, The Unofficial Mayor (retired) of Patong Beach, Cousin Bruce, Editor Martin, Elmo the Great, Un-Tall-Paul, Lady D’Eva, O.R., Doug, Ned, our dear friend South of The Border, and most of all the readers worldwide that have made this the most popular weekly boxing column in Thailand.  From The Square Ring to you … God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År, Sawadee Pee Mai, Feliz Navidad, and Merry Christmas and to all a good night.”
“Your Lordship, The Square Ring is the only weekly boxing column in Thailand.”
“Sooooo?  Cheewit dee krap”

Albert bag’s a bracee

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday December 7, Green Valley - Stableford
A Flight
1st Phil Mitchell (7) 39pts
2nd Pat Regan (9) 37pts
3rd Bob Newell (7) 37pts
B Flight
1st Albert Mcevoy (17) 41pts
2nd Kevin Hamilton (19) 38pts
3rd John Hartigan (16) 37pts
Near Pins: #2 Joe Mcardle, #9 John Hartigan, #12 Kevin Hamilton and #16 Dave Driscoll
2’s: Pierre Bietry, John Hartigan, Kevin Hamilton, Dale Shier and Mike Loewen
Baan Jing Jai hidden six: 1st Kevin Hamilton, 2nd Dale Shier
The size of the field might have been impacted by the no shows but the quality of play was certainly not affected. Phil “flipper” Mitchell managed 39 points to be a popular A flight winner, followed by Pat Regan in second place on 37 after a count back over Bob “The Mamasun of golf” Newell. Amazingly no 2’s were reported in A Flight
Albert McEvoy reached top spot after last week’s second place finish, carding a remarkable 41 points for man of the match and B Flight glory - the “scissors” are being sharpened. Second place fell to Big Kevin Hamilton with an impressive 38 points. John Hartigan, Pierre the Magician and Terry Phur all tied on 37, the Magician’s magic failed him this time and John Hartigan took the third spot.
Green Valley now has the benefit of two 3D simulators located at the clubhouse. Well worth a try, check it out.
Monday, December 8, Phoenix - Stableford
A Flight
1st Peter Hynard (11) 35pts
2nd Richard Chia (14) 34pts
B Flight
1st Jim Elphick (22) 33pts
2nd Colm Mullen (15) 32pts
Today’s outing was at Phoenix and the course was in great condition, however the wind made it difficult to put a decent score together. Jim Elphick worked hard for the top slot in B Flight, scraping together 33 points, second place went to last week’s title slot winner Colm Mullen with 32. I hope you’re not thinking what I think you are Colm?
All the day’s action was in A Flight where Peter Hynard amassed 35 splendid points to top the flight. Runner up to Peter was Richard Chia accumulating 34 points.
Seamus V C Cotter and Bob the Mamasun shared the 2’s pot.
Thursday, December 11, Mountain Shadow - Stableford
A Flight
1st Michele Sancillo (6) 35pts
2nd Seamus Cotter (12) 32pts
B Flight
1st Sean Murphy (19) 33 pts
2nd Dene Airey (14) 31 pts
I cannot remember if the society has ever played on a Thursday before today or whether it will again, Mountain Shadow was host today for the Lewiinski’s gang. The wind was blowing a gale, the greens were lightning fast and the scores reflected this with no competitor managing to break par.
The top card belonged to Michele Sancillo, who took A F light by storm with a creditable 35 points. Runner up to Michele was the Right Honorable Seamus Cotter V C with a normally miserable, but good for the day 32 points.
B Flight really went to town; with Sean Murphy leading the flight home on 33 points, Big Dene Scary scratched 31 for second, and Chairman Mao notched 30 for nothing. Amazing what a bit of wind, and slick greens can do.
The 2’s on the day went to Michele Sancillo (2), Seamus Cotter, Steve Mulberry, Paul Shaw and Ben Shack.
Friday, December 12, Khao Kheow - Stableford
A Flight
1st Ted Lodge (11) 35pts
2nd Joe Mcardle (13) 35pts
B Flight
1st Albert McEvoy (17) 36pts
2nd Andy Galvin (19) 35pts
What a way to finish the week with a trip to the superb Khao Kheow to play the A and C nines, and for the second day running no golfer broke par.
Albert Mcevoy almost did, carding a match winning 36 points. Andy Galvin was runner up to Albert on 35.
Ted Lodge and Joe “Lederhosen” Mcardle battled it out in the senior flight with 35 points apiece. In a very close count back, Ted just got the verdict over Joe.
Ted Lodge and Andy Galvin shared the 2’s pot.
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya Land Soi 1, Beach Road Soi 13/3 near to Walking Street. Anyone wishing to play with us just pop in, and add your name to the list or call Bob on 080 096 8232. Transport is provided.

