The “Doc” out on the links again!

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday 27 March, Mountain Shadow, Stableford
1st Tony Quaid, 40
2nd Rick Holmes, 39
3rd John Draper, 35
4th Tom Sathrum, 34
It seems that “low season” has arrived in no uncertain terms; just 17 golfers for the popular visit to the difficult Mountain Shadow layout and once again the course gave up little, as Tony & Rick dominated the day’s golf!
Tony played some excellent and extremely steady golf, scoring 20 points on both 9’s to take the honors, but how unfortunate for Rick; carding 13 pars and a birdie for a super 75 gross, worth 39 points that would normally win! Tony Quaid, also sealed a memorable day with the only “2”, earning him the division 2 prize.
Prior to the presentation, Richard Livingston, the resident PGA professional, welcomed back Mike Maw and bid farewell to Tom Sathrum.
Wednesday 29 March, Crystal Bay, Stableford
1st Barry Winton, 39
2nd B J Smith, 37 c/b 19
3rd Randy Haupt, 37 c/b 18
4th Serge Straeten, 37 c/b 15
Another indication that “low season” is upon us, with the turnout just 16 golfers. Nevertheless, scores were pretty good and one still has to be playing to handicap or better to make the podium.
An excellent win for the “Bear” off his 4 handicap, though for once he did not make a “2”. In the chasing pack, amazingly, BJ scored 17 of his points on just 5 holes, whilst Serge scored 23 of his total on just 8 holes! Tony O’Neill carded the only “2” of the day to take the division 2 prize, leaving, rather unusually a double rollover in division 1.
Prior to the prize giving, Richard Livingston, welcomed back Brian Wilkinson & (from injury) Dave Lee.
Friday 31 March, Eastern Star, Rainbow 2 person Scramble
1st Trevor Schirmer & Tony Barritt, 48
2nd Al Rolnik & Alan Pilkington, 47 c/b 25
3rd Dave Spendley & Tony O’Neill, 47 c/b 24
4th Stephen Beard & Barry Winton, 45
Building on the success of the inaugural “Rainbow” event held at Eastern Star on March 15, Stephen let his mind wander and dreamt up another new slant, the Rainbow Scramble! Clearly, the Haven is running itself these days and the daily crosswords must be getting easier, so “The Doc” must be bored with an excess of thinking time on his hands, to come up with this competition format, where the score card was probably harder to complete than the game was to play! Blue tees, white tees, red tees, 6 drives off each tee and 7 drives by each player... the mind boggles! But it got “The Doc” out of his chair and onto the course! Well done Stephen, 4th place is not so bad.
The day was great fun for all and perhaps not so surprising that the strong partnership of Trevor & Tony should come out on top of the pile. Interestingly, gross scores were very close, 70, 72, 76 & 71 in the podium places, so the handicapping system and the extra drive is evening up what is intended to be a fun competition.
Prior to the presentation, Richard Livingston, welcomed back Mark Cooper and Stephen Beard.

Sports Quiz

Congratulations to Steve Johnson who was the winner of our last quiz. Thank you to all who tried and better luck next time. In case you were wondering about the answers, here they are:
1) Who captained Scotland to the 1990 Five Nations Grand Slam?
Answer: David Sole
2) Who was the first black player to play football for England?
Answer: Viv Anderson
3) Who won the men’s 200m Freestyle at the 2005 World Swimming Championship?
Answer: Michael Phelps
This weeks Questions are:
1) In football, who is England’s top goal scorer of all time?
2) Who won the Isle of Man (Senior) TT last year?
3) Who won the 2003 women’s singles at the world Badminton championships held in Birmingham?

Doug leaves the pack in his wake

PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar

The last outing of the month and Doug Powell turned on the heat and blistered the field with a score of 41 points. He was in a slump for a long stretch but says he is now “back in form”. There were no chances for any of the others as the nearest scores were 5 shots back.
Again near the top of the ‘also rans’ was Dave Miller. Steady Dave came in with 36 points along with Herb Ishinaga. Both were five shots back of the leader. On the front nine Herb had a shot at the title with 21 points but he cooled down on the back and finally broke out even for the day.
Kenny Mau gave Tully a scare at the cellar door, but being more than 20 years his junior, he graciously let Tully through, not wanting to break the Oldster’s record for being the strong man holding the group up. Maybe next week!

Hewitt finds it easy

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

The day dawned hot and bright on Tuesday, March 28 as the Pattaya Golf Society headed out of Soi Rungland for Eastern Star to play their weekly medal event. The large field was surprised to see an empty course before them and a fine day’s golf lay in store. The field was cut at seventeen and under and both flights pursued their rounds under cloudless skies with only the drone of occasional aircraft breaking their concentration.

