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Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League
200 Bowlers: Morn, Somrit & Pao.
Indiana got off to a fast start with Morn Mack leading
them with a 205 game and 567 series to a four point win over Canada. Lek
Reaper bowled a 208 game and 512 series for Canada.
Antero Ronkainen bowled a 515 series to help Bavaria win
three points from Caf้ Kronborg. Dave Dolle had a 503 for Kronborg.
Ooy Pluemkmon bowled a 528 series to lead VFW Post 9876
to a three point win over Green Tree.
Tea Party, formerly the USMC, won three points from
Brother D on the difficult 5 and 6 lanes. Somrit bowling as a Pacer bowled a
209 game and 525 series.
Avery alights the field
PSC golf from Café Kronborg
Monday’s winners Paul Avery
(left) and Patrice Bardy (right) with The Admiral.
San Mig Stu & Peter
Blackburn
Monday, Sept. 19, Mountain
Shadow – Stableford
Approximately 19 Caf้ Kronborg golfers assembled in Soi
Dianna Inn in preparation to challenge the Mountain Shadow golf course. The
Admiral (Dave Richardson) loaded us all up at the dot of 0815 hundred hours
and the mini buses departed for the 45 minute journeys to the course.
Thursday’s winner Martin
Todd.
Mountain Shadow was in fine shape and good value for
money although as with many other local golf courses this place does not
allow shared golf carts. The greens were playing true and if one could keep
the ball below the hole a much better chance of sinking the putt was in ones
favour otherwise many undulations made for tricky putting. The fairways were
well presented however if one diverted to the rough, you would regret it.
The bunkers were also in good shape considering the amount of recent rains
which can compact the sand.
A Flight’s Paul Avery played the course with dexterity
and the right frame of mind. Having missed a six foot putt on the first hole
he smiled and said “Good, I hate opening with a birdie as it stuffs my day”.
This easy go lucky attitude paid off as he went on to shoot a net 63 and 42
points. Well done Paul!
Coming in one net shot behind was ‘Mr. Consistency’ Mike
Allidi with a very commendable net 64 and 41 points. A lot further back was
Stu Rifkin with 37 points followed by departing Aussie John Combs on 36
points in fourth spot.
B Flight was won by Patrice Bardy with 36 points on a
count back from another departing Oz visitor Ron Grafton. Third spot was
taken out by Graham Buckingham with 35 points and Kenny Chung was delighted
to be in the winner’s circle taking fourth place with 34 points.
Jean Claude Coulon was the recipient of the dreaded cap
today but never the less contributed to the charity kitty with some
prompting from his fellow players.
A Flight (0-15)
1st Paul Avery (9) 42pts
2nd Mike Allidi (2) 41pts
3rd Stu Rifkin (13) 37pts
4th John Combs (15) 36pts
B Flight (16+)
1st Patrice Bardy (17) 36pts
2nd Ron Grafton (16) 36pts
3rd Graham Buckingham (23) 35pts
4th Kenny Chung (28) 34pts
Near Pins: Mikito Homma
Long Putts: Mike Allidi
Wednesday, 21st September
– Green Valley – Stableford
This was our second Caf้ Kronborg Wednesday competition
and once more it was fully subscribed, in fact it was oversubscribed as we
were unable to obtain an extra tee spot due to the popularity of the golf
course. The four unlucky people took the news very well and appreciated the
situation. We actually made it easier as I was never really going to play
due to my “slipped disc” and the Admiral had a bit of a sore ankle so it was
only Mike Allidi & Jan Ericson that missed out.
We departed the Kronny a couple of minutes early and like
a busload of old women we were yapping away for ages until someone realized
that we were going a different way to normal. Not wishing to upset our
driver Boon we put our trust in him but when we found ourselves about to
turn into the car park at Pleasant Valley I screamed out to Boon, “Green
Valley!” “Oh my Buddha”, he exclaimed and off we went at a cracking pace in
an attempt to make our tee time of 0928 hrs at Green Valley.
We knew we were never going to make it but a quick call
to the “North Shore Mafia” guys who had travelled by car sorted things out
at the course for us and we arrived at 0930 hrs and got to the first tee in
time to tee off second behind the North Shore guys.
I was a spectator again and spent time with all 3 groups
and having not been to this course for quite some time I was very impressed
with the layout and tip top condition with terrific greens and lush
fairways.
The weather was absolutely perfect with cloud cover all
day but not too hot in fact no-one even stopped for a drinks break. The
first group completed the course in the leisurely time of four hours and
twenty five minutes.
I must give a mention to San Miguel Stu who had 20 points
on the front nine and then had three wipes in a row starting the second
nine. He did recover slightly and managed to score 14 points over the last 6
holes but not good enough to feature on the podium.
We had just the one flight with four place getters and
rewards for nearest the pins on all but one of the par threes and longest
first putts on the 9th & 18th sponsored by yours truly.
Mashi Kaneta was the winner on the day with a fine 38
points. A count back was necessary to decide second and third spots with
Daryl Evans (18 points on the back nine) beating Frank Pilkington (15 points
on the back nine), both with 37 points. There was a three way count back to
decide fourth spot and Andre Van Dyk (19 point back nine) edged out Paul
Avery (18 point back nine) and Graham Buckingham (16 point back nine).
All in all it was a great day on a wonderful golf course
and we will be back there again on Wednesday, October 19th – this time with
5 groups booked.
1st Mashi Kaneta (13) 38pts
2nd Daryl Evans (20) 37pts
3rd Frank Pilkington (18) 37pts
4th Andre Van Dyk (16) 36pts
Near Pins: Mashi Kaneta, Martin Todd, Mikito Homma
Long Putts: Daryl Evans, Mikito Homma
Thursday, Sept. 22,
Plutaluang – Stableford
Just a small field of nine golfers were signed up to play
on this day and headed off from the Kronny at 0815 hrs on the dot with The
Admiral back in command due to your writer’s current back injury. We
welcomed Martin Todd’s son Brad and his son in law Chris Smith, both from
Perth, Australia.
Arriving at the course just 37 minutes later the first
group teed off on the East & South layouts at 0924 hrs with a few sprinkles
of rain which soon cleared up. The course was in very good condition and
surprisingly dry after the current recent rain. The round was completed in
four hours and twenty five minutes.
Just one flight due to the small field with four place
getters and a nearest the pin sponsored by Martin Todd. Martin Todd finished
up the winner with 37 points just one point better than Mike Winfield. Kenny
Chung came in third with 31 points and in a count back for fourth place
Mikito Homma edged out Takeshi Hakozaki, both having 28 points.
1st Martin Todd (7) 37pts
2nd Mike Winfield (21) 36pts
3rd Kenny Chung (28) 31pts
4th Mikito Homma (15) 28pts
Near Pins: Martin Todd
Martin Todd’s son Brad took out the Compass Cap award to complete a first
& last for the family and Deefa the Dog made an appearance to collect
donations for charity from all present.
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Grindvold grinds out winning round at Greenwood
PSC golf from The Golf Club Sports Bar
Bob, Mark, McHugh, Roachie,
Jez & pals after Friday’s trip to Greenwood.