Brian cans a Hole-in-One at Burapha

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Joey’s column
Monday, December 8, Burapha - Stableford
It’s not surprising that some claim that Crystal & Dunes is too easy from the white tees at only 6,030 yards, yet from the blues that measure 6,491 yards, many find it too difficult. On the sister course, A & B, it seems acceptable to regularly play the blue tees, measuring 6,713 yards. Strange isn’t it? Maybe the Outback should experiment and split the tees more often, with Div C & D playing from the more forward tees.

Hole-in-One man Brian Maddox with the Outback Golf Bar staff, Ya & Sa.

Some 46 Outbackers played on their own private course again with no other golfers in sight, some of the front groups whistling round in about three and a half hours and everybody well under four.
Superb playing conditions led to some good scores, particularly in Div B, Bruce Milner (41pts) winning by six from Joe Mooneyham; Div C won by Jim Bryan on count back from Bob Lindborg both with 39; and Div D won by Jean Phillippe (41pts) from Brian Maddox on 39.
There were about seven ‘2’s coming from Ian Heddle, Bob Philp, Alan Bishop, Jim Bryan, Brian Calender, Bruce Milner & John Kittilsen, but they all collected nothing as Brian Maddox scooped the entire ‘2’s pot with his fourth hole-in-one on the 5th hole on Crystal. Great shot Brian!
Div A (0-10)
1st Bob Philp (7) 38pts
2nd Ian Heddle (2) 35pts
3rd Jack Moseley (10) 34pts
Div B (11-15)
1st Bruce Milner (15) 41pts
2nd Joe Mooneyham (13) 35pts
3rd Frank O’Neill (14) 34pts
Div C (16-21)
1st James Bryan (17) 39pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (16) 39pts
3rd John Spiller (21) 35pts
Div D (22+)
1st Jean Phillippe Baudot (32) 41pts
2nd Brian Maddox (23) 39pts
3rd Jum Karagit (33) 35pts
Wednesday, December 10, The Emerald - Stableford
Another Thai public holiday, Constitution Day, but the pace of play was good and the 37 or so Outbackers that came, teed off on time. The course is still in excellent shape, although there are one or two patches showing signs of drying out, and the greens played a little slower than normal.
With the benign conditions, many high scores could have been expected, but when the last card was returned, and not all of them were, only five players had matched or beaten their handicap. Capt’ Bob & Mike Waltschek flew the flag for Div A, with 38 & 37 points respectively, whilst Kathy Doody ran away with Div B by five. Barry Chadbourn posted yet another good round of 40 points, earning himself the Div C win, 3 ladder points to add to his one on Tuesday from Green Valley, and a handicap cut to 19.8, valid to the weekend. Patrick Browne was second with 39 and these two were a long way clear of the third placed Paul Crosland with 32.
There were two ‘2’s from Des Scott & Bruce Milner.
Div A (0-13)
1st Bob Philp (7) 38pts
2nd Michael Waltschek (7) 37pts
3rd Joe Mooneyham (13) 34pts
4th Desmond Scott (10) 34pts
Div B (14-20)
1st Kathy Doody (19) 36pts
2nd John Kittilsen (17) 31pts
3rd Bill Bishop (16) 30pts
4th Bruce McAdam (18) 29pts
Div C (21+)
1st Barry Chadbourn (21) 40pts
2nd Patrick Browne (26) 39pts
3rd Paul Crosland (22) 32pts
4th Patrick Mulvany (26) 32pts
Thursday, December 11, Plutaluang - Stableford
Thirteen Outbackers made the trip to the Navy course today, playing the South and East nines - somewhat odd since according to the new cards, they are not linked together anymore.
George Bishop won with 37 points from Steve Durey (36pts) and Jim Treen taking third on count back from Geoff Doody, both on 33.
There were two ‘2’s from Sugar Ray & Paul Bourke.
1st George Bishop (14) 37pts
2nd Steve Durey (22) 36pts
3rd Jim Treen (13) 33pts
4th Geoff Doody (19) 33pts
Friday, December 12, Siam Plantation - Stableford
Thirty Outbackers were back at their regular Friday venue with a difference, playing from the true white tees measuring some 6,832 yards. If you thought the composite white and yellow tees (6,530yds) was tough, try this monster, rated on length alone some 1.4 strokes harder at 72.8.
The scores reflected the difficulty, as the top score of the day was Pete Stonebridge’s excellent 34 points, winning Div B from Paul Moore (33) and two players, George Bishop & Harry Schuster, both on 30.
Having less shots to play with to soak up their errors, the Div A players fared worse as John McHugh seemed somewhat surprised to learn that his 32 put him in first place. Heath (31pts) scrambled for another reasonable round, edging out Kevin Taylor on count back. Mike Waltschek scored the only ‘2’.
Div A
1st John McHugh (8) 32pts
2nd Heath Glasby (11) 31pts
3rd Kevin Taylor (6) 31pts
4th Michael Waltschek (7) 30pts
Div B
1st Peter Stonebridge (18) 34pts
2nd Paul Moore (18) 33pts
3rd George Bishop (14) 30pts
4th Harry Schuster (18) 30pts
Friday, December 12, Phoenix - Stableford
Another 25 Outbackers played the Mountain & Lake nines, to experience some of the fastest greens around at the moment. Looking at the scores, anybody would have thought this was Siam Plantation not Phoenix as the best man’s card coming from Bill Hewitt was only 32 points. Alan Bishop also had 32, with Ken Little third with 30. Incredibly, Des Scott got fourth with a mere 29!
Kathy Doody won Div B with 33, from another lady, Jum with 32.
There were no ‘2’s today.
Div A (0-18)
1st Bill Hewitt (12) 32pts
2nd Alan Bishop (16) 32pts
3rd Ken Little (13) 30pts
4th Desmond Scott (10) 29pts
Div B (19+)
1st Kathy Doody (19) 33pts
2nd Jum Karagit (33) 31pts
3rd Geoff Doody (19) 29pts
4th Dave Emery (22) 26pts
Just remains for Capt’ Bob & Jack & all the staff at the Outback Golf Bar to wish everybody a very Happy Christmas. That’s all for now, if you have any thoughts, scandalous stories or suggestions, why not drop me a line at joey@outbackgolf bar.com.
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. outbackgolf bar.com.

Voller’s putter is hot

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

The Pattaya Golf Society visited an empty Greenwood golf club on Tuesday, December 9 to play a stableford competition over the A and C nines and found the course in excellent condition with the best greens anyone could remember. It was to be a putting paradise for one golfer in particular.
The field was divided into two flights at eighteen and under and in the second flight Pat Murphy finished in third place with 34 points and left the bar with a broad smile on his face, whilst Jim Ferris played to form with a fine 35 points for second place. The flight winner was wee Bobby Shirkey whose 36 points showed the improvement his new driver has made to his game.
In the top flight Bill Hewitt’s 36 points took second place, three behind Chris Voller who had the putting round of his life, registering only 24 putts on the superb greens. It was surprising then that his only successful birdie ‘2’ came on the A6 hole whilst Simon Kendall and Paul McNally joined him with shares of the pot on C6 and C3 respectively.
The Booby Bevy went to Jean Morel for having a full practice swing near the tenth tee contrary to the amended rules of the game. Greenwood in this condition will attract many satisfied Pattaya golfers over the coming months and is still very good value for money, even at high season rates.
‘Jack the Lad’ at ESR
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Eastern Star on Thursday, December 11 to play a stableford competition and found the course in need of water with tight fairway lies and hard greens. Having said that, the course was relatively empty and the welcome was its usual warm one.
The field was divided into two flights at twenty-one and under and the return of many regular old friends made the day a pleasant one.
In the top flight Richard “Banjo” Bannister continued his fine form with a third place finish on 31 points, one behind Peter Biggs. The flight winner was the in-form Chris Voller and his 36 points represented another fine day for his putter. It may be a “copy” but he would not swap it for the world at present.
In the second flight it was good to see Finland’s Jorma Liila back in contention as he jostled with Les Burns for second place. In the end both finished level on 31 points. The day’s best score was the thirty-eight points of Jack Robertson, giving Canadian Jack his first PGS win. The best gross score of the day was that of Chris Voller with 79.
There was a trio of birdie ‘2’s on the tough par three third with David Thomas, Chris Voller and Jorma taking a share of the pot. The Booby Bevy found its way to Ray Banks after a round he will want to forget, his card showing an 8 - 17 split.
As high season (what high season?) reaches its peak, Eastern Star may well be advised that a little water will refresh the course and make the day a more pleasant experience than at present.
Masters’ class act
The Pattaya Golf Society entered Greenwood’s magic world on Saturday, December 13, to play a stableford event on what is probably the best course in the province at present. The fairways may be just a little tight but the greens are the finest with their pace and consistency. The B and A nines were the designated track and the group got underway on time on a not too crowded course.
The late replacement booking meant half a dozen players were unable to play but in the single flight Ann Silawong added to her golfing CV with a fine 34 points to share third place with Frenchman Jean Morel. Jack Robertson, most recently a PSC winner, fired level par 36 points for second place but the whole field were completely blown apart by one of the rounds Peter Masters will remember as his 44 points set a personal record with gross 77, making it the PGS’s third best round of the year. A true Masterclass by the Australian teacher.
Ann Silawong, Jack Robertson and Chris Voller shared the ‘2s pot, the latter notching up his fourth consecutive ‘2’s bonus. The return of Michael Lindberg almost guaranteed the destination of the Booby Bevy but he was denied after lady golfer Wan Meeraka was overheard on the first tee telling a friend “Tell Mr Len I drink ‘Spy’”. Her low score in her maiden competition was duly marked in fine style.
The PGS had enjoyed a thoroughly good golf day again.

Jouni takes his first from the Haven

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, December 8 Green Valley - Stableford
1st Barry Traynor 38pts
2nd Yasuo Suzuki 38pts
3rd John Harris 37pts
4th George Pittam 36pts
Green Valley is still suffering from the renovations that are in hand prior to the upcoming Asian qualifying to be held there in January, but on the other hand the recent world economic turmoil and closure of the main airports has caused an almost total dearth of golfers from other parts of Asia, which gives the rounds of golf there a sense of a very low season.
Barry Traynor, after suffering a 3-month hiatus when nothing seemed to go right, has slipped back into the old groove with a couple of nice rounds of which this days’ was one. A sparkling 20 points on the back nine and 13 on the back six was enough to see off the challenge of Yasuo Suzuki, who only manage 11 on the back six.
John Harris battled round to a one-under to just deny George Pittam the third spot on the podium.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Rick Holmes, Phil Groves, Barry Traynor, Yasuo Suzuki and Peter Sumner shared a pittance in the first division.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back George Pittam, Del Bailey, Martin Grimoldby and Alec Woods.
Wednesday, December 10, Emerald - Stableford
Division 1
1st Jouni Jauhiainen 36pts
2nd Yasuo Suzuki 34pts
3rd Graham Johnson 33pts
4th Robert Lamond 32pts
Division 2
1st Paul Taylor 37pts
2nd Brian Kelly 37pts
3rd Geoff Picken 32pts
4th Danny Greer 32pts
With a stiff wind blowing, and seemingly against on most holes, it was no surprise to find that CSS went out to 74 with scoring at a premium even with a large quality field that required two divisions cut at 15 and below.
Jouni Jauhiainen scored his first win out of Soi 13 with a very tidy level par round that saw him easily win the first division by two from Yasuo Suzuki who took his second placing of the week. Graham Johnson just slipped in ahead of the chasing group led by Bob Lamond, who took 4th place by virtue of his 17 points on the inward half as Martin Grimoldby could just manage 15 and Norman Isherwood 14.
The second division was led in by Paul Taylor with a very pleasing one under handicap which included 17 points on the back nine and 13 on the back six as Brian Kelly could only scrape together 12 on the last six for second place.
Geoff Picken continued with his quest to retrieve a small portion of his recent outlay for lessons with a solid 32 and 17 on the back nine as Danny Greer slumped to just 14 on the inward nine.
Once again there were no ‘2’s in the second division but Jack Spencer, Russell Exley and Dan MacCarthy shared the first division pool.
Back at The Haven, The Doc welcomed new members Derryck Smith, Tom Barrett, Dan MacCarthy and Matt Gibbons and also welcomed back Brian Carruthers, Peter Biggs, Fred Chadwick, Alan Pilkington, Alan Howell, Steven Howard and Brian Libbey.
Friday, December 12, Phoenix - Stroke Play
1st Fred Land net 70
2nd Philip Knight net 71
3rd Rodney Howett net 71
4th Yasuo Suzuki net 71
5th Chris Knapp net 72
It was a pleasant change to be playing a stroke play competition off the white tees which added a little more pressure to a day’s golf played at a leisurely pace without the usual throng of players that is normally the situation at this time of year.
Fred Land had an excellent round that will ensure that he goes into the New Year with a handicap that has steadily reduced this year by three shots. He returned a card of two-under to take his first win for some time by a single shot from the chasing group led by Philip Knight.
Philip had a very nice 34 over the inward half to deny Rodney Howett by half a shot and Yasuo Suzuki, taking his third podium of the week in fourth place with a count back of 35.
Unsurprisingly Chris Knapp took full advantage, as always, of the members bounces to secure the last spot with a level par round.
For the third time in the week there were no ‘2’s in the second division making it a quadruple roll over, but Philip Knight, Robert Lamond and Alan Pilkington all had one in the first division.
Before the presentations The Doc welcomed back Trevor Edge for the far north of Thailand, just down to open a southern area office of the famous Edge ATM, unfortunately many of his old regular customers were unable to take advantage of the opportunity due to illness or absence, but those that did formed an orderly queue following their rounds.
Next week on traditional Boxing Day, sees the culmination of the Gold and Silver medals played off the blue tees at Phoenix together with the usual monthly medal for all those not qualified for this year’s event. It will be interesting to see how many will have survived The Havens celebrated 17 course Christmas All Day Lunch to take on the challenge.
This will be followed on Saturday the 27th by the Children’s Christmas Party for the Baan Jing Jai home for their orphaned and abandoned children to which all are welcome.