Mr. Denis (left) presents Len Jones with his “Player of the Month” award

The greens were not at their best, being uncut and slow, and in division two Pat Murphy and Masashi Iizumi managed to record scores of net 80 to share third place. Having better luck, except in the bunkers, was Len Jones whose net 76 took second place, two behind a consistent Andy Haycox whose two-over round of 74 was a good return on the day.
In division one Harry Riley’s net 75 gave him third place, one behind his ever improving partner, Saranya, whose net 74 again gave her a podium place. The hero of the day was canny Bill Hewitt and his net 69 was an excellent return for the accurate Yorkshireman. His gross 83 was the best gross of the day also.
Both Bill and Ya shared the twos pot with Mikael Andersson whilst on a day where more than a few cards bore “double-figure” holes, Jim Parkinson’s total of 22 shots on two holes took the Booby Bevy... and this from the current PGS “Player of the Week”. Never think that you’ve “made it” in golf!
Hall’s happy haul - Les fires 38 points at Khao Kheow
The final fixture for the PGS month was held at Khao Kheow on Thursday, March 30 as the group took to the track for its weekly stableford event. The “B” and “C” nines were played and it was the first opportunity to play the tough latter nine for many a month. Much work has been done and golfers will be surprised at the re-laid final green with its new “crown”.
The field was cut at 22 and under and in a tight division two, Pat Murphy grafted out 30 points for the third berth, one behind Andy Haycox whose 31 was not quite enough to match that of the winner, Jim Parkinson’s 32 points.
In division one David Thomas, Ben Findon and Tim Douglas all assembled 31 points to share third place whilst a newly promoted Masashi Iizumi marked the occasion with a fine 33 points for second place. It was an excellent reward for the personable Japanese golfer. The day’s best round was that of Les Hall and his 38 points was all the more special as he declared before the event that the course was the least of his favourites!
The day’s twos pot was shared by Ben Findon, David Thomas and Denis Smith; whose birdie on B3 was his first “twos” win. John Mason almost birdied the final hole but by that time he knew that his paltry score would be worth nothing more than the Booby Bevy.
In an exciting climax to the annual Matchplay Championship, Saranya Chaiyanont took victory at the last over Rob Heath whilst Harry Riley defeated Len Jones 2 & 1 for the minor place. Finally, at the presentation, the “Player of the Month” award went to a thoroughly deserving Len Jones, having enjoyed his best month for a long, long time. March had been quite a month at the OK

Election Cup draw

Siam Polo Park News

Khun Daeng was the sponsor, timekeeper and umpire of the April Fool’s Day Election Cup at Siam Polo Park this past weekend, and he couldn’t have asked for a closer game as the ACT Team took to the field in their bright new blue and white jerseys against the Siam Team.

ACT riding off two of the Siam players (photo by Chatchaya)

The tournament was held in the morning, so that all of the grooms could return to Mukdahan and participate in the upcoming election, but that did nothing to alleviate the tension on the field. The ACT Team consisted of Khun Susy and Khun Robin with heavyweights William and Marco at back. The Siam Polo Park Team fielded young Indonesian Novel up front with Churo, Tom and Feder all somewhere in the back.
The Siam Team was not to be intimidated by the bright new ACT jerseys, as they charged off the mark on a pass from Feder and put the first goal up on the board. It was a long four chukkas, with the passing by Marco and William proving very effective in moving the ball up field. Churo executed some very good backhands and Feder had a few very good runs down the field.
By the end of the third chukka, the Siam team was up by two goals and had led for the entire game. It was the final chukka, where the Siam defensive cracks allowed the ACT team to creep up and equalize in the very final seconds of the game. It was a very fast game with good open passes and hard play. Khun Daeng was very impressed with the results of his first Election Cup, and no doubt, these two teams will be back again to settle the score.
Next weekend, VR Polo Club will host the Annual King Power Gold Cup Tournament with 4 low goal teams competing. Updates will be on www.siampolonews.com

Regents junior 7-a side football tournament

One of the winning teams from the 7-a-side soccer competition collect their trophy, medals and pizza from tournament sponsor Nick the Pizza

The Regents School Pattaya Campus played host to a 7-a side football tournament on Saturday April 1. The tournament was organized by Terry Wilcox of Footy 4 Kids football club. The children were rewarded for all their efforts by “Nick The Pizza”, who provided sponsorship in the form of pizza and medals for all the participating children, and trophies for all the winners.
As well as Regents school, participating schools were St Andrews International School, Garden International School and International School Eastern Seaboard. There were twenty teams in total, Regents (7), St Andrews (7), Garden (2) and International Eastern Seaboard (4). Special trophies were given to the leading goal scorers for each age category; Piers Milton (Regents), Sascha Bickel (Regents), Stign Reigert (St Andrews) and Sam Brown (Regents).