Monday, Sept. 19, Green
Valley – Stableford
1st John Emmerson (11) 37pts
2nd John Pierrel (13) 37pts
3rd Joe Mooneyham (16) 36pts
Four groups headed down the 36 this morning to test the
links of Green Valley.
Finally, the whole game came together, the back nine was
stronger, and thus our TGC partner John Emmerson snatched this week’s
victory on count back.
John Emmerson & Joe
Mooneyham.
Last week I wrote that 39 would normally be enough for a
win when writing of our second place finisher Mick Beresford, and that was
true today. Timing is everything, not just on your swing, but your entire
game. But today Johnny got to the top on count back over John Pierrel who
has been traveling Thailand and playing golf all over the kingdom.
Emmerson’s 19 on back was 2 better than Pierrel’s 17, so ring the bell pal!
You actually had good reason to bum a cigar from Warboys this time.
It was great to see our PSC golf chief Joe Mooneyham out
with us and playing great golf with his 36 points for third on the day.
Our buddy from Hawaii, Kalani is back with us for a
couple of weeks now, so Mahalo, man.
For the record, the proper stableford count back criteria
is back 9 total points, if tied then back 6 total, if still tied then back 3
total, if still tied then last hole total, if still tied then highest points
on the #1 handicap hole. There are actually 4 more stages, but they are
rarely necessary.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, St.
Andrews - Stableford
1st John Pierrel (13) 39pts
2nd Henry O’Brien (18) 35pts
3rd Terry Wagner (20) 31pts
Not content with his second place finish on Monday, John
Pierrel set his standards high and came out the winner of today’s
competition. John played some very consistent golf with only one blob on the
card. Shooting a 39 on this course is quite difficult, so well played to
John.
Henry O’Brien has been playing well of late and an 18
handicapper that shoots 35 here has had a very good round of golf. Terry
Wagner got away with a third with his 31 points, but some days you just get
lucky sneaking that one in.
St. Andrews is one of the best courses we play in
Pattaya. It never ceases to impress with its beautiful vistas of the Rayong
hills. The course was in very good nick today and the weather was overcast,
making for a cool and pleasant day of golf on a great track.
Friday, Sept. 23,
Greenwood - Stableford
1st Jack Grindvold (5) 37pts
2nd Gareth Gill (7) 35pts
3rd John McHugh (9) 35pts
It was TGC partner Johnny McHugh’s birthday today, so a
very special outing was on the agenda for this trip out to Greenwood. McHugh
sponsored the four long drives, something he usually excels in… but not
today. There was that silly rule about drives having to be in the fairway he
forgot about. Sorry about that birthday boy.
Long time buddy Ernie MacInerney took 2 of the LD’s. It’s
a shame the Dalai Lama didn’t play today, big hitter, the Lama. A rare
appearance by Joe Sebastian on the golf course was noted, good to see the
lefty back in action as he apparently had a great back nine after 6 months
of cobwebs on the bag.
It was one of those days when you wished you had shares
in Bacardi, as the Breezers were flowing like the Pattaya floods of the past
week. But the star of the day was our own Jack Grindvold who won with a
great round, a Cinderella story if you will.
There was a trio of single digit handicappers on today’s
podium. These guys make few mistakes, so Jack’s victory was that much
sweeter. Well done Jack, our favorite Swede, and don’t worry, that new Ikea
in Bangkok will be open next month.
Greenwood was in spectacular shape and we will be
returning next month, so watch for the October schedule soon. Keep it in the
fairway lads!
Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro,
off Soi Buakhao and Soi Diana junction. We can be reached on 085 434 3377 or
pattaya4golf@gmail .com and our website is www. golfclubpattaya.com.
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Cheap & Cheerful Chonburi
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
With the continuing dip in FX rates golf is no longer a
cheap option in Pattaya, certainly not for three-times-a-week diehards and
courses like Century Chonburi are finding themselves scheduled more often
than in the past. Therefore the Pattaya Golf Society chose the course as its
venue for a stableford competition on Monday, 19th September and found the
fairways in good condition but the greens ponderously slow.
With a competition local rule in place to cover the
condition of the bunkers the group set off before time on the course which
was empty save for an eight-ball (yes, you read it correctly!) on the tenth.
Playing in the final group Benny Hansen came good yet
again with 35 solid points for third place, a couple behind the second
placed golfer Jean Morel with 37. Tony Thorne found his form returning after
a few mediocre performances with an excellent 38 points for the win.
There were no birdie ‘2’s again and the absence from the
presentation of the only true candidates for the Booby Bevy gave Mr Len the
opportunity to award himself the consolation at the end of a hard day when
“cheap” and “cheerful” were the watchwords at Century Chonburi.
Tananusorn calls the shots
Having had a long standing booking for St. Andrew’s the
Green Valley management chose to transfer the Pattaya Golf Society to Green
Valley on Wednesday, 21st September in deference to a large group of Hong
Kong visitors. ‘Twould have been nice to have been informed before we got
there! Having said that the Green Valley course is in very good condition
and the group enjoyed their stableford competition.
Sharing second place were the front men from the previous
outing, Tony Thorne and Jean Morel and they continued their form with 37
points each. Wichai Tananusorn’s previous visit to the course had seen him
record gross 74 (net 66) to win the IPGC April Medal event and he amazingly
recorded the same score again. Forty-two points blew the field away
disdainfully as the accuracy and power of his game drew gasps from his
playing partners. His only indiscretion was an adventurous “wipe” on the
relatively easy fourteenth and it cost him his first ever gross level par
round.
There were birdie ‘2’s for Garry Olliffe and Gary Bolger
and the Booby Bevy was kept for a wee Scotsman for his 6-14 split. Maybe the
booking staff at Green Valley should have had a share of it also.
Scandie success at Pattaya
Storm clouds threatened as the Pattaya Golf Society left
Soi Buakhao on Friday 23rd September to play their monthly charity pairs
event at Pattaya Country Club, but thankfully the day stayed dry and the
group enjoyed the challenge the well prepared course offered them.
The best score format allowed golfers to play all their
shots and at the end of the day two pairs shared second place with the
impressive Japanese pairing of Haru Kato and Masa Takano collecting forty
points to match Jean Morel, whose partner had withdrawn seeing the early
rain. This necessitated a random choice of “hidden partner” for Jean and it
complimented his already fine individual effort.
The winning team was the Scandie combination of Jonny
Larsson and Benny Hansen, the latter repeating his success of the previous
month. This time they produced a round of 43 points.
Near pins were kindly sponsored by “Golfclick”, Mr Len
and Jean Morel and the winners were Tony Thorne, Len Jones, Masashi Iizumi
and Jonny Larsson. Other individual contributions saw the total raised for
the year so far reach more than eighty-eight big ones and the Fr Ray
Foundation Outreach Center once again had good reason to smile.
Even in these tough economic times the PGS members have
shown how generous they can be when the underprivileged are the focus of the
day. Well done everyone, here’s to next month!
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G.G. wins by a length
at Khao Kheow
PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society
Sunday’s winner Gareth Gill (left) with Friday’s
winner Lou Szigligeti.