Beautiful Game? by Riz Taylor

Team not winning? Try another

Wander around Pattaya for an evening and you’ll quickly find that football shirts are a common sight on the city’s streets. If that’s your cup of tea then congratulations to you, but what has shocked and disappointed me this week is the news that many of you are not what you seem.
A report published by Barclays, the official global title sponsor of the Premier League, has announced results of the views of over 32,000 fans from 185 countries who answered a survey which “offers a unique insight into the lifestyle and opinions of football fans across the globe.” And if the results are true and apply to Thailand – and why wouldn’t they as results came from 90 per cent of the world’s countries - it means that 13 per cent of you should hang your sorry heads in shame.
Alongside some of the more expected results, such as 47% of the voters deciding that Brazil produces the best footballers, was that 13 per cent of football fans choose their team based on ‘a history of success’, according to the study.
The Premier League is broadcast to 611 million homes in 211 countries worldwide, reaching a global audience of 4.77 billion people, yet the people surveyed contrived to vote the press conference in which Jose Mourinho declared himself ‘The Special One’ as the third best moment in the history of the Barclays Premier League. David Beckham’s famous halfway line strike against Wimbledon in 1996 comes out top (16%), while Stan Collymore’s winner in Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Newcastle in the same year came second (13%). And in fourth – and the most popular with Italian fans – was former West Ham striker Paolo Di Canio’s decision to pick up the ball in front of an empty goal as Everton keeper Paul Gerrard lay injured (9%, and 22% in Italy).
The top 10 players in Premier League history were: Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, Roy Keane and Gianfranco Zola, a list which you’ll notice contains no defenders or goalkeepers. And while 14 percent of fans would like to see David Beckham return to England, more fans would prefer to see Lionel Messi (54%), Kaka (50%), David Villa (35%) and Ronaldinho (23%) in the Premier League.
League appeal
87% of Barclays Premier League fans also follow the UEFA Champions League, with La Liga (45%), Serie A (18%), Scottish Premier League (10%) and Bundesliga (6%) popular. Atmosphere of games and passion of the fans is the most appealing aspect of Barclays Premier League football (57%), replacing players from the 2005 study. Style of football (52%), players (46%) and competitiveness (45%) also featured highly in what supporters enjoy about the league.
Team support
Style of football (33%), family tradition (14%) and history of success (13%) were highlighted as the main factors behind team support. Only 85% of Barclays Premier League fans would never change the team they support!
Players and Managers
Fernando Torres is the Barclays Premier League player fans would most like to sign for their own team (38%), followed by Cesc Fabregas (36%), Steven Gerrard (27%) and Cristiano Ronaldo (27%). Sir Alex Ferguson reclaims top spot as favourite current manager (26%), ahead of Rafael Benitez (21%), Arsene Wenger (20%) and Luis Felipe Scolari (10%). Russia manager, Guus Hiddink, is the manager most fans would like to see in the Barclays Premier League (21%), followed by England boss, Fabio Capello (14%) and Frank Rijkaard (12%)
Viewing habits
The modern day fan makes the most of a variety of channels to follow their passion - 92% consume the league via TV and 82% use desktop computers to keep up to date. 54% of fans keep up to date with news and results by logging online via a desktop PC, while a further 24% access the web via their mobile phones
Fans still like to create a sense of occasion for matches, however, with one in four (25%) choosing to watch big games with friends in the pub, despite having Pay TV at home. 45% of worldwide Barclays Premier League fans watch matches at home with friends or family, and like to watch as many games as possible, regardless of which team is playing
Fan spending
69% of Barclays Premier League fans own a replica shirt, the most popular form of club merchandise. These are most expensive in Oceania, where home strips average 4,800 baht and, bizarrely, away kits will set you back 4,400.
The great debate
According to fans, Chelsea are the favourites to win the title this season (37%), followed by Manchester United (27%), Liverpool (24%) and Arsenal (10%). Fabio Capello’s England are being tipped to win the 2010 World Cup (23%), ahead of Spain (21%) and Argentina (18%)
In the survey, 46 per cent of African fans said they watched more than five hours of football a week on TV or online. Africa currently has 45 footballers plying their trade in the Premier League and South Africa will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Wigan Athletic was favoured in Egypt, with Latics’ striker Amr Zaki hailed as the country’s favourite current Premier League player.
Finally, 81 per cent, or 25,920 people, said football was their most popular topic of conversation.
This weekend
Arsenal at home to Liverpool dominates this weekend. But Hull versus Sunderland or Tottenham at home to Newcastle might tempt the neutral or perhaps those 13% of you that are happy to change allegiances depending on who’s winning. Everton entertain Chelsea in Monday’s late one, and this week’s glamour tie is Stoke’s visit to Blackburn Rovers.

Saturday 20 December Blackburn      v       Stoke, 22:00 Bolton           v       Portsmouth, 22:00 Fulham         v       Middlesbrough, 22:00 Hull              v       Sunderland, 22:00 West Ham    v       Aston Villa, 00:30 Sunday Sunday 21 December West Brom     v       Man City, 20:30 Newcastle      v       Tottenham, 22:00 Arsenal          v       Liverpool, 23:00 Tuesday 23 December Everton          v      Chelsea, 03:00 (Monday night)

Toeing the Oche’

Houston Hartwell II
Stop the press. Hold all calls. Break out the champagne. Look up in the sky, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s a blue moon with a cow jumping over it.” “Hey, what that’s round thing laying on the ground?” “Why it’s a roundtoit.” “What’s that?” “Your latest Teelock paid her own bar fine, and then gave you 1,000 Baht to go shopping.” Yep, it’s one of those times that the PDC held a national darts championship which wasn’t won by Phil Taylor. Well who would have thunk it?

Canadian John Part will be out to defend his title in the Word Darts Championships which kick off this Friday, December 19 in London, England. (Photo/Lawrence Lustig PDC)

Dutchman Co Stompe came from being down 2 sets to 1 against Phil Taylor to win the German Darts Championships 4-2. Was it a fluke, a freak of nature? Nope. It was brilliant darts in a final that saw both players’ averages over 107. 11 and 12-darters were the norm as were finishes of 174 and 177 to name but two, while T80’s flowed like beverages during Happy Hour at Tim’s, The TQ or Jamenson’s.
“In all honesty I never expected to win,” said Stompe afterwards. “We come into events trying to be ‘best of the rest’ and give Phil a run for his money. I’ve been European Champion and reached the semi-finals at Lakeside but this is the PDC. Beating Phil Taylor is the greatest moment of my life. Phil Taylor is the best darts player the planet has ever seen.”
Stompe may be correct but Taylor wasn’t the best at the German Championships. Co Stompe was and he has the £25,000 pounds and the trophy to prove it.
‘The Russian Fox’ joins the PDC
The biggest event in darts kicks off this weekend in London at the Alexandra Palace. Joining the 89 men in the competition will be women’s world champion Anastasia “The Russian Fox” Dobromyslova. Anastasia has already taken part in two other PDC events, being competitive in both. In the Blue Square UK Open she lost to Robert Thornton 6-5, and at the recently concluded Party Porker Grand Slam of darts she had chances in pool play to move on but suffered an attack of the “dreaded doubles.” Anastasia’s last WDF/BDO circuit appearance was in the World Masters where she lost a nail biter to Francis Hoenselaar 4-3.
It’s a big move for Dobromyslova where she goes from playing against women in a minor circuit to facing the best male players in darts. Financially there is no comparison, with the PDC prize money set to exceed £5 million pounds next year.
For the World Dart Championships she replaces an Indian qualifier who withdrew, maybe due to gunfire. To make it to the main draw she’ll have to beat Remco van Eijen of Holland. A win there and she would face off against #30 Tony Eccles.
PDC head honcho said, “We’re delighted that Anastasia has chosen to compete on the PDC circuit.” As well he should be.
World Darts
Championships
Canadian John Part takes his first step this Friday evening in defending his World Darts Championship at London’s Alexandra Palace. He and others will be shooting at a part of the £740,000 offered up in prize money. They’ll complete first round play then take a Christmas break and start the second round on December 27.
Part has claimed the World Championship on three occasions and a fourth would go down nicely “thank you.” It’s not surprising that Part is not the favorite as that honor, of course, falls to 13-time champion Phil Taylor. As the dart world is well aware, Taylor has been on fire this year winning almost every major and minor PDC event. Part starts off his defense against American #2 Bill Davis.
Speaking to the Old Dart Coach, Part remembers, “I beat him (Davis) on stage a couple of years ago in Montreal in a semi final. The year before he got me in the quarters with a 12-darter in the decider while I was sitting on a double. No matter what they say, this is the tournament to win. I love it.”
Let the games begin.

Café Kronborg back into fourth with 7 weeks to go

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

Café Kronborg took all four points from Canada and with Café Ole losing, they jumped back into fourth place and Café Ole dropped to fifth. Teuvo Jkonen led Café Kronborg with a 214 game and 519 series as scores on lanes 7 and 8 were not all that good and most bowlers bowled below their handicap.

200 Bowlers: Leen Schaap & Teuvo Jkonen.
Montana and VFW Post 9876 both won three points and remain in a tie for first place. Montana took three from House of the Golden Coin with both teams having trouble with the lanes and scores were low. VFW Post 9876 got three points from Sala Thai Restaurant behind Aht Johanssoon’s 517 series and Samrit’s 503. Kaew was best for Sala Thai with a 511 pin total.
Lek Reaper bowled a 537 series and Leo Kretscher had a 506 to lead Bavaria to a three-point win over Café Ole. Brother D and Montgomery split their match with each team getting two points. Leen Schaap bowled a 225 game, 584 series and Suphan Prathumthong had a 544 series, both bowling as Pacers. Jack Tar took three points from third place Sabai Sabai Friday as both teams also struggled with the lanes.

Results & Standings December 12 (week 22) Team                                          Points        Standings Montana                                       3 - 1              57 - 31 VFW Post 9876                            3 - 1              57 - 31 Sabai Sabai Friday                       1 - 3           53.5 - 34.5 Café Kronborg                               4 - 0              49 - 39 Café Ole                                       1 - 3              47 - 41 Bavaria                                          3 - 1           44.5 - 43.5 Montgomery                                  2 - 2           42.5 - 44.5 Brother D                                      2 - 2           38.5 - 49.5 Sala Thai Restaurant                   1 - 3              37 - 51 Jack Tar                                         3 - 1              37 - 51 House of the Golden Coin             1 - 3              36 - 52 Canada                                          0 - 4         29 - 59

Pushed to the limits in the Yara Bangkok Challenge Adventure Race

Mike Leonard
My eyes popped open at 5:30 am, wide with excitement & anticipation. Today, November 15, was the 2008 Yara Bangkok Challenge, an adventure multi-sport race of which the course, distances, & order of events are unknown to the teams of two & finishing times can only be estimated – until you see the finish line.

The scribe suits up for yet another mountain bike stage.

We knew we’d be swimming, off-road biking, running, paddling, and facing unknown obstacles & challenges (e.g. ropes to traverse & climb, staying on course by sighting markers). What we didn’t know was for how long or how many times we’d do each discipline. And that’s the spirit of adventure racing, facing the challenges as you meet them and together, with your partner, pushing beyond mental & physical boundaries & supporting each other to the finish line.
Forty-eight teams of two signed up for the shorter course – the Adventure class - and experienced the joy & camaraderie of completing and competing in the race. Thirty-nine teams raced in the Extreme class, the longer course, and tested their endurance & wits. My partner & I were about to have our wits tested!
The race began with a mass start to the first challenge – a quick mountain bike stage on mostly flat dirt roads & trails through the beautiful rice fields of Nong Chok, north of Bangkok. Farmers & children cheered & smiled as we zipped by. We dashed off the muddy bikes & ran into the rice fields, splashed & slipped through muddy puddles & elephant grass.
We were refreshed with a short swim that cleansed us of mud & grime and rested our legs. After ditching the life-jackets we were back on the bikes. Less than 1 kilometer into the 2nd bike stage, my front wheel disappeared into a muddy trench & I found myself sailing over the handlebars, resulting in a ‘face-plant’ in the mud - my partner meeting a similar fate behind me. So much for the cleansing of the swim. We checked our bodies - no major injuries - and hopped back on the bikes to keep ahead of the teams gaining from behind.
This adventure differed from previous Active Management Asia races in that each section was brief, but more frequent. At the time, I had no idea how many times I had run or been on the bike. In the end, it was 5 times each, with only one ride lasting longer than 30 minutes, and the final run as short as 10 minutes.
There was one ‘sit-on-top of a kayak’ section – a stage that requires coordinating your paddling efforts with your teammate & efficiently steering your boat. We had a particularly good kayak section & advanced 3 places while paddling through the bucolic countryside, under pedestrian bridges & past old-fashioned shrimp traps fashioned from bamboo. After paddling a U-turn, we were thankful that the second half was downstream.
With fresh legs, we biked for what we guessed could be near the end. We should have known better. As we dismounted our bikes near the finish line, we were instructed to run to a cargo net that required climbing. This was immediately followed by a short rope-traverse over a murky khlong; one we were happy not to have fallen into!
Fortunately, the run was less than 5 minutes and we were swimming again. Life-jackets aided our lake-crossing & just over 30 minutes later, cooled from the swim, we were running for the finish. Five hours & twenty eight minutes after beginning, we finished gratefully, smiling, hungry, & thankful for the cheers of friends & staff at the finish line.
The overall winners of the Adventure category were Suthep Pinkhaew & Cholracha Patipatvasin in 3 hours 41 minutes. Saman Gunan & Anant Duansopha took the honors of 1st place overall in the Extreme category in 4 hours 43 minutes.
Within minutes of finishing the race, refueling with khao pad & pad see-u, fruit & electrolyte drinks, racers in the master’s, men’s, women’s, & mixed categories began talking about the next team race in the Amazing Thailand Challenge series – The North Face River Kwai Trophy on February 28, 2009 in Kanchanaburi www.riverkwaitrophy.com.
If this kind of adventure sounds fun to you, you can sample a shorter version of adventure racing in the solo Adventure Dash in Pathum Thani on January 18, 2009. See www.adventuredash.com for details.