Gardner doubles up as Palmer feels the heat

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Neil Duncan
Monday, January 19, Eastern Star (White tees) - Stableford
It has been some time since we visited Eastern Star and we were pleased to find the green fees now realistically aligned with the course and facilities offered. How the tons of rail track ballast got into the bunkers is anyone’s guess.
The average score of just 24.1 points reflected how tough the course is and yours truly scrambled best to surprisingly win the pool with a meager 30 points, with David Gardner, John Roddis and David Clamp taking 2nd, 3rd and 4th dividends with twenty something points each.
Rob Gandley and David Gardner had near pin bonuses whilst yours truly had another surprise by claiming the longest first putt on the 18th green with all of an eighteen-incher.
Wednesday, January 21, Century Chonburi (White tees) – Stableford
Nineteen players turned up to take on Century Chonburi. Wendy Chetland joined us and it’s great to welcome a lady player to our fraternity.
Next month the LPGA tour will turn up to play Siam Country Club’s Plantation golf course and of one thing we can be certain; the Plantation will be in immaculate condition. The course will be manicured to perfection.
This quality is demanded by the LPGA and unquestionable every golfer I know is seeking to play on courses that offer the ‘same, same’. Therefore when we turn out to play Century Chonburi (which bless it cannot ever be described as manicured), the Management Committee has decreed that we play hand-span preferred lies everywhere because there is no way of telling where the short stuff ends and neither the long stuff nor the hazards begin. In this way instead of playing the ball off lies that would look bad on a cart track we play the ball off reasonable or even good lies.
Adopting the simple expediency of preferred lies turns a possibly unacceptable course because of its condition into a perfectly acceptable one. Like the ladies of the LPGA circus, we want to play the ball off ground as good as we can get it. We all want to have a nice day and we burned our plus-fours and horse-hair shirts a long time ago.
To be fair the Management Committee is mindful - albeit dubiously - that more than one of those who like to play with the group are convinced that playing off preferred lies once every eight outings or so skews their handicaps measurably lower than they otherwise would be. The Management Committee is in no hurry to abandon its preferred lies policy at Century Chonburi and so also to be fair there is a very simple solution available to those who feel their handicaps are being unjustly scuppered by this policy. The average score for the day was 28.2 points.
Div. 1 (0-18)
1st David Gardner (9) 38pts
2nd Rob Gandley (18) 35pts
3rd Jeff Wylie (8) 35pts
Div. 2 (19-up)
1st Willy Nachbur (21) 33pts
2nd Bev Ewens (27) 30pts
3rd Keith Hodges (24) 28pts
Near Pins: Bev Ewens, Jeff Wylie
Long Putt: Keith Hodges
Friday, January 23, Greenwood A & C (White tees) - Stableford.
We were reminded twice this day that when there are say nineteen golfers out, there are thirty eight people involved in the competition because each player has a caddy.
The first reminder came after Mike Brooke had conned Ken Palmer in the changing room into believing that a liberal dusting of prickly heat powder to his private parts would have a most desirable, cooling effect. After all that’s what friends are for. By the time Ken reached the first tee he was doing a very good imitation of an American Indian traditional war dance including the hooting and hollering to go with it. Extremely funny and when word got round the assembled caddies as to what Ken’s problem was the fun loving Thai nature hugely exploded forth.
The second more somber reminder came on the fourth green when a course supervisor brought news to Bob Drumm’s regular caddy that her child had suffered a serious accident at home. The distraught mother was ushered from the course in tears with a replacement caddy being provided. Oh dear!
Well although we may now be a grumpy old bunch of so and sos, in the past most of us have had the odd wife or two and brought up kids of our own. Accordingly, as proposed by Aka O’Reilly when rehydrating at the dividend distribution, we had a whip round. The group was pleased and uplifted to be able to brush together more than 1,900 baht of financial aid for caddy Puwee, no. 36 so that her and her child’s bad day at least most hopefully had a comforting ending. Well done lads!
Div. 1 (0-15)
1st David Gardner (9) 37pts
2nd Ken Palmer (8) 35pts
3rd Bob Drumm (12) 35pts
Div. 2 (16-up)
1st Rob Gandley (18) 36pts
2nd Charlie Raj (18) 35pts
3rd Jim Fortune (25) 33pts
Near Pins: Neil Duncan, John Roddis, David Gardner
Long Putt: Rob Gandley

Latecomers spoil the party for Kevin

PSC golf from the Three Sisters Bar & Grill

Only a slight chill in the air as the Three Sisters gang began teeing off at 6:20 a.m. this January 20th at the Pattaya Country Club.
Cart riders and walkers all began flailing at the little white ball and as the sun came out and took the dew off the greens the putts moved quicker and a more beautiful day for golf would be hard to find.
Having let a twosome and three singles play through, the lead pack didn’t get off the course until almost 10 a.m. The gang retired to Caddy Shack II for some of Herbie’s thick sliced Canadian Ham sandwiches and, of course, some San Miguel refreshment.
Initial results found Bob Benda at the top once again with 36 points with Kevin Worl 33 in second. A picture was taken and Kevin left. Then some latecomers showed up with some high scores; Dougie Powell came in with a 36 to knock Kevin off second spot, and Brian Orr also had a 36 but Dougie beat him out on a tight count back. Bob Benda beat both on the count back to hold on to first place.

Jimmy the ‘Rat-catcher’ still going strong at 65

Eoin Quirke
Sunday, January 11 saw the completion of Sir Jimmy (Rat-catcher) Howard’s 65th year on the planet. The “Sir” is not yet officially confirmed, but we are assured that this was an oversight by Her Majesty in her Christmas list, the final draft being submitted following a sherry reception at Sandringham.

The Birthday Boy shows up for the game.
In honour of the occasion a celebratory rugby challenge took place at The Horse Shoe Point Resort on the afternoon of Saturday, January 10. The competing teams were our very own Pattaya Panthers, and a Jim Howard invitational XV built around that most world-famous of Asian touring outfits, the Rhinos RFC.
The usual plethora of Rhinos stars of yesteryear were present including Allan ‘Wacker’ Payne, current C.E.O of the Hong Kong R.F.U, Jason Hewlett, John ‘The General’ Edwards, Gareth Hampson and Mark Turner. They were joined by Peter ‘Stitch’ Hutton, David Reynolds, and Tim Davis. Also drafted in was Spikey Watkins at hooker for the XV, this being the berth from which he captained Wales and the Barbarians (both in black and white.) As Spikey donned his boots the consternation in Cardiff was audible in Ao Udom.
A healthy crowd assembled to witness the clash in the ever-pleasant surrounds and they were treated to a disciplined, competitive match. Pattaya scored first in the fourth minute, young Brian running in on the wing after a well worked move across the field. Brian at 16 is 49 years younger than Sir Jim – still, he should have caught him!
The Rhinos responded quickly to level proceedings and the game remained evenly poised until Dave Brent for the Panthers broke a tackle in mid-field and ran in under the posts at the end of the first period.
In the second half Brent again pounced on a loose ball and popped up a bass to Richard Holt who scored under the posts securing what looked like an unassailable advantage. However some changes were made to the line-ups and in the true spirit of the encounter the mighty Rhinos snatched a win from the Panthers with two well worked tries at the death. The General and Stitch were prominent but owed much to the Japanese infusion of talent for the scores. A fine performance for the full session from the great man himself was a highlight.
Dave Viccars took charge of the tustle and ensured a hard but fair contest throughout. Dave also refereed a good game of touch rugby afterwards, ensuring that Rhinos tourists of every conceivable shape, size, and age, all graced the field.
Jim hosted a reception in the evening at the Horse Shoe Point’s wonderful dining facilities and a good time was had by all. The speeches acknowledged and thanked Jim for his contribution to Rhino’s and Panthers rugby and looked forward to 65 more fun filled years. His wife Jenny and daughter Michelle were thanked by all for their patience and perseverance in living with the man, and in supporting him to be the force in Asian rugby that he truly is.

The old stager competes at the line-out.

Photo Correction

Last week the Pattaya Mail printed an article about the Mercedes-Benz-B.Grimm Thai Polo Open 2009 in which we erroneously stated that the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Cup was presented by HRH Prince Abdullah of Malaysia to the winning team. This was factually incorrect as the trophy was actually presented by Prince Abdullah’s father, HM the Sultan of Pahang, together with Privy Councilor Palakorn Suwarnarat, as seen in the photo above. We would like to apologise for any error on our part.

City storm to a resounding win

MBMG International Laegue

Paul Frain
Last weekend Pattaya City played the Bullshead Brazilians who are currently lying mid-table, but City needed to win this game to keep the pressure on league leaders Cosmos.
Following the kick-off, Bullshead fired the first salvos of the match by winning an early corner and free kick, but nothing came of them. City replied with a long ball from Lee Horner, but the keeper did well under pressure from City’s Alastair Paterson. Both midfields were trying to find a way through but the defenses held firm with only a shot at goal by the visitors forward in the first 15 minutes.
The game burst into life when City’s Carlos Old played a telling ball through to Paul Derbyshire whose shot was spilled by the keeper; Old picked up the lose ball and shot for goal but a great clearance kept the game goalless. Bullshead retaliated but a great last ditch tackle by centre back Philip Walter saved a certain goal for the visitors.
Alastair Paterson then sent a great ball through the opposing defense which was hastily cleared and the same player had a scorching shot saved for a corner. City’s keeper also had to be alert to keep out a couple of snap shots from the visitors’ forwards.
Bullshead probably had the best chance of the first half when a cross found their forward unmarked in the box, but he somehow put his header wide from just 6 yards out. The referee blew for half time soon after with the match still deadlocked.
After half time both teams pushed for a breakthrough but free kicks and corners were wasted by both sides and the City forwards were falling foul of the offside trap.
The were signs however that City were starting to get on top with their slick passing moves and it was no surprise when one of these moves found Carlos Old in space who latched onto the ball to slot it past the visitors keeper to make it one-nil.
City were now firing on all cylinders, and five minutes later a great run on the left by Emmanual Tshuma saw him pass to Alan Mulberry who put the ball straight into the path of Marcos Old to score and make it two-nil to the home side.
City pressed forward and made it three when a six-man move split the visitors apart and the finish was applied by Mark Brittain. Then, on the final whistle, Paul Derbyshire played a one-two with Danny Stevens who coolly put the ball wide of the keeper to make it four nil to City.
This was a much better performance by the Pattaya team and it has been a long time coming, but well worth seeing.
Pattaya City’s next game is at Horseshoe point vs. British Club on Sat February 7, kick off 4-00 p.m.

Pattaya United ready for Queen’s Cup

The organizing committee held a press conference on January 22 to announce the draw for the 33rd Queen’s Cup tournament.

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The draw has been made for the 33rd Queen’s Cup football tournament with Pattaya United being placed in the same group as BEC Tero, Rajpracha and Port Authority of Thailand while the Thai League 2008 champions, Ayutthaya Electricity, have been drawn against Rajnavee, Sinthana and the Air Force team.
A total of 20 teams in 5 groups will play in the qualifying rounds from February 1-8, with the winners of each group going through to the final round with Chonburi FC and 2 teams from South Korea, namely Hanyang University and the Hallelujah team.
The finals will be held on Sirinthorn field of Assumption School in Sriracha from February 13-22. The winners of the tournament will receive 300,000 baht, while the runners-up will take 150,000 baht and the third placed team 100,000 baht.
The final round on February 13-22 will be broadcast through NBT. The Queen Star awards will be given to the best 11 players along with Salvo Star awards for best athlete, best trainer, best manager and the best behaved team.
Pattaya United will kick off their campaign for cup glory on February 1 at 6 p.m. with a game against Rajpracha. They will then play Port Authority of Thailand on Tuesday, February 3 at 6 p.m. and finally close their group games with a match against BEC Tero Sasana on Thursday, February 5, also kicking off at 6 p.m. All the games will be held at the Nongprue Field.

Winfield weaves some magic, Chung bags a brace

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, January 19, Treasure Hill – Stableford
Treasure Hill was the host for a stableford competition in two flights with the cut at handicap 19. It was a pleasure to play in warm weather and no wind. The course on the day was on the dry side but the greens were in very good condition.

Kenny Chung was at double winner at Treasure Hill and Green Valley.
Mike Winfield won the A Flight with 40 points, while Per Olaf Baarli was in second with 38 points ahead of Koji Yamada in third with 34 points, who himself won a count back over Brendan Byrne in fourth.
Kenny Chung took the B Flight with 36 points ahead of Mike Herridge in second with 34 points. The Admiral, Dave Richardson, now on ‘The Wagon’ for a month, took third on count back over Kevin Dinan, both on 33 points.
Near Pins: Mike Winfield, Koji Yamada, Brendan Byrne, Alex Kazazis
Long Putt: Mike Herridge, Tom Cotton
Thursday, January 22, Green Valley – Stableford
A fine day and a fine course, what more can one want? Well how about a great price, low wind and many players, after all this is the PSC.
The day started as normal, early morning at The Cafe Kronborg then into the transport and off to Green Valley which is essentially just up the road. After booking in it was on to the first Tee, and we got off slightly earlier than are 10:06 hrs scheduled tee-off slot.
The scribes group was away first and I was eager to try my newly gripped irons and my 7 & 9 irons that had had modified shafts fitted. This was going to be a good day, and it was, as far as the second, when I selected my 8 iron and hit the ball only to see it land in the water. Problem was the head followed the ball, sad when that happens as it spoils the iron set.
Still smarting, off we went on the third and it is quite surprising just how often the club you need is the one you do not have. Still we had a great day, except for Koji who was playing too well.
Round over, I dropped into reception and told them about my lost Iron head, gave them my card and went into the changing room for a cold shower. Yes cold is correct and it was the same for all the players. Great course, great price, super restaurants, and a cold shower tops it off. All cannot be perfect!
I sat in the German Restaurant as I took the cards in and was surprised to hear my phone go, it was Green Valley asking where I was, and upon me telling them I went back to entering the scores in for handicaps, then in came one of the reception staff with the head of my 8 iron. Someone up there loves me but my thanks go out to the Green Valley staff.
In the A Flight, 0 to 18, the winner was Patrick Poussier with 36 points, in second place was Koji Yamada with 35 points, in third was Walter Bachli, fourth came Bill Knight and Tony Scrambler was fifth, all on a count back on 34 points. The scribe on 33 points was left to rue a club head in the water in one.
In the B Flight it was, as in the A Flight, business as usual with Kenny Chung winning with 36 points in front of Colin Swann in second on 33 points. In third was Leif Kirkegaarde with Dave Richardson in fourth with 30 points on a count back over Carole Kubicki. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Svend Gaarde, Roger McGarry, Alain Taddei, Mike Smith
Long Putt: Mike Winfield, Johan Reynisson

MBMG Golf Matchplay League

Monday, January 19, Plutaluang – German-Swiss 5 v Tony’s Tigers 4
After the huge loss on Friday against the Caddyshack, the German-Swiss-GC had to fight back and they did just that.
In the first home game of the new season they beat the team from Tony’s Tigers by 5 matches to 4. The match took place at Plutaluang on the South and North nines. The course was in good shape but the fairways were quite hard. However, as always, the conditions are the same for all players.
On this day the boys from the German-Swiss played some awesome rounds to take the early lead and managed to keep it until the end.
After the match, both teams returned to the Deutsches Haus on the corner of Soi 4 & Beach Road, which is the clubhouse for the German-Swiss-GC. The home team provided some food including sausages and cheese and we think it was a beautiful evening. The most important thing is, we made new friends and I‘m sure, that is the main issue for this league. We are looking forward to the next match and hope it will be equally enjoyable.
Individual Scores (German-Swiss first): Helmut Wolf won 7&5 v Tony Duthie; Bruno Kleineidam lost 2 up v Gary McKinney; Thomas Kassemeier won 7&6 v Brian Jacks; Uwe Wegner won 8&6 v Neil McAllister; Frank Schoppitsch lost 5&4 v Geoff Bowers; Gunther Ziegert won 5&4 v Neil Hughes; Thomas Rechsteiner lost 2 up v Emmith White; Harry Schuster won 2&1 v Roy Mitchell; Peter Vetterli lost 4&3 v Kari Aarnio.
Tuesday, January 20, Green Valley - The Golf Club 6 v The Bunker 4
Last year’s MBMG league winners got off to a poor start, going down four matches to six against a strong Golf Club team. Don’t be misled though, the Bunker lost three of their first four matches last year!
Individual Scores (The Golf Club first): Peter LeNoury won 6 & 5 v Tony Scambler; Steve Mulberry halved with v John MacDonald; Sonny Crawford won 2 up v Dougie Crowe; John McHugh halved with v Mashie Kanetta; John Emmerson won 6 & 4 v Gerry Cooney; Paul Greenaway lost 2 & 1 v Gordon Melia; Dave Mather won 1 up v Allan Sullivan; Mark Reid lost 1 down v John Hughes; Jeff Calrow won 2 & 1 v PJ Redmond; Paul Mades lost 3 & 1 v Jack Robertson.

Joe Peters takes the Medal

How to make 136 golfers very happy at St. Andrews 2000

The Green Valley Country Club Invitational 4-man scramble

Thursday, January 22, St. Andrews 2000 Golf Course
Green Valley Country Club is, without doubt, a very important part of the golfing environment in Pattaya. From the golf schedules it is easy to see that around 400 tournaments are played there during one year with players coming from almost all golf venues in the city. Many golfers have adopted Green Valley as their “home course away from home”.

A smiling chief green-keeper, Chainan Sankkom, addresses the throng of golfers.
Why is that? First of all, 2 courses are available, with number 3 under construction. The clubhouse has everything a golfer needs, the staff are highly efficient and they always have a smile to spare and the quality of the courses seldom disappoints.
The good thing is that the 2 golf courses are very different, and even the most played, Green Valley, can change a lot from one day to another. Play on weekdays with the White tees back, and it is quite a challenge, play it during weekends with shorter tees and it is friendlier without losing the tight grip. Play it from the Blues and most players would be very happy that golf is not their main source of their income.
The Green Valley Management Group is of course aware of the importance of the high number of players using the facilities and they wanted to give something back. Only a few days after the Asian Tour Qualification School played their final round at St. Andrews 2000, what could be better than sending out an invitation to a tournament at the same course?
St. Andrews 2000 is a totally different experience compared to Green Valley. When played for the first time, some will say they do not like the course. Some will say it is too long and difficult. “Too long” is mainly due to the 2 par 6 holes. The truth is that “too long” is an illusion. Take out the par 6 holes and replace them with 2 normal par 5 holes, then the total length at St. Andrews is very much the same as the length of Green Valley. The course demands a lot of thinking between shots and players have to know where to put the ball before they like to play there.

“The Beauty and The Beast” - Mod Chaviraksa (left) receives a nearest the pin award for her tee shot on the beastly Hole 17.
When played for the second time, players realize they have found a jewel among courses with an unmatched beauty. Coming over the top of the hill and park at the tee-box at 15, the view is breathtaking. Two holes later on the par-three 17th you still have beauty, but also the beast. Put your tee shot on that green and make a par, then you know why golf is your preferred leisure occupation.
An invitation was sent out through available channels to play a 4-man scramble-match on January 22 and the reaction was formidable. They actually got 2 scrambles, first a scramble to get into the match and then the match it self. And what they gave back was top. The entry was only 1.600 baht including green fee, caddie fee and cart. Each player would receive a Gift Card for an additional 3 rounds at St. Andrews with 80% off the regular green fee price. This Gift Card was met with acclamations and on the spot ranked as the best offer ever given by a golf course in Pattaya.
They would put a nearest the pin prize on all par 3 holes and it did not stop there. After the golf, the German Restaurant would present a free dinner buffet, with free soft drinks followed by the presentation of the trophies and a Lucky Draw to finish the whole thing off.
The interest was overwhelming and the entries had to be cut at 34 teams 5 days before match day.
The match day came, and even Mother Nature chipped in an additional bonus by turning her wind machine down to low. And then there was time for the registration in the clubhouse which in many match reports is described as “smooth”. Smooth it was, at least during the first 2 hours, but 30 minutes before deadline 80 players stampeded into the club house and then the big fun started. Some players had changed from one team to another, one team had only 3 players (they were accommodated), some would like to start at a different hole, 1 team did not turn up, but then 4 players turned up without having entered.
Two girls from the staff showed great bravery with 1000 baht notes flying all over the place (the entry was not prepaid), but as a miracle they were all finished in time and ready on their starting holes waiting for the 12 p.m. fireworks.
The two par 6 holes helped out a lot because there were 3 teams on each of them starting 15 minutes before the shotgun. With only 1 team at each of the par 3 holes, it could be a smooth ride.
Looking back a couple of years, The Asian Tour had a regular tour event at St. Andrews. A major part of the players then said that the number 17 par 3 was the most difficult hole on the course. Understandable when played from 235 yards and with the pin on the second tier.
For last week’s tournament the tee-box was set at 195 yards and from that distance the green seemed to be the size of a 10 baht coin. And with reference to the Asian Tour mentioned above, it turned out that number 17 defended with bravura its position as the most difficult hole on the course. From the 34 teams only 2 birdies were made and one of them came from the ladies team from the Red tee at 112 yards.
Afterwards one player said he had observed 12 tee shots and only one stayed on the green. The average score for the all teams was 3.3 strokes. Amazingly it turned out that the average score on the second par 6, length 750 yards, was 5.1 strokes.
After 5 hours sharp the match was over, then a quick shower and the German Restaurant had put up a real “farang” dinner leaving the five Thai lady players running around looking for something to eat. The party was set in The Albatross Room which is perfect for these kinds of arrangements. It is a beautiful room, with space and air and most important equipped with a high quality audio system.
The golf community in Pattaya could very well put the word “consensus” into the list of “almost extinct species” but in spite of that the scramblers quickly reached their first consensus by naming the staff from Singha as the ‘Team of the Day.’ Giving away free beer can never go wrong with 136 golfers sitting around, and the rumors are that the Singha staff are still trying to figure out how so few could drink so many.
Then came the serious part of the prize giving. Nirand Phimwong, the Green Valley Country Club Manager, handed out the trophies, with charming help from Miss Noi and Miss Oat from the Information Desk. Chief green-keeper Chainan Sankkom was the announcer and when he said he was responsible for maintenance of the 2 courses, all 136 players gave him a thunderous round of applause.
First up were the 4 nearest the pin winners, and it was almost unavoidable that one came from the ladies team, Mod Chaviraksa was nearest the pin on 17, making a perfect combination as ‘The Beauty and The Beast’. Mod and her team mates subsequently made a birdie with only 1 more to come from 33 teams. (Tip for future players: Get the distance, choose the club you think is enough, put that club back into the bag and then take a club giving you 15 more yards).
The scores for the tournament were quite good with the average for all teams being 67 gross with 74 as the high score and 61 the lowest.
The third place honours went to Harry Riley, Dave Stockman, Mark Williamson and Russel Exley with 61 gross off a 3.7 handicap (57.3 net). In second place came Sonny Crawford, Bob Philp, Nigel Cannon and Brent Philp with 62 gross off a 5.2 handicap (56.8 net). The winning score came from the combination of Steve Ellison, John McHugh, Chris Fox and John Emmerson with another 61 gross off a 4.6 handicap for 56.4 net.
The Lucky Draw also deserves mentioning with various green fee vouchers for many of the best courses in the area and ending with 2 very good golf bags being given away.
John Emmerson from The Golf Club took the scene and gave numerous nice words for the Management Group, the Staff, the German Restaurant, Singha Beer and all the other people who helped make this tournament happen.
And then it all ended. In total, was it a good experience? Yes, the proof is the players lining up to give to Khun Nirand their heartfelt thanks and telling him that they had just played their best tournament ever in Pattaya. Judged by the very happy faces it was easy to see they had reached consensus number 2: “Green Valley Country Club should do this again some time!”
Khun Nirand had an additional reason for smiling because he had heard during the night that St. Andrews had added quite a lot of new golfers to its fan club and the course, being one of the very best in our area, rightfully deserved its new and enthusiastic friends.

The winning team of Steve Ellison, John McHugh, Chris Fox and John Emmerson accept their trophies from Nirand Phimwong (far left) and the Green Valley staff.

Japanese legend joins star studded field for Pattaya tennis tournament

This year’s PTT Pattaya Open, which already has the distinction of serving up the best entry list ever, has attracted one of Asia’s tennis icons, Kimiko Date Krumm to the beachside venue.
The tremendously popular Japanese player is the most successful Asian woman tennis player ever, she reached her zenith in 1995 when she was ranked No 4 in the world and has to date 7 WTA Tour titles to her name. After a 10 year absence from tennis, she returned to competitive tennis in 2008 winning 5 titles on the ITF circuit. This year she has returned to the WTA Tour and has made waves in Australia where she won through 3 rounds of qualifying to enter the main draw of the Australian Open. Her current WTA ranking is 184.
Also joining the tournament is the 2006 title holder, Shahar Peer of Israel who is currently ranked no 42 in the world. Peer won her first ever WTA Tour title in Pattaya and has always performed well on her previous outings here. She currently has 3 WTA Tour career singles titles and 3 doubles titles to her name.
Date and Peer join a stunning line-up of 5 top 20 stars in Pattaya, which includes No 7 Vera Zvonereva, No 11 Nadia Petrova, No 12 Caroline Wozniacki, No 14 Victoria Azarenka and No 19 Dominika Cibulkova.
Tickets for the 2009 PTT Pattaya Open are priced as follows: Prices are 200 baht for 7-8 February, 300, 500 and 800 baht for 9 – 12 February and 300, 500, 800 and 1,000 baht for 13 - 1 5 February. For ticket bookings, please contact Pentangle Promotions Co., Ltd on 02-382-3491 – 3. Website: www.pentanglepromotions.com or through ThaiTicketMajor Co., Ltd on 02-262-3456, website: www.thaiticketmajor.com.

Royal Varuna set for regional sailing championships this weekend

PM Mail Reporters
Pattaya’s Royal Varuna Yacht Club will host the ASEAN Optimist Championships and the Asia-Pacific Byte Championships over the next eight days, with the races taking place from January 31 till February 7.
Both these championships had originally been scheduled to take place in December 2008, but due to the political situation in Thailand at the time, the races were postponed until this year.
Organizers say they expect about 58 Optimist sailors and 34 Byte sailors from the Southeast Asian region to participate in this event. The Optimist Championship is open to young sailors born in 1993 or later.
The slightly odd looking Byte (a cousin of the popular Laser) is no stranger to Royal Varuna Yacht Club - the Sizzler Byte C11 World Championships were held at the club in 2007 when a Thai teenager, Keerati Bualung, carried off the line honours.
The ASEAN Optimist Championships meanwhile were initiated by the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand in 1987 for junior competitors to develop their skills and be able to later compete at international and Olympic level. The format has been widely promoted under the auspices of the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) and the Optimist is now the biggest and most competitive youth racing class in the world.
The main sponsors of this year’s event are all-weather furniture manufacturer Sunbrella and Suniture, Speedo clothing, Oskabatt battery manufacturer, and B-ing rehydration drinks.
A full report on both championships will be carried in a forthcoming edition of the Pattaya Mail at the conclusion of the races.

The Optimist is the most popular junior sailing craft in the world.

Phen dominates at Phoenix

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

After a succession of trips up highways 7, 331 and 3, The Pattaya Golf Society went “local” on Tuesday, January 20 with a visit to Phoenix to play a stableford competition over the Ocean and Mountain nines. The course is well turned out at present and the abundant bougainvillea give a colourful backdrop to many of the holes. The only drawback was the lush greens, putting slower than many others of late, and this was to catch many golfers out.
The field was divided into two flights at 20 and under and a ladies’ group led the field off the Ocean first. Unusually for Phoenix the scores were not particularly special, and in the top flight Ray Atkinson and Tony Kitchen shared third place with 31 points, one behind runner-up Harry Cowling. Ray Banks had won his flight with Lewiinski’s on the same track the day before and continued his success with the win, recording 37 points with the best gross figures of the day.
In the second flight, Emiel van der Wiele shared third place with Canadian Tim Lazecki, the latter in the frame for the first time, with 33 points. In second was Bobby Shirkey, his level par thirty-six points signalling a return to form for the popular Scotsman. The best points total of the day was recorded by lady golfer Phen Changkham and her 40 points gave her a maiden win with the group. Ladies on top of their game are always a threat at Phoenix.
Ray Banks recorded the day’s only birdie ‘2’, on the Ocean 7th, to give him a profitable start to the golfing week.
Visitor David Cowling literally enjoyed his shabby round and savoured the Booby Bevy as a memory of the day which had seen a lady dominate proceedings at Phoenix.
All shares
at Eastern Star
Thursday, January 22, saw the Pattaya Golf Society make the short trip to Ban Chang to play a stableford competition at Eastern Star. It has to be said that the course has suffered since the end of the last high season and lack of efficient watering has left the fairways hard with tight lies everywhere. The same could not be said however of the approaches to the greens because the early morning watering has left them very soft. There is something bizarre about plugged lies on an arid course. The greens... the less said the better.
The two flights were again divided at 20 and under and scores were destined to be low. In the top flight Dave Cadwallader and “Banjo” Bannister tied for third place with 28 points each whilst a series of recent fine scores which had catapulted Len Jones into the top flight continued with a steady 31 points for a share of the top prize with Ray Banks. It was Ray’s third flight win in four days.
In the second flight, Kazuki Agune celebrated his return to the Kingdom with 31 points for a share of third place with Jim Ferris, who also had the honour of the day’s only birdie ‘2’ on the sixth hole. Two Canadians shared the flight win, with Tim Lazecki pushing Jack Robertson all the way to the top of the leaderboard. Thirty-five points were to be more than enough to secure the win for the North American pair.
Sam McLellan, in his second appearance with the group, had a taste of the Booby Bevy after the fourteen handicapper’s score almost matched his handicap total. Things can be tough for a golfer schooled on the comfortable links of North West England. Still, most clubs there could certainly have a word with Eastern Star about course maintenance. It’s a professional business after all.
Lazecki Continues to Find Form
The Pattaya Golf Society’s week ended on Saturday, January 24 with a welcome visit to the Emerald course at Ban Chang and for the first time in a week found a course with greens to their liking - consistent and quick.
The two flights for the stableford event were divided at 21 and under and things got underway on time on a relatively empty course.
In a closely contested top flight Dave Cadwallader found a measure of consistency towards the end of his current stay to post a score of 30 points, which gave him third place. Ahead of Dave came Wichai Tananusorn and the regular weekend golfer enjoyed second place with 31 points. Chris Voller celebrated his birthday in style with 32 points for the win and also claimed the only birdie ‘2’ of the day, a clinical finish on the par-three fifth hole.
In the second flight Jack Robertson posted 31 points for third place, just behind a resurgent Jim Proctor whose 32-point score brought him a smiling second place. Tim Lazecki is still learning the ropes in golfing terms and has now added a driver he is comfortable with to his armoury with the result that he is finding his true form. His 38 points was the best of the day and he took his flight in fine style.
Chris Voller sponsored near-pins for his celebration and these were won by “Banjo” Bannister, Les Burns, Wichai and Chief Frank Baker.
The Booby Bevy went to Kazu Agune for his dip in form after his previous round and the day ended with an excellent finger buffet provided by the hosts at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar in Soi Buakhao. Happy Birthday Chris!

Aarnio carries the day at Green Valley

Jomtien Golf with the IPGC

Monday, January 19, Plutaluang – Stableford
Ten groups were out today playing the South and East courses and at this time of the year here it pays to have ‘one of your own’ marshalling the start of the back nine. After three of our groups had gone through, the course steward tried to fit in a 2-ball and a 5-ball on the first tee, but after a few words with him they were sent to another nine on the course. Two hours on the front nine and around two and a half hours on the back, not too bad for a January game.

Friday’s winners, Cully Monks (left) and Miss Oam back at Siam Cats.

Two rollovers meant there was a decent pot to be won in the first division 2’s competition but nobody came to the fore. There were four birdie 2’s in the second division coming from Bernd and Burnie Sinclair on the 5th on the East course, Tony Holehouse on the 4th on the South and Nicole chipping in on the tough 7th.
Jack Hinchey won the stableford competition in Division 2, beating Joe Kubon on a 18/13 back nine count back after they both came in with 35 points, this after a great front nine of 22 points from Joe. Tony Holehouse beat Gordon Eveingham 19/16 for third and yet again count back Burnie lost out with a back nine of 15 points, after all three of them recorded 34 points.
Thirty-seven points won Division 1 for John Smith, playing his last game before his return to Oz, Paul Bray, playing off 4, came in second with 36, and Peter Seward pipped Georges Faber for third place with a 21/14 count back after they both came in with 34 points.
Near pins went to Paul Bray, Georges Faber and Barry Stirling (Div.1) and Jim Connelly, Tony Holehouse (2) and Burnie Sinclair (Div. 2).
Wednesday, January 21, Green Valley – Stableford
Div. 1
1st Paddy Wilson 38pts
2nd Harry Vincenzi 36pts
3rd John Smith 35pts
Div. 2
1st Karri Aarnio 46pts
2nd Neville Scurrell 40pts
3rd Andy Crabb 36pts
Div. 3
1st Gordon Everingham 38pts
2nd Rick Newman 33pts
3rd Neil Gamble 32pts
A full sheet of 40 players with four reserves, so with the last four names going out last there were 11 four-balls in a revised three divisional stableford competition. The cut was perfect for the organizer; Division 1 (8-15) 15 cards, Division 2 (16-20) 15 cards and Division 3 (21+) 14 cards, so a happy house back at Siam Cats.
After walking around the course and meeting all the groups, the consensus was that the greens, despite being in good condition were wicked and that good scores would be at a premium. Well we were to be proved wrong as rumours came in of a huge score from Karri Aarnio, an amazing 46 points, his best game for a long time to put him on the winners’ rostrum in Division 2. Neville Scurrell also had a great round in the same division to finish second on 40 points.
There were an equally amazing seven 2’s in the competition from Michael Andersson, Ben Findon, Mam Morel, Raivo Velsberg and Paddy Wilson (Div. 1) and Gordon Everingham and Gordon Everingham (Div. 2).
Near Pins went to Ben Findon, Harry Riley, Harry Vincenzi and Paddy Wilson (Div. 1) and Karri Aarnio (2), Tony Duthie and Burnie Sinclair (Div. 2).
Friday, January 23, Eastern Star – Stableford
A slightly smaller field today so it was back to two divisions. In form Cully Monks took Division 1 with 36 points, with Barry Stirling 1 point behind and in third place was Fred Duffy on 35.
Miss Oam was in pole position in Division 2 with 36 points, Bob Green came second with 31 and a shocked Tom Novak collected third after finishing on 29.
For the first time ever with the group, one player won three near pins, well done Tom Sathrum! Paddy Wilson took the other in Division 1. Mick Brown, Terry Cowell and Fred Duffy calimed the Division 2 prizes.

Tom Parks has the best by far

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, January 19, Khao Kheow (Yellow tees) - Stableford
Div. 1
1st Trevor Schirmer 33pts
2nd Kenny Moss 33pts
3rd Alan Griffiths 33pts
4th Barrie Howarth 30pts
Div. 2
1st Geoff Picken 36pts
2nd Fred Land 33pts
3rd John Ward 32pts
4th Brian Lewis 32pts
Ladies
1st Paula Virolainen 37pts
2nd Oili Helling 31pts
3rd Lynn Ward 30pts
The wind blew fairly strong but no one could complain that the course was unfair, however the scores showed that it was not an easy day for the large group from Soi 13 playing a layout that is readying itself for the upcoming ladies competition.
Trevor Schirmer took the first division to record his first win for a while, with a strong finish over the inward nine that garnered 20 points as Kenny Moss could only manage 18 and Alan Griffiths slumped to a meager 14 after an excellent front half. Barrie Howarth could hardly believe he was on the podium after an unspectacular return to Thailand golf.
Geoff Picken continues to improve and once again showed that he will soon be amongst the regular winners with a very solid level par round, which was enough to take the second division by three clear from Fred Land.
John Ward slipped into third place ahead of Brian Lewis with a better count back of 16 against Brian’s 15.
For the first time in a little while there were enough ladies to form their own division which was helpful as the red tees are a fair way ahead of the yellows on the A and C courses. Paula Virolainen took her first win out of The Haven by a fair margin with Oili Helling in second and Lynn Ward for once unable to come up with the goods.
With the course playing so difficult, it was no surprise to find there were no 2’s on the day.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new members Kyosti Leikoski, Ari Anttila and Paavu Paevaara and also welcomed back Seppo Sadeharju, Barrie Howarth, Kjell Christiansen and Mike Bailey.
Wednesday, January 21, Phoenix (White tees) - Stableford
Div. 1
1st Norman Isherwood 35pts
2nd Alan Griffiths 33pts
3rd Pekka Palmu 33pts
4th Tony Barritt 32pts
Div. 2
1st Tom Parks 40pts
2nd Fred Land 36pts
3rd Dave Shaw 35pts
4th Seppo Sadeharju 32pts
Ladies
1st Oili Helling 37pts
2nd Lynn Ward 35pts
Another large turnout required three divisions once again with the split as usual coming at 16 and above.
Tom Parks swept away the gentlemen’s second division with a very good four-under handicap, by far the best effort of the day, to leave Fred Land having to settle for second after a very steady round of level par, and Dave Shaw took third by three from Seppo Sadeharju who found himself on the last step of the podium.
Norman Isherwood claimed the first division with a steady if unspectacular one over but that was still good enough by two from Alan Griffiths and Pekka Palmu, with Alan just ahead on the count back by a point. Tony Barritt made a welcome return to the prizes with a quiet round but managed to slip in a few good puts which brought on a smile or two.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Pekka Palmu and Barrie Howarth had one each in the first division to share the carry over pool.
Back at The Haven, The Doc welcomed new member Ilkka Kanulainen and gave farewells to Lynn and John Ward.
Friday, January 23, The Emerald - Stableford
1st Bob Lamond 36pts
2nd Peter Sumner 35pts
3rd Derek Holt 34pts
4th Chris Knapp 34pts
Maybe the very competitive prices that are being offered in the area contributed to the very poor turnout, as the Emerald is now proving to be one of the more expensive courses to play. This used to be a firm favourite at a good price in the recent past, but the efforts made by other course managements to reduce the cost of golf have led to players looking elsewhere for a game. Whatever the reason, the recent large numbers were slashed by two thirds and only one division was required for the main prizes.
Bob Lamond can always be relied on for a steady round and this day was no exception as he went round in level par to pip Peter Sumner by a point for first and leave Derek Holt and Chris Knapp a further two back, with Derek getting the edge on the count back by a margin of 19 to 17.
With a very low turn out in the first division there were no 2’s but Chris Knapp and Tony Charlwood shared the huge carry over pot in the second division. Not to be outdone by his pal Geoff Picken, who left the pile of 2’s money to be drunk by the throng the last time a large pot was won, and to evidence convincingly that he is definitely one of the “Chaps”, and not one of the “Blighters”, Chris also stayed until after the pot was spent and then had a few extras with the chaps that were still lolling around following this typical exhibition of largesse.

Dougie Crowe is the January Man

PSC golf from The Bunker

Monday, January 19, St. Andrews 2000 - Stableford
Taking advantage of the inexpensive green fee vouchers that Pattaya Sports Club have available for PSC golfing outlets, the Bunker Boy’s played a stableford competition at the beautiful St. Andrews golf course. It’s a challenging course at the best of times what with the long par three’s and the VERY long par sixes to cope with and today was no exception!

Dougie Crowe, the Bunker Bar’s ‘Golfer of the Month’ for January

The cut was set at handicap 15 and JJ Harney was the only one to manage a good score, winning the A Flight with 38 points. A long way back came Alan Harris and Mike Connelly, both with 32 points, with Alan taking runner up spot on a count back.
The scores were a little more modest in the B Flight, Gary Warburton winning with 29 points, Gene Plueger coming second a point behind, and Bernie Stevens finishing third a few points further back.
A Flight
1st JJ Harney (11) 38pts
2nd Alan Harris (10) 32pts
3rd Mike Connelly (15) 32pts
B Flight
1st Gary Warburton (16) 29pts
2nd Gene Plueger (20) 28pts
3rd Bernie Stevens (18) 24pts
Near Pins: Gene Plueger and Dougie Crowe.
Tuesday, January 20, Green Valley - Stableford
Playing Stableford again at Green Valley there was only one flight due to the Matchplay League starting on the day, which meant ten of the Bunker Boy’s were busy playing in that.
Bernie Stevens had the best round of the day, winning by four points ahead of Geoff Cox who had a pretty successful day as he won two of the near pin prizes. Third place went to Dave Ashman a couple of points further back.
1st Bernie Stevens (18) 37pts
2nd Geoff Cox (13) 34pts
3rd Dave Ashman (15) 31pts
Near Pins: Alan Harris, Tom Jones and Geoff Cox (2).
Friday, January 23, Eastern Star – Stableford
The Bunker Boy’s played Eastern Star Country Club and Resort for the first time in a long while as they have been doing alterations and other maintenance work there. The course seems fine now, with the only minor problem being the greens playing too slow. Fortunately there wasn’t too much wind so we had some reasonable scores coming in.
Alan Harris won the A Flight by two points ahead of JJ Harney, and Dougie Crowe came third which put him in an unassailable position to win January’s ‘golfer of the month’ title, and that with three games still to play!
John Thornber won the B Flight with 37 points, four points further back came Gene Pleuger and Koji Yamada took third a point behind him.
A Flight
1st Alan Harris (10) 35pts
2nd JJ Harney (11) 33pts
3rd Dougie Crowe (8) 32pts
B Flight
1st John Thornber (19) 37pts
2nd Gene Pleuger (20) 33pts
3rd Koji Yamada (18) 32pts
Near Pins: Colin Stokes, Jack Robertson, John Thornber and Bill Fenton.

Conny to the fore once more

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Thomas Cotton
Tuesday, January 20, Phoenix - Stableford
Our reporter arrived latish to Bert’s and most of the throng had already departed for Tuesday’s golfing venue: Phoenix. Our captain, DB, was recovering from all the last minute changes to the foursomes and the cancellations and late sign-ups. Thankfully, the numbers of golfers have declined since two weeks ago and our captain’s job is somewhat easier. He is a real martyr, our captain, performing his task through tooth ache and upset tummy, whether he slept the night before or not.

Tuesday’s top four: Conny Enz, Scott Dobbins, Colin Cronin, Steve Hamstad.

Anyhow, out at Phoenix we scrambled about to find which tee to hit-off and what foursome to fulsome. (By the way, this reporter has a Poetic License, duly obtained for $5.99 at grammar-rot.com).
The sky was clear except for the smog or dust which hung about and made it difficult to follow one’s drive off the tee. Our man in Oman, Paul Sharples, alluded to wayward Arabian sandstorms. The greens were slow but the course conditions were otherwise fine, thereby probably accounting for the not-so-bad scores.
Out on the fairway of Lakes hole 8 our reporter encountered a little snake meandering along and grabbed its tail with the intention of taking it to one of his friends on Walking Street, but the caddies started jumping up and down and claiming the little cutie was venomous. It was hard to believe because it was such a delicate friendly little serpent, but I heeded the caddies’ warning and bid it adieu.
After play we returned to Tropical Bert’s sans snake and our captain announced the results. So it was that for the second consecutive week that a lady player, Conny Enz took first place in the B Flight.
A Flight (1-16)
1st Steve Hamstad 38pts
2nd Scott Dobbins 34pts
3rd Gavin Kelly 33pts
4th Alex Kazalis 32pts
B Flight (17-up)
1st Conny Enz 39pts
2nd Colin Cronin 38pts
3rd Peter Whitehead 38pts
4th Les Charles 36pts
Near Pins: DB, Mick O’Meara, Scott Dobbins, Paul Sharples
Long Putts: John Sotore, DB

Kehrlli’s 42-pointer is top score of the week

PSC golf from the Outback Golf Bar

Joey’s column
Monday, January 19, Burapha - Stableford
Seventy players were out there on Crystal & Dunes, 20 of them involved in the MBMG matchplay league, the remainder being Outbackers playing in the normal weekly competition.

Capt’ Bob (left) and playing partner Paul Bourke with the ‘Roo Cup.’
Standing on the tee, there seemed little reason to think the course was going to play particularly difficult, but as the scores were returned, a meagre 26 looked like the most popular number. The greens were fast and with some nasty pin placements, especially on the par-five 7th on Crystal, it became rapidly obvious, a good score was going to be a rarity.
Only one player broke his handicap with a brilliant 38 points, Paul Bourke, the top score of the day and winner of Div B, seven points clear of Rick Sharp on 31. Eddie Smith (35pts) returned to the top in Div A, taking first place by one from Toni Dauth, playing with the Outback for the first time. Elsewhere, there wasn’t much else to mention with 33 points winning Div C for Randy Hurwitz and quite remarkably, playing from the white tees, 30 points from Dick Hobson enough to take Div D.
In the matchplay, the Outback Golf Bar were playing one of the new teams to the league, Richman Poorman Restaurant & Bar from Jomtien, and recorded a 6½ to 3½ victory.
There were four ‘2’s from Pat Regan, Eddie Smith, Paul Lavender & Peter Kehrli
Div A (0-10) blue tees
1st Eddie Smith (9) 35pts
2nd Toni Dauth (5) 34pts
3rd Mike Wood (6) 33pts
4th James Brackett (6) 31pts
Div B (11-14) blue tees
1st Paul Bourke (11) 38pts
2nd Rick Sharp (11) 31pts
3rd Frank O’Neill (14) 29pts
4th Ken Little (13) 28pts
Div C (15–19) blue tees
1st Randy Hurwitz (18) 33pts
2nd Bill Bishop (16) 29pts
3rd Peter Stonebridge (19) 28pts
4th Ivan Plunkett (19) 28pts
Div D (20+) white tees
1st Dick Hobson (24) 30pts
2nd Jum Karagit (32) 28pts
3rd Peter Kehrli (21) 27pts
4th Wolfgang Zumbrink (25) 27pts
Tuesday, January 20, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford
This course is growing in popularity on a Tuesday, as 26 Outbackers turned out to try their hand at playing to their handicap or better. Only two players achieved that target and they each won their respective divisions: Barry Chadbourn with an excellent 36 points to win Div A and Suzi Lawton, (welcome back to the podium) went one better with 37 in the second flight.
Ken Robins and Jan Slotten had to be split on count back for the minor places in Div A, both with 33 and Martin O’Neill, first time in the frame, was second in Div B with 34, from the other Lawton; John on 31. (Fancy letting your wife beat you John?)
There were three ‘2’s from Dennis Persson, Paul Sibley & Ian Humphrey.
Div A (0-20)
1st Barry Chadbourn (20) 36pts
2nd Ken Robins (8) 33pts
3rd Jan Slotten (14) 33pts
Div B (20+)
1st Suzi Lawton (21) 37pts
2nd Martin O’Neill (36) 34pts
3rd John Lawton (21) 31pts
Wednesday, January 21, Emerald - Stableford
This popular course once again attracted a full field of 37 Outbackers.
Teeing off just ahead of the scheduled time, the course was showing signs of wear and tear, particularly on the fairways. The greens were pretty good, albeit not quite as fast as they looked and the pace of play was reasonable.
The top score of the day came from Peter Kehrlli with an outrageous 42 points, a quite remarkable turnaround from his previous attempts. He has earned himself a new handicap of 17.2, next time he plays. Well played Peter!
Brain Maddox took second with a fine 37 and Joachim was third on 36. The players in Div A, who failed to score so well, were headed by Mike Waltschek with 35, ahead of Ken Robins and Rick Evans, just edging out Steve Morton on count back.
There was only one ‘2’ from Glen Riding.
Div A (0-17)
1st Michael Waltschek (7) 35
2nd Ken Robins (8) 33
3rd Rick Evans (6) 32
4th Steve Morton (3) 32
5th Bruce McAdam (17) 31
Div B (18+)
1st Peter Kehrlli (19) 42pts
2nd Brian Maddox (22) 37pts
3rd Joachim Oestreicher (24) 36pts
4th Henry O’Brien (21) 34pts
5th Gary Saunders (23) 32pts
Thursday, January 22, Green Valley - Stableford
It’s has been a while since the Outback Golf Bar has been to Green Valley, but now it’s back on the schedule at a regular Thursday slot for the next few months. The 26 Outbackers who played today indicate the popularity of this course, which although busy and lacking in carts (due to a Texas-scramble on the St. Andrews course) was found to be in pretty good shape. Incidentally Capt’ Bob’s team, which was playing in the said scramble, came second, just pipped by 0.8 of a shot by John Emmerson’s team.
Back to Green Valley, the best score of the day was 35, and there were two of them, one from Bill Hewitt and the other from Ralph McCarthy, Ralph just winning on count back. There were two 33’s in Div B, the result being decided again on count back right down to the last three holes; Harry Cowling got the nod in the end from the man in form, John Lawton.
There was only one ‘2’ scored by Bill Hewitt.
Div A (0-19)
1st Ralph McCarthy (19) 35pts
2nd Bill Hewitt (12) 35pts
3rd Geoff Doody (19) 33pts
Div B (20+)
1st Harry Cowling (20) 33pts
2nd John Lawton (21) 33pts
3rd Caroline (24) 31pts
Friday, January 23, Siam Plantation - Stableford
Fifty-one Outbackers, which included a good number from the Golf Club, played on the Sugarcane and Tapioca nines of this wonderful course. It was in fact the second week in a row that these two nines were played, as Pineapple was closed to facilitate IMG to carry out measurement information in preparation for the upcoming LPGA tournament, to be played here at the end of February.
Not much wind today, so the course lost some of its teeth and was laid bare for all to have a go.
Joe Mooneyham stepped up to the challenge, firing a fabulous 79 gross (40pts), the top score of the day; closely followed by John McHugh, with a long overdue 39 points. Paul Lavender joined the handicap breaking party with 37 points to win Div C and Paul Sibley equalled his handicap with 36 points to win Div D, marking the first time that the winners in all divisions have played to handicap or better. Well played guys!
Capt’ Bob was defending the much heralded ‘Roo Cup’ with his partner Paul Bourke against the English duo of Eddie Smith & Paul Greenaway, but sadly they were no match, going down 5 & 4. The ‘Roo Cup’ is a better-ball match between any pairing from the same country and can be played for at any Outbacker event, providing the current holders are available to play. So, if you fancy your chances of resting that old Roo away from Capt’ Bob & Paul, just throw down the challenge; you can guarantee it will be fun trying!
Unbelievably, there were nine ‘2’s coming from Colin Bavington, Capt’ Bob, Dave Skelton, Wolfgang Zumbrink, Alan Bridges, Andres Kaar, John McHugh, Brent Philp & Ian Humphrey
Div A (0-10)
1st John McHugh (10) 39pts
2nd Bob Philp (7) 36pts
3rd Steve Mulberry (8) 32pts
4th Dave Skelton (7) 29pts
Div B (11-13)
1st Joe Mooneyham (11) 40pts
2nd Paul Bourke (11) 34pts
3rd Dene Airey (11) 32pts
4th Paul Greenaway (11) 30pts
Div C (14-17)
1st Paul Lavender (15) 37pts
2nd Bob Lindborg (16) 34pts
3rd Nuy (17) 32pts
4th Ian Humphrey (15) 30pts
Div D (18+)
1st Paul Sibley (19) 36pts
2nd Peter Stonebridge (19) 33pts
3rd Jum Karagit (32) 33pts
4th Alan Pearce (18) 33pts
Friday, January 23, Phoenix - Stableford
The alternate course this Friday was Mountain & Lakes at Phoenix. Eighteen Outbackers took the short 25 minute journey from the bar to the course, and three of them excelled themselves with some very good scores. Johnny Cogan won Div A with 37 points from Rick Evans on 36, in a division with an unusually massive differential in handicaps. In Div B, Greg Dickinson played to his handicap scoring 36 points, two more than Glen Riding in second on 34.
There were two ‘2’s coming from Rick Evans & Alan Bishop.
Div A (0-20)
1st John Cogan (20) 37pts
2nd Rick Evans (6) 36pts
3rd Alan Bishop (17) 34pts
Div B (21+)
1st Greg Dickinson (22) 36pts
2nd Glen Riding (29) 34pts
3rd Henry O’Brien (21) 32pts
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.

Sabai Sabai Friday move back into second place

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Leen Schaap, Mio Aamlid,
 Noodle Russell, Dung Downs & Wade Meyers.

Sabai Sabai Friday moved back into second place after they won all 4 points from Brother D. Sabai is the only team that has a mathematical chance of challenging for first place but they must win the remaining 8 points and Montana has to lose 8, which is not very likely.
Montana continued their good play as they took all 4 points from Café Kronborg. Noodle Russell led Montana with games of 223, 200, 170, 593 series, Maliny Pasakit had a 533 series and Tukata Thompson a 507. Kran Nielsen led her short handed Kronborg team with a 526 series. Kronborg team member Teuvo Jkonen has been sick for a while and we wish him a speedy recovery.
VFW Post 9876 dropped down to third place again as they could only win one point from Montgomery. Montgomery moved up into fifth. House of the Golden Coin split their match with Canada with each team winning 2 points. Mio Aamlid led Golden Coin with a 231 game, 552 series and Ooy Pluemkamon led Canada with a 523.
Kaew bowled a 539 series and Bill Gibson added a 535 to lead Sala Thai Restaurant to a 4 point win over Café Ole. P.K. knocked down 538 pins for Café Ole. Bavaria was led by Tue Pettae’s 567 series and Leo Kretscher’s 533 to win 3 points from Jack Tar. Dung Downs was best for Jack Tar with a 555 series.

Pattaya Softball welcomes back some old friends

Chonburi Carsonomas: (Top left to right) John CF, Mark, Perry with baby Michelle, Bao, Peter, Shawn; (Bottom left to right) Jimmy, John McHugh, Tomee, Scotty.

Malignant Spores: (Top left to right) John S holding our Thai scorekeeper’s kid, Ice, baby Michelle, Brett, John CF, Bao, Tomee, Norm; (Bottom left to right) Diego, Josh, Rocky.

Diego Wells.
Sunday softball saw the triumphant return to the game by one of its original members and founding fathers on January 11. Our best defensive pitcher, Alan happily returned to the line up after a lengthy struggle with cancer. All the softball crew were elated to see him back on the mound, and although he has lost a step or two in his running speed, he is still a tough pitcher who plays tenacious defense.
To honour his return, Alan was asked to name the teams and he came up with two beauties. His team was nicknamed the “Malignant Spores”, while Phil and Perry’s team were dubbed the “Chonburi Carsonomas”.
They were two fiercely competitive games, with the Spores winning the first by the score of 22-18 with clutch hits from Brett, Norm, Rocky, John S. and Alan himself. Game 2 saw Alan out and Fred in as pitcher for the Spores. The Carsonomas jumped out to an 11 to 2 lead, and used Perry’s precise and unpredictable pitches to preserve that lead. John Mchugh, Scotty, Jimmy and Perry, and Peter were strong with their bats and the final score for game 2 was Chonburi Carsonomas 20, Malignant Spores 12.
On Sunday, January 18, on yet another glorious afternoon of sunshine, the Pattaya Softball Club enjoyed another action packed, double header and a half. Many old and new Pattaya players were there to ring in 2009 properly, by hitting the ball, running the bases and arguing with Jimmy the umpire as often as possible.
It was a festive environment that greeted the rowdy ball players as well. Sausages and hamburgers were barbequed by the lovely Ice, while beers, water and soft drinks were chilled to perfection, waiting to be imbibed. Perry and Phil drew up equal sides, and Jimmy hollered out the well worn, but effective phrase “Play ball!”
Game 1 saw Team Charlie Hustle, led by the speedy sexagenarians, Peter (who still runs with reckless abandon) and Perry (who still pitches sky high moon balls with reckless abandon) jump out to a strong hitting 4 run start. Team Bernice is Back (named in honour of the returning superstar Ernie and his penchant to dress in women’s clothing) started sluggishly. They went down in order in the first inning and only managed 1 run in the second (a beautifully blasted ball by Ernie). But down 7 to 1 in the top of the third inning, the Bernice boys put on their game face and started smashing the ball all over the diamond. Phil started the onslaught with a hard hit double, and it was followed by hits from Odvar, Mark, Steve, Jim Bob, Rick and Rhys. They batted through the order and managed to score 8 runs, to go into the fourth with a 9-7 lead.
Team Charlie Hustle are no quitters though, and they battled back to score 5 in the fourth and 1 in the fifth with solid hits coming from John Eden, Mikey, Norm, Jason, Josh and John Mchugh. But Bernice is Back team were not to be denied. Ernie belted 2 more homeruns, Diego slammed some triples and Scotty, Mark, and Phil rocketed doubles. They scored 4 in the fifth and broke open the game with 8 runs in the sixth. Final score Bernice is Back 24, Charlie Hustle 16.
Game 2 saw Perry being traded to Bernice’s team for Phil and 2 of our Bangkok Japanese players being added to Charlie Hustles team. The trades were made to try and level the teams, but Bernice is Back would have none of that. Ernie earned hitter of the day honours for banging another homer and a triple and a double. Scotty earned bully of the day honours for arguing with anyone who would talk to him, lifting up and pretending to suplex Jimmy the umpire, and nearly causing Rocky to soil his shorts when he rifled a ball at him from point blank range. He was also the thirstiest ballplayer out there.
Anyways, team Bernice is Back scored a half dozen runs in two of the first three innings, never trailed and won the game by two converted touchdowns, 24-10. Team Charlie Hustle did manage a win in the end, with a convincing 8-0 mini game (2 inning) victory, so that everyone went home a winner.
We are still looking for a few more good natured, semi-athletic souls to join us on Jimmy’s field of dreams, every Sunday at 1 p.m. in Jomtiem. So come on out and enjoy the sun, the food, the drink and the softball. See you on the diamond soon.