Sunday, Sept. 18, Green
Valley - Medal
A Flight
1st Gareth Gill (10) net 65
2nd Mark Wood (9) net 73
B Flight
1st Colin Davis (16) net 71
2nd Bob Lindbergh (18) net73
Ladies Flight
1st Yui Bietry (9) net 71
2nd
Kathy Doody (16) net 74
Near Pins: No 4 Jack Grindvold; No 9 Thierry
Petrement; No 12 Don Lehmer; No 16 Yui Bietry.
There are three givens in this column; you are in the
title if (a) you win the monthly medal, (b) you have a hole in one, (c) you
pour your heart out to the scribe sitting at the bar in Lewiinski’s on a
Sunday night and keeping him happy.
What happens when those three phenomena occurs in one
week? Well working against the Donkey’s hole in one is the fact that the
Donkey’s ace was not in a Lewiinski’s comp, but to be positive it was his
first in the Land of Smiles.
The pluses for Gareth are self evident; add to that is
the fact that this is his first medal victory in ten years of trying. But
working against him is that he is a good 10 handicap. Gareth’s tee shots
average about 350yds although admittedly most are found out of bounds, or in
the rough.
The cons are that by the time this article is printed
Gareth will be back on his rig in the middle of the Pacific somewhere, and
beyond the range of plummeting this scribe with a seven iron (Emails don’t
hurt that much). Gareth also managed to win the coverted Low Gross trophy.
No mistake!
So the title goes to Gareth ‘Ralphy’ Gill who treated the
robust crowd back at the bar to a round of its finest.
Mark ‘Mal’ Wood, Aberdeen’s favorite son turned up rather
soberly for the presentation to find he was eight shots adrift of Gareth but
good enough for the silver. Bob ‘Seamless’ Newell, red hot after his Friday
victory in the PSC Monthly game was one stroke off the pace.
Every Sunday the first thing the scribe checks is to see
how two of his favorite players have got on; Colin ‘the Donkey’ Davis and
Bob ‘the Guru of Green Valley’ Lindbergh. So it was of some surprise that he
saw them leading the junior flight home in that order and only two shots
separating them.
Dropping down to the Ladies flight we saw Yui Bietry
adding to her champagne flute and bottle of plonk collection, by the
narrowest of margins over Kathy ‘Elgar’ Doody. As most of our readers know,
Yui joins Gareth in the gold medal to be held later in the year.
It was good to see my old mate Frank Pilkington playing
with us.
Lou Szigligeti and Don Lehmer split the 2’s pot. Don and
his lovely lady friend left the presentation as soon as he copped his 2’s
prize, the destination remains a mystery. Pity he did not hang around a bit
longer as his name was drawn out of the barrel.
Tuesday, Sept. 20,
Mountain Shadow - Stableford
1st Colin Davis (16) 34pts
2nd Fergus Obrien (28) 33pts
It would appear that the tree lined fairways of Mountain
Shadow are the reason it is considered to be the toughest par 72 on the
Eastern Seaboard, but the experienced flogger appreciates that the challenge
really begins when the player arrives at the quadrisect, undulating greens.
So it was of no surprise that no one bettered par on the day.
Further review of the day’s scoring however reveals that
the fairways more than held their own. The trees did not seem to bother the
Donkey that much (mind you he did spend most of his youth tied up to one) as
he led the heard home with the day’s top score of 34 points.
Old society favorite Irishman Fergus O’Brian trailed
closely behind just a stroke in arrears.
Tore Eliassen posted the day’s only 2.
Brad of ‘captain clipboard fame’ Sproxton was a pleasant
addition to the day’s game.
Wednesday, Sept. 21,
Bangpra 2-Person Better Ball
1st Eddy Beilby & Ian Halfpenny
42pts
2nd Christy Knight & Mike Jeffreys
38pts
Ian ‘loose change’ Halfpenny rode the booming drives of
Eddy ‘The Eagle’ Beilby to team victory in the two person better ball at the
very tricky Bangpra layout. Lest you think it was a joy ride for Ian, don’t
forget there were still sand traps, water hazards, elevated lightning quick
greens, and some incredibly long chat to weather.
Proof nice guys do not always finish last was apparent as
Christy ‘Good Knight’ and Mike ‘The Welsh Wizard’ Jeffreys combined to bring
back the second placed funds.
The resident monkeys were conspicuous by their absence as
one would expect with Eddy the Eagle in this form. (That’s Sunday night
taken care of, Ha).
Pat Regan and Mike Jeffreys split the 2’s pot.
Friday, Sept. 23, Treasure
Hill - Stableford
1st Lew Szigligeti (19) 38pts
2nd Loe Tynan (28) 35pts
Australian horse trainer, Lew ‘Zig-Zag’ was the story as
the society braved the Friday traffic up the 331 north to Treasure Hill. Lou
at last found his way to the top of the podium with a thumping best of the
day 38 points. Lou was also the only player to better par on the day and his
38 point haul was three clear of society regulars Irishman Smoking Joe
Tynan, Tore Eliassen and Mike ‘he’s there again’ Jeffreys.
Joe got to join Lou on the podium albeit slightly lower,
leaving Tore and Mike Satang less.
Ian Half penny added to the week’s tally slotting home
the only 2 of the day.
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 Colin on 089 826 0764.
Transport is provided.
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‘Bomber’ Harris blasts the rest
Phoenix Tuesday/Friday Golf Group
Tuesday’s top three pose with
staff members at The Relax Bar.
Mike Gerrard
The Ocean course has now been closed (God knows why, when
it was just getting up to perfect condition), which meant that we took on
the Lake and Mountain course (in that order as well) last Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Once again the management has decided to close a
perfectly good nine holes and open nine that is not ready for play!
Obviously this means that all they are bothered about is getting it all
ready for the tourists. Can’t say I blame them. Seems to me the same old
story all over the world. Even at the home course back in the U.K. the
members always complained about the committee taking more care over visitors
than members.
Moaning old gits aint we. Still better to be here than
there!
OK back to the plot where Peter Harris bombed the rest
into obliteration with a fine score of 37 points. In second place (by
default as the next best scoring player did not return to presentation) was
John Bartley with 32 points (nice to see John back after having back
problems over the last few weeks). Third (to his amazement) was Stuart
Gordon with 31 points. Stuart emphasised his superior ability by claiming
both near pins for the day as well.
Lucky draw prizes (donated by our hosts The Relax Bar)
went to Bob Neylon, Tony Hill and Mike Gerrard.
To join our happy band of ‘men only’ hackers at Phoenix,
give me (Mike) a call on 087 091 7565.
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Rich fires 43-pointer,
denies Kowalczyk double
Travellers Rest Golf Group
A thorn between 2 roses -
Saturday’s top three: Mod Chaviraksa, Fergus Brennan and Tewin Lamthong.
Tim Dalton
Before I start my report I am quite sure that I am
speaking for all members past and present in passing on my good wishes to
Barry Hooper, and all of us wish you a speedy recovery.
Following the recent bad weather it was good to get out
on some fabulous courses, I particularly enjoyed Plutauang and it was good
to finally play the “Lighthouse” hole, having played here several times
before but not on that course.
Particular congratulations this week goes to Joe
Kowalczyk with a first and a second, well done Joe, and also well done to
Mod, with a first and a third.
Monday, Sept. 19, Mountain
Shadow - Stableford
1st Joe Kowalczyk (19) 38pts
2nd Ged Higgins (18) 36pts
3rd Arnold Jones (14) 35pts
4th Alun Webber (20) 35pts
2’s: Arnold Jones.
Tuesday, Sept. 20,
Plutauang N & W - Stableford
1st Ross Schiffke (13) 37pts
2nd John Coombs (15) 34pts
3rd Peter Webley (13) 33pts
4th Fergus Brennan (11) 33pts
2’s: Ross Schiffke
Thursday, Sept. 22,
Phoenix Mountain & Lake – Stableford
1st Andrew Rich (20) 43pts
2nd Joe Kowalczyk (18) 40pts
3rd Mod Chaviraksa (12) 37pts
4th Alun Webber (20) 35pts
5th Tewin Lamthong (12) 35pts
2’s: Roger Wilkinson.
Saturday, Sept. 24,
Eastern Star – Stableford
1st Mod Chaviraksa (12) 35pts
2nd Fergus Brennan (11) 35pts
3rd Tewin Lamthong (12) 34pts
4th Roger Wilkinson (12) 33pts
Note: You can find the Travellers Rest and the
golf group on Soi LK Metro off Soi Dianne and a warm welcome will be given
to golfers and non golfers alike. For more information visit our website
www.trgg.biz or call 038 422 525.
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Perfect Persson puts on a show
PSC golf from The Outback Golf bar
Monday’s winners from
Khao Kheow (from the left): Andy Todd, Steve Mann, Dennis Pelly, Kissy,
Capt’ Bob, Alan Ansell and Barry McIntosh.
Monday, Sept. 19, Khao
Kheow - Stableford
The 20 Outbackers playing the B and C loops enjoyed
very pleasant conditions, the weather was very kind with just the right
amount of cloud cover to keep things cool and that coupled with no rain
made for a great day out. It’s good to report that the course condition
is improving with no real wet spots anywhere, unlike previous weeks when
it’s been very soggy but even today there was little run.
Dennis Persson was the
Division A winner at Pattaya Country Club on Tuesday.
We welcomed a couple of Kissy’s friends today plus
said goodbye to Mike Morrison.
The scores were pretty good with a few stand outs
like Capt’ Bob shooting 35 gross on the front nine for 23 stableford
points but came back to the field on the back nine with only 16. I guess
that puts paid to any chance of a handicap increase before Chiang Rai
and Chiang Mai. He still did more than enough to comfortably win Div A
with 39 points, five clear of Dennis Pelly.
Div B was won by Barry McIntosh with 36 points from
Kissy on 35 and Alan Ansell (34) third; these three were well clear of
the “also-rans”.
There were four ‘2’s, but from only two players: on
hole 3, Capt’ Bob; on hole 12, Andy Todd and hole 17, both Bob & Andy.
Div A (0–14)
1st Bob Philp (9/Hi8.3) 39pts
2nd Dennis Pelly (13/Hi12.5)
34pts
3rd Steve Mann (11/Hi10.5)
32pts
Div B (15+)
1st Barry McIntosh (18/Hi17.1)
36pts
2nd Keith Buchanan (16/Hi14.7)
35pts
3rd Alan Ansell (24/Hi22.2)
34pts
Tuesday, Sept. 20,
Pattaya C.C. - Stableford
Twenty Outbackers at Pattaya Country Club today, the
same number as at Khao Kheow on Monday, on a course on which the bunkers
were looking very ordinary and the back nine greens are suffering; the
fairways we are pleased to say, are pretty OK.
Now is probably the time to write a little more about
the EGA handicap system currently undergoing testing here at the
Outback. Most of you will be used to using your Handicap Index, as
provided by the PSC, as your playing handicap but as some of you will
know, this is not the way the USGA intended.
The most significant difference between the EGA and
the USGA is that the EGA does not only use the slope to calculate your
playing handicap but it also subtracts the difference between the par
(72) and the rating (69.7) for the course (ie. 2.3) from your Handicap
Index at the same time as multiplying your Index by the slope for the
course (120) and dividing by the standard slope of 113.
This creates a problem at a course like Pattaya C.C.,
which has recently been down-rated to a course rating of 69.7 with a
slope of 120; as it will mean in most cases your playing handicap will
be less than your Index. Any visitors, non PSC members and newcomers
will have their handicap adjusted down to fit in with the rest of the
field and it gives us here at the Outback, much better control over
“visitor’s” handicaps.
It is the same for everyone but the EGA system is
designed to make 36 points your handicap not 38 points as it would be on
this course if using the pure USGA calculation*, using only the slope.
(*based on a Handicap Index of 15.4)
We hope that makes it all a little clearer, if not
the General is always available at the bar to explain in more detail.
Well, Dennis overcame all the flack he got on Monday
here at Pattaya to win with a terrific 40 points today, five ahead of
the next placed, Gary Olliffe (35) who was heading back home today.
Lloyd, who had a great front nine, fell away a bit on the back, but
still ended up with a 77 gross and 35 points for third, losing on count
back to Gary.
Martin O’Neill continued his form after winning the
Outback Decanter a couple of weeks ago, with a solid 37 points, beating
Kurt Eric Persson on count back and John Cogan taking third with 35.
Two Irish lads got the only ‘2’s; Billy Fitzgerald on
hole 12 and John Cogan on hole 16.
Div A (0–14)
1st Dennis Persson (14/Hi15.4)
40pts
2nd Gary Olliffe (11/Hi12.1)
35pts
3rd Lloyd Shuttleworth
(4/Hi5.9) 35pts
4th Billy Fitzgerald
(11/Hi12.9) 34pts
Div B (15+)
1st Martin O’Neill (24/Hi25)
37pts
2nd Kurt Eric Persson
(29/Hi29.2) 37pts
3rd John Cogan (15/Hi16.3)
35pts
4th Phompinmon Seesa
(29/Hi27.7) 35pts
Wednesday, Sept. 21,
Burapha A & B - Stableford
Twenty players again today, played the A and B loops
from the blue markers in what turned out to be a great day out, just a
sprinkle of rain on B2 and that was it. With everything about the course
looking good and away on time, a few of the players were of the mind to
post some fantastic scores with plenty playing better than handicap,
with three 37’s, two 38’s and a 39.
Jim Brackett got the top score of 39 points to win
Div A from John Cunningham (38) whilst Capt’ Bob blew his chances when
thinning his wedge through to the back bunker on the eighteenth and
walking away with nothing!
Local member, John O’Keefe took Div B with 38 points,
one point ahead of Greg Hill (37), who was four clear of third placed
Carl Luke.
It was meant to be farewell to Kissy’s mate, Craig
Jolly, but happily for him, he has extended his ticket for a day or two;
well done mate, that means you can play Green Valley with us on Friday.
Only two ‘2’s today from John Cunningham on hole 3
and Capt’ Bob (again) on hole 12.
Div A (0–16)
1st Jim Brackett (7/Hi5.3)
39pts
2nd John Cunningham (10/Hi8)
38pts
3rd Andy Todd (15/Hi12.1) 37pts
4th Bob Philp (10/Hi7.7) 37pts
Div B (17+)
1st John O’Keefe (20/Hi16.4) 38
2nd Greg Hill (24/Hi20) 37pts
3rd Carl Luke (20/Hi15.8) 33pts
4th Bob Lindborg (22/Hi18.2)
32pts
Friday, Sept. 23,
Green Valley - Stableford
Heavy overnight rain prevented the use of carts at
Green Valley on Friday ruining any chance of a tournament.
However, sometimes it pays to go to the golf course
even if it’s raining at the bar or in Pattaya, it may not be too bad
where you’re going. At Green Valley on Friday we waited around for about
30 minutes then the rain stopped but there were no carts allowed; so
after some negotiations it was arranged that those that wanted to walk
could at Green Valley and those who couldn’t, would play St Andrews at a
very good rate including compulsory cart. Thanks to Khun Nirand for
making it possible for us old’uns.
Five of us played the St. Andrews and had a great
time. My good friend, Brian Maddox had some fun every-time he hit a
bunker taking three shots then picking up; apart from the 16th where he
hit a wood into the green-side bunker and nailed a dog - it came out of
there as if it had been shot, nobody could stop laughing.
Lloyd had an eagle on hole 6, after having driven the
green. Playing as a five-ball we were held up by four groups of Koreans.
The rest of the boys played Green Valley, walking.
No cards were returned for handicap purposes and the
entrance fee was refunded.
Note: 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.
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Habgood steals the show at Khao Kheow
PSC golf from The Bunker
JJ Harney (right) celebrates
his Monday win with Geoff Parker.
Monday, Sept. 19, Treasure
Hill - Stableford
JJ Harney made a winning return to Thailand beating Tom
Wilson by one point, scoring a very satisfying 36 points which is good going
at the very tricky Treasure Hill course. Tore Elliasson took third place
with 33 points.
1st JJ Harney (12) 36pts
2nd Tom Wilson (9) 35pts
3rd Tore Elliasson (14) 33pts
Near Pins: Paul Hector, Tony Robbins, JJ Harney
(2)
Wednesday, Sept. 21,
Khaow Kheow - Stableford
Playing the A and C courses Tony Robbins kept chipping
away at Colin Greig’s lead in the golfer of the month competition. Tony came
in third with 33 points while Raleigh Gosney kept in touch with the leaders
by taking second place, but Peter Habgood stole the show today winning with
a pretty impressive 38 points which takes some doing at Khaow Kheow!
1st Peter Habgood (19) 38pts
2nd Raleigh Gosney (16) 34pts
3rd Tony Robbins (11) 33pts
Near Pins: Tony Robbins, Peter Habgood, Geoff Cox
(2).
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Novak and Missler star at Pattaya Country Club
IPGC golf from The Haven
Tom Novak (41pts) and Mike
Missler (40pts) were the winners at Pattaya Country Club.
Monday, Sept. 19,
Bangpakong – Stableford
Our first game back since our return from Chiang Mai and
we made the one hour journey in comfortable time from Siam Cats. It was only
two divisions out today as there were many people suffering heavy colds and
influenza symptoms, the reasons unbeknown to all of us.
Still in form and in his last week with us before his
return to New York, Harry Vincenzi won division 1 with 37 points while the
Bristol boy Paul Smith was second with 34 after beating Billy Hewitt on a
18/17 back nine count back.
Mr. baggy pants, Marty Aronson, won division 2 on 33
points beating Tom Novak on an 18/17 count back as well.
In the ‘2’s there were 5 rollovers to Pattaya Country
Club in division 1 and two in division 2.
Wednesday, Sept. 21,
Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
There were 6 four-balls out today so nearest the pins
came in to play. The cut was 6-16 in division 1 and 17 plus in division 2.
As we played this course today and with the amount of
rain we have had in the whole area over the past two weeks none of us could
believe the hardness of the fairways; from a drive the ball was bouncing
between 10 and 20ft in the air and rolling between 20 and 30yds down the
fairway. The greens here were very slick and in good condition, you wouldn’t
have thought this by standing on them.
Before his imminent return to Kazakhstan, Tom Novak
scored 23 points on the front nine and came in with 41 points to win
division 2. The organiser also scored 23 points but on the back nine to
finish second with 38 while Russell Benson beat Willy van Heetvelde on a
20/15 back nine count back for third after they both scored 36.
After three weeks away with Miss Faa in New York,
Cincinatti, and Las Vegas, Mike Missler returned to win division 1 with 40
points and this was with three blobs on the card. Al Keith was second on 38
and Chris Voller took third after beating the Chiang Mai champion Neville
Scurrell on a 20/16 back nine count back, both on 36.
Al Keith birdied the 16th, Chris Voller the 12th and and
16th and Bob Watson the 5th to split the rollover ‘2’s pot in division 1,
and in his comeback with us Bryan Rought birdied the 5th for the three
purses in division 2.
Near pins went to Tony Barritt, Bryan Rought, Chris
Voller (2), Mark Jennings, Brian Ferrigno, Al Keith and Andy Oz.
Friday, Sept. 23, Eastern
Star - Stableford
There were 46 names on the board at Siam Cats on Thursday
evening for today’s game but with heavy rain throughout the night in the
Baan Chang area there were a few cancellations from players living down that
way early on Friday morning.
Heading down towards Soi 5 in Jomtien the rain increased
and the scribe reached Siam Cats just in time. There were more phone calls
cancelling out today because of the weather conditions and with a 40 minute
delay for the mini bus we arrived at Eastern Star 30 minutes behind
schedule.
In the end there were seven groups out including the
ladies division with the cut in Div 1 at 6-15 and division 2 for handicaps
16 and above.
There was light drizzle for the first couple of holes and
this turned into a few spots of rain for the next four holes. The fairways
were a little soggy so ‘pick, clean and place’ came into the game.
Bill Bertram returned the highest score today winning
division 1 with 39 points, and on his return playing off 6, Kari Kupairnen
took second after beating the Rioja boy Jon Lay 19/18 on the back nine as
they both came in with 37 points.
Ted Morris won division 2 with 37 points, Bryan Rought
was second five points behind, and Jim Lane took third with 31.
In the Ladies division Arisa Henningham playing off 23
shot 38 to win her division.
Mikael Andersson birdied the 17th and Jon Lay the 3rd to
split the ‘2’s in division 1, and there are two rollovers to next Friday in
division 2.
Near pins were claimed by Arisa Henningham, Mikael
Andersson, Bryan Rought, Frank Kelly, Brian Libbey and Toi Blair.
It was Bon Voyage to Harry Vincenzi who arrives back on the 28th December
and also to Marytn Anderton who is back in 6 weeks.
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Ray’s pleasant
return to form
PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside
Brian, Jim & Ray, Tuesday’s
winners.
Tuesday, Sept. 20,
Pleasant Valley - Stableford
Tuesday was our monthly visit to Pleasant Valley where
despite recent rain the course was in good condition, with greens running
true & smooth.
Ray Spence (H/cap 16) showed glimpses of form year’s past
to shoot a creditable 37 points ahead of Brian Maddox (21) with 34 points.
Near Pins were picked up by Jeff, Ray & Jimmy.
Thursday, Sept. 22,
Century Chonburi - Stableford
Century Chonburi was our chosen venue for Thursday’s comp
with the return of regular players, Dave & Bruce, while it was a first time
welcome to Trevor.
The course on the day had varying critiques on condition,
with the greens needing a bit of a cut, which combined with the dampness
made them quite slow. I still consider the course a diamond in the rough,
with allowances made for great value (and not so great change room
facilities).
Jeff Wylie (6) coped best with the various pitfalls to
record 36 points, while Clive Hoseason (30) eased into the runner-up spot.
Jeff showed the way with 3 near pins, with 1 going unclaimed for a
Banglamung Boys Home donation.
Note: Mulligans Lakeside plays golf on Tuesday &
Thursday, with presentation at the course Tuesday & Mulligans Lakeside
hosting on Thursdays. Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to
see you there, cheers & good golfing!
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Bachli best of the bunch at Bangpra
PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
Tuesday’s top two with one of
Bert’s finest.
Derek Brook
Tuesday, Sept. 20, Bangpra
– Stableford
It has been a long time since we played Bangpra,
primarily due to early tee times being costlier than later ones. Not wishing
to tee off late we usually went to a course close by, but this time one of
our players said he could get a good rate and an early tee time and he did.
Thanks go to him.
So we set off to the course in overcast weather, but
apart from a few spots of rain that was all we got all day. This is a course
where it is easy to book in, as long as we get there at the correct time; if
you are a late starter, after 1100 am and arrive at 1045 am, you have to
wait. No problems on this day.
This is a tough course, always was and always will be.
The major problem is the trickiness of the greens. As usual, two shots to
close right of the first green, chip to 3 foot and an easy three three-putt.
So the day went on and made all our scores look quite pedestrian.
With a strong wind that always seemed to be in your face
the course also felt extremely long. Mind, we had the normal distractions,
as we approached the first green, the trees were full of our monkey friends,
and the caddies had to dash back to the carts to keep them from looting
items.
Also as we went up the 3rd fairway we saw a snake in the
middle rearing up and jumping at the birds who were fluttering above it.
Never seen anything like it here in Thailand and I have been here a few
years. At our approach it went from the fairway very slowly. Very
interesting, what!
We really enjoyed the way around, long and tiring but
this first course in the area is mature and impressive, and if your putting
needs a real test you have to play here.
Once upon a time this place used to have a huge hot tub
where you could cool off after a round, but progress being what it is we now
have nice modern new showers. I miss the old hot tub you could really soak
the aches out of your bones. Mind, a quick shower and up to the restaurant
is no real problem. Usually I have a ‘Rainbow Ice-cream’, but noticing the
price rise and being in one of my ‘careful’ moods had a Mashi’s special.
Very good actually.
Back in the car it was down route seven and we were soon
back at Bert’s. After a bit of food and realising we were in happy hour from
1600 hrs. to 1900 hrs, the presentation got underway.
The scores were not very good but you only have to have
the best scores on the day. The winner with 35 points was Walter Bachli, and
in second was Mikito Homma with 32 points. We then had a three-way count
back on 31 points that saw Mashi Kaneta in third, Daryl Evans in fourth and
Graham Buckingham in fifth. Then we got on with happy hour. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Dick Warberg, Mashi Kaneta, Walter
Bachli.
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Paul Hartley weathers the storms
provides ‘value golf’
IPGC golf from The Haven
Paul Hartley.
Sunday, Sept. 4, Green
Valley - Stableford
CSS 72
1st Peter Masters (10) 37pts
2nd Frank Dunstan (26) 32pts
3rd Sean Connolly (10) 32pts
4th Alec Hoare (17) 32pts
Alan Pilkington.
After a short break Sundays are back on the IPGC schedule
but as from October they will run exclusively from the Links venue in Soi
Bukao and organised as usual by Russell, although transport will still be
available from The Haven if required. Weekend vouchers are also still
available which makes the Saturday and Sunday competitions the same price as
the weekday ones.
Peter Masters continued with his run of form to secure
another win which also took his handicap into the nine point something’s,
much to his added satisfaction, after a five point margin win on a fairly
wet course.
Frank Dunstan led in the chasing group taking second spot
with a better count back of 16 as Sean Connolly in third could muster only
14 and Alec Hoare in fourth just 13, which underlined the difficulty of the
day’s event.
The 2’s were shared between Peter Masters and Alec Hoare
Monday, Sept. 19, Bangpra
- Stableford
CSS 75 NC
1st Alan Pilkington (8) 31pts
2nd Trevor Schirmer (15) 31pts
3rd Frank Dunstan (26) 26pts
4th Al Rolnik (17) 25pts
5th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 25pts
Continuing after the weekend wet weather the course was
in pretty sodden shape with very little run on the fairways and wet rough
that was rather heavy due to the inability of the green keeping staff to get
onto the course recently. But apart from the wetness the greens were, as
usual, extremely difficult to read and manage with three putts being more
prevalent than twos, ensuring that when the player eventually reached the
green his troubles were not quite over for the hole.
Peter Masters.
This all resulted in the scores being off the chart with
the CSS moving out to 75 and the day becoming non-counting for handicap
purposes.
Alan Pilkington finally took the day’s top placing but
had to win a count back over Trevor Schirmer, which he did, winning the back
six 11 to 10 after they had tied the nine at 15 apiece.
Frank Dunstan took his second placing in two days a
further five behind and one ahead of Al Rolnik and Shuichi Kodaka, with Al
getting the nod for fourth with a better 12 to 10 in a count back over the
inward half.
With single putts just a pipe dream it was no surprise to
find that there were no 2’s in either division.
Before presenting the prizes Stephen Beard welcomed new
member Bob Hopwood and also welcomed back Frank Dunstan and Roar Berger.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, The
Emerald - Stableford
CSS 72
1st Paul Hartley (19) 36pts
2nd Brian Libbey (9) 35pts
3rd Yoshitaka Iketani (19) 32pts
4th Shuichi Kodaka (18) 32pts
5th Rod Howett (23) 32pts
6th Russell Exley (6) 32pts
Another extremely wet course meant that added emphasis
was again place on the length of the tee shots as they travelled only as far
as they went through the air and then stopped, and even with the ‘lift and
place’ competition rule for the day scores were once more generally well
above handicap range.
Paul Hartley returned the best of the day’s cards at even
par and 36 points as he battled with the other returnee Brian Libbey for top
honours for the day and just squeezing in by the narrowest of margins.
Yoshitaka Iketani slipped into third after winning a
four-way count back with a better 20 points on the back. He was no doubt
assisted in this after he had gone out in the previous outing in level
handicap and was leading the day after 12 holes, only to collapse over the
last six holes accumulating just one point, a feat which was referred to
heavily during the prize giving along with the admonishment to hold a bit
back for the inward half, for any possible count backs.
Shuichi Kodaka was the next best with 17 as Rod Howett
took fifth with 15 and Russell Exley after looking like a winner after nine
slipped to just 13 coming home.
Once again there were no 2’s in the first division but
Paul Hartley rounded off a good day with the only one in the second
division.
Back at The Haven there were welcome backs for Paul
Hartley and Brian Libbey.
Friday, Sept. 23, Pleasant
Valley – Stableford
Due to heavy rains in Pattaya and reports that the course
was also suffering from the same situation, the day’s competition was
abandoned in favour of shopping with the wife and other various activities
around the town.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the
earlier time of 9 am until further notice. If you would like to play with
the group you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to the hotel at 185
Soi 13 between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All
transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up
prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.30 on Mondays, Wednesday,
Fridays and 9.00am on Sundays on the days you wish to play. A schedule of
courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
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Janthorn takes one for the ladies
PSC golf from the Three Sisters Bar
Tuesday’s winner Janthorn
(left) with runner-up Dale Murphy.
Mother Nature gave the crew a break with no rain and
reasonably cool overcast skies at the Pattaya Country Club this
Wednesday, Sep 21. There weren’t too many on the course and the game
went well.
Returning to Caddy Shack II the scoring was close
with both Janthorn and Dale Murphy coming in with 32 apiece but Janthorn
took Dale on the count back.
Herbie came through with some super hot dogs complete
with genuine “hot dog relish” as well as some delicious ham slices.
Cameron’s catch of the day
Sea fishing with the KPK Food Services Club
Toe Cameron with his ‘catch
of the day’.
Mike Gerrard
Ahoy me hearties! All be well me hopes.
This report has taken a little longer than normal. The
reason for this is basically because as we were enjoying a mid afternoon
spate of catching fish on Saturday, Sept. 10, we all noticed a big black
stretch of cloud in the distance. It did not take too long to realise that
it was coming our way. About 1 hour later one of the biggest storms in a
long while erupted over the whole region and lasted for 24 hours.
Apart from the obvious damage done, as shown in all the
news clips, the storm also took down many phone lines and hence we could not
forward any photo’s or reports until now.
Luckily we did beat the storm back to port where we
enjoyed a nice beer or two in the first port of call we could find.
The day was not spoiled regarding the fish we caught
either. The photo shows Joe Cameron holding his 7 to 8 kilo pompano. The
highlight of this catch was the fact that it was successfully landed using
only a small rod and reel set up with only 12lb line. Luckily there was not
much chance of losing the fish because another small line set up had foul
hooked into the same fish which, if necessary would have acted as a back-up
line. However, the other line was left very slack. The fight lasted the best
part of 25 minutes.
Joe’s friend Tom also landed a similar sized queen fish,
but with the more conventional stronger rig. Along with all the other
species and varieties we all managed to take home a nice few meals until the
next trip.
Now the high season is getting nearer and we are getting
more and more people who wish to go out with us, we have booked a bigger and
faster boat twice monthly. By booking twice monthly we have managed to
negotiate a better charter price. To make ends meet we need 6 paying
passengers per booking. I think no problem.
Next trip is on 8th October and there are places
available at this time of writing. After that we have the boat booked for
both Saturday and Sunday 12th and 13th November. Again there are some spaces
available on these trips. In between these times we usually have someone who
would like to privately charter the boat for themselves.
All bait is included and equipment is available if you do
not have your own. Transport can also be arranged if required. Times of
sailing are around 7.30 to 8.00 a.m. and returning about 5.00 p.m.
You must provide your own food and drinks for the day.
For more information and booking please call me (Mike) on
087 091 7565.
Thai weightlifters strike gold at Asian youth championships
Pattaya Mayor Itthipol Kunplume
presides over the opening ceremony of the International Youth Weightlifting
Championships on Monday, Sept. 5 at the Pattaya Indoor Sports Arena.
Manoon Makpol
Thailand enhanced its reputation as one of the growing
powerhouses of Asian weightlifting by securing 31 gold medals at the recent
Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships held from Sept. 5-12 at the
Pattaya Indoor Sports Arena.
Stars of the show for the home nation were the Girls
squad who racked up 15 gold medals out of a possible 21 on offer from the 7
weight categories.
Thailand had 30 young athletes competing in the
championships which attracted 467 representatives in total from 34 nations
in the Asian region.
The successful Thai athletes hold
up their medals as they pose with officials after the completion of the
closing ceremony.
The highlight of the first day’s competition was the gold
medal winning effort of Thailand’s Sinphet Kruaithong in the 50kg Boys
division which saw him successfully lift 101kg in the snatch, and follow it
up with 126kg in the clean & jerk to break age world records previously held
by China’s Chiang Hao. The silver medal went to Sinphet’s compatriot Panrak
Krongrat while Turkmenistan’s Sevitja Mirzayev garnered the bronze.
Afterwards Sinphet stated he was ecstatic with his
performance as he had set his goals on breaking the youth world records and
said he will continue to work hard to gain qualification for future Olympic
Games.
The following day saw another youth world record broken
in the Girls 53kg class where Thailand’s Naruephon Saenchek ‘Nong Nim’
struggled in the snatch discipline to only finish in fourth spot behind Park
Min Kyung of South Korea. However, the youngster from the Nakhon Ratchasima
Sports School redeemed herself in the clean & jerk by setting a new world
record for her age of 92kg to win the gold and also take the overall title
with a combined 157kg total (another record). Naruephon was tied on this new
record weight total with India’s Pramila Krisani but took the top podium
spot by nature of her having a lower body weight, while Park Min Kyung took
bronze.
Thailand’s Sinphet Kruaithong
warms up back stage before successfully competing in the 50kg Boys division.
On the final day of competition, Sept.12, there were
several Thai athletes with realistic medal ambitions. First up was Praeonap
Khenjantuek who had previously taken a four year break from international
competition due to injury, but returned here with a ‘bang’ to take gold in
the snatch, clean & jerk and overall in the junior 75kg and up category. She
was followed in by her compatriot Thunyalu Choomanee who took silver in both
the snatch and clean & jerk disciplines.
In the 77kg and 85kg junior male classes, the home nation
picked up further gold medals from Suchat Somboon (S 135kg; C&J 180kg) and
Chatuphu Chinnawong (S 153kg; C&J 189kg) respectively to round out a most
successful competition for the Thai team.
In the crowd pleasing super heavyweight division (105kg
and up) that brought down the curtain on the event, the overall gold went to
China’s Ai Yuna who lifted a staggering 225kg in the clean & jerk to give
him a combined total of 410kg and the top step on the podium.
The closing ceremony after the completion of the
tournament was presided over by Pol. Col. Chumpol Ongkhamontri who awarded
the prestigious King’s Cups to the junior male and female winning teams; the
junior male category was won by the Thai team while the runners-up were
Uzbekistan and third place went to India. The junior female category was
also won by Thailand, second place went to China while third place was
claimed by Kazakhztan.
The Thai teams also dominated the youth divisions,
winning both male and female team titles ahead of Taiwan and China
respectively and were later presented with the Mayor’s Cups.
Overall the Thai athletes won a total of 31 gold, 32
silver and 15 bronze medals at the championships.
Park Min Kyung of South Korea
took overall bronze in the Girls 53kg class.
34 nations from across Asia took
part in the event.
Dancers perform in traditional
Thai costume during the closing ceremony.
South Korea’s Youn Yeo Won
attempts a big weight in
the 62kg Male Youth category.
Thailand’s Naruephon Saenchek on
her way to setting a new youth world record in the clean & jerk discipline.
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Thai teams set to mount a challenge on beach volleyball World Tour
Youth Weight Lifting Championships
Kamoltip Kulna & Varapatsorn
Radarong.
This year’s Phuket Thailand Open powered by PTT, last
stop on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour is being used as a
springboard for the Thai teams to make a challenge on the 2012 World Tour.
Over the past decade the Thai teams have rarely made an
appearance on the international circuit, despite some positive results on
the home sands in Phuket. However, next year due to the availability of
sponsorship support at least 2 teams will be seriously competing on the FIVB
Beach Volleyball Swatch World Tour.
Jarunee Sannok & Usa Tenpaksee.
Beach Volleyball coach Petcharat Putsorn who along with
the Thailand Volleyball Association is organizing the Thailand teams on the
2012 World Tour said, “The teams will use the Phuket Thailand Open as a
springboard to test the local girls’ competitiveness against the world’s top
teams. It is our target to get the Thai teams through to the 2nd
day of the main draw competition, if we can achieve this goal, then we know
we have the ability to make an impact next year.
“Of course it won’t be easy for us in our first year on
the tour as we will have to play in the qualifying rounds at most of the
tournaments as our teams do not have any ranking points,” continued Putsorn.
“It is our goal to use 2012 to gain the necessary experience and pick up as
many points as possible, so that we can launch a strong challenge in 2013
with the goal of getting at least 2 teams into the world’s top 50.”
Thailand is hopeful of getting three teams into the main
draw of the Phuket Thailand Open being held on Karon beach from 1–6
November; they are Kamoltip Kulna and Varapatsorn Radarong, Jarunee Sannok
and Usa Tenpaksee, and Tanarattha Udomchavee and Rumpaipruet Numwong.
One of the Thai team’s senior players Kamoltip Kulna said
that “We have been training hard for the tournament in Phuket and the
South-East Asian games, so we are feeling fit and confident about our
chances of causing some surprises. Of course a lot depends on the draw, but
I am sure that the Thai beach volley fans will be out there cheering us on,
which is a huge motivation for us”.
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Dolphins treble sinks
Samut Songkhram
Pattaya United’s
Nigerian striker O.J. Obatola celebrates scoring a brace of goals against
SCG Samut Songkhram at the IPE Stadium in Chonburi, Sunday, Sept. 25.
(Photo/Ariyawat Nuamsawat)
Staff Reporters
Pattaya United climbed to mid-table respectability last
Sunday with a comprehensive 3-0 victory of SCG Samut Songkhram at the IPE
Stadium in Chonburi.
The Dolphins opened the scoring in the first half when
O.J. Obatola connected with an inswinging free-kick from the edge of the
area to power a header into the Songkhram net.
United were made to fight hard by their opponents in the
first half however and had to wait until the 53 minute to double their lead.
Dolphins’ striker Ludovick cut in from the left wing and held off the
challenge of two defenders before crossing the ball into the center of the
area where Slovakia’s Marian Juhas fired in a low shot that was deflected
into the corner of the net.
Pattaya sealed the game in the 85th
minute of the match when Obatola latched onto a through ball to dispatch a
smart left foot finish high into the net before the Songkhram keeper could
react.
United’s second win in row sees them march up the league
standings into 10th position and ten points clear of
the relegation zone. The Dolphins next match is this coming Sunday, Oct. 2
against struggling Sriracha in a local derby at the Suzuki Stadium in
Sriracha. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Sriracha had no game last weekend which means their squad
should be fully rested for the clash with Pattaya with the Marlins desperate
for maximum points to lift them out of the bottom three.
Chonburi FC also had no fixture last weekend, enabling Buriram PEA to
extend their lead to eleven points at the top of the table with a hard
fought 1-0 win away at Thai Port.
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Udomchoke delights home
fans with victory over Fognini
Thailand’s
Danai Udomechoke hits a forehand to Fabio Fognini of Italy during their
first round encounter in Bangkok on Monday, Sept. 26. (Photo/PTT Thailand
Open)
Home-court favorite Danai Udomechoke prevailed in a
see-saw battle against #6 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy, with a score line of
6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the PTT Thailand Open 2011 first round late Monday evening.
Despite sustaining a shoulder injury, the Thai ace had a
strong service game in the first set, winning 88 percent of points on his
first serve.
Both players held serve until the ninth game when Fognini
saved one break point only to face another immediately after as Udomchoke
hit a running backhand down the line. The Thai veteran finally converted to
take a 5-4 lead. He continued to hold his serve and take the first set, 6-4.
In the second set, the world #217 broke the Italian’s
serve to go up 2-1 but was broken on the next two service games to trail
2-4. Fognini came up with more consistency and held serve to seal the set
6-2 to level.
In the final set, Udomchoke took advantage of unforced
errors splattered by the Italian to break in the fourth and the sixth games
for a 5-1 lead and held in the final game to advance into the second round
for the third time.
In the first match of the evening session, unseeded
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov went through to the second round after edging #5
seed Croatian Ivan Dodig in a 6-2, 7-5 victory.
21-year-old Dimitrov lost only three points on his serve
and did not face a breakpoint en route to a 6-2 victory in the first set.
In the second set, he faced more of a challenge from
world #37 Dodig, who played more aggressively and served far better than in
the opening set. The two exchanged breaks of serve before the world #76
Bulgarian broke again in the eleventh game and consolidated the next to
close out the match.
In Monday afternoon’s game, World #42 Robin Haase of the
Netherlands made a winning debut at the tournament, defeating local hope
Kittipong Wachiramanowong in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (1).
In the opening set, both players exchanged breaks of
serve in the first two games before Wachiramanowong survived a break point
and eventually held serve to go up 2-1.
However, the 21-year-old Thai was broken in the fifth
game despite winning the first two points, as the Dutchman raised his game,
hitting more powerful shots from the baseline.
Haase did not allow his opponent to break back as he held
his serve handily and broke Wachiramanowong again in the ninth game with a
drop shot volley to take the first set, 6-3.
In the second set, Haase jumped out to a 2-0 lead,
breaking Wachiramanowong’s first service game with a running forehand
passing shot. The 532nd-ranked Thai, however, broke back immediately as the
Dutchman double-faulted.
Wachiramanong appeared to be grow in confidence as he hit
more winners and tried to get to the net more often. Both players continued
to hold serve as the set went into a tiebreaker but experience proved to be
the key as Haase made quick work of his Thai opponent winning the
tiebreaker, 7-1.
Top seed Andy Murray of Scotland arrived in Bangkok on
Monday afternoon and will play his first game of the tournament on Thursday
evening.
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