A treble to forget for Smithson

I.P.G.C. golf with The Caddy Shack

Tuesday March 28, the golfers from the Caddy Shack played their weekly Medal competition at Bangpra: as always this course was a pleasure to play although the conditions were hot and not a lot of breeze about. The results of the day were in third place Jan Eriksen with a net 75, in second was Keith Smithson with net 73, and the winner was once again Roy Mitchell with a net 70. Roy is now playing off 18 handicap and admits that now he has sorted his putting out he should be a 16 handicapper; so for this comment he was also handed the Bananas. Jan Eriksen got a birdie ‘two’ to take the pot.
Thursday March 30 was the monthly three-man team event, which is the best two Stableford points out of the three on each hole and the venue chosen was Treasure Hills. It was a very close fought battle with two teams locked together with identical scores of 73 points on the front nine and 72 points on the back. The winning teams were Bill Hewitt, Les Winch and Basil Foley, and in the other team were Keith Smithson, Kevin Mack and Mr Loy.
Keith Smithson also managed the feat of getting a birdie ‘two’ all on his own for the prize. The Booby prize of the bananas also went to Keith Smithson, which gave him the treble of the day, as this matched his terrible treble putting on the 18th hole, which cost his team the outright title. Team member Mr Loy commented that if he needed any advice on putting he only had to ask.
The Caddy Shack is situated on the second part of Soi 17 on the same road as the Harley Bar. We play every Tuesday and Thursday and all are welcome. Check the golf schedule in the Pattaya Mail for times of leaving.

Ton up and 3 more points for Seaboard FC.

Seaboard FC traveled to Bangkok last Saturday to play a difficult fixture against Bangkok United in the MBMG International League. Seaboard were looking for another three valuable points to maintain their position in the top four of the league.
Manager Rick Bryant opted to play a 5-3-1 formation rather than the usual 4-4-2 to try and upset the Bangkok team’s strong passing game.
The match kicked off in rather overcast conditions, which was much appreciated by both sets of players. Seaboard were soon into their stride and as early as the first minute Paul Derbyshire almost latched onto a short back pass, with the Bangkok United goalkeeper just clearing his lines ahead of the onrushing forward.
The Bangkok team were playing the ball around nicely in the middle of the park but with little end result and it was Seaboard who were to create the next chance on 8 minutes when they won a free kick 20 yards out. John Campbell stepped up to take the kick but his effort flew harmlessly over the Bangkok United bar for a goal kick.
Seaboard continued to press and Gary Munro was to see his volley drift wide after latching on to a loose ball from a corner. Seaboard should have opened the scoring on 24 minutes when Craig Banks threaded an inch perfect ball through to Campbell, who found himself with only the keeper to beat but he slid the ball wide of the target.
The impressive Derbyshire was next to trouble the Bangkok defence when he collected a long ball up the line and managed to shrug off the attentions of three defenders before getting in his shot that was just wide of the upright.
Although possession of the ball had been fairly even during the half, it was Seaboard who were creating the most openings and full back Keng should have done better 9 minutes from the interval when he latched onto a loose ball in the box but his powerful drive just scraped the crossbar.
With 5 mins left of the first period it was the Bangkok team, slightly against the run of play that were to take the lead when Seaboard failed to close down one of the Bangkok forwards and his speculative shot from 25 yards beat Mark Coombs in the Seaboard goal.
Seaboard almost immediately replied with the ball being played through to Gary Munro, who had run a full 70 yards after starting the move in his own penalty area, but his shot from an acute angle was wide of the upright.
Half Time - Bangkok United 1 Seaboard FC 0
Seaboard, now needing to chase the game introduced Francis Taku as an additional attacking threat with Pierre Ngalamo moving to left back. The changes seemed to work as it took Seaboard only 2 minutes of the second period before they were on level terms. Kirrill Giyasov was brought down on the edge of the box by a clumsy challenge and up stepped Dave Brown to curl a delightful 25-yard shot into the far corner of the net.
Seaboard now with their tails up should have taken the lead 8 minutes into the half when the lively Giyasov found himself with only the keeper to beat but he allowed the keeper to recover and save. 2 minutes later, a corner from the left was dropped by the Bangkok keeper while under pressure, with the ball hitting Banks and drifting agonizingly wide.
Seaboard continued to press and it was Campbell again halfway through the second period who was faced with only the keeper to beat but his lob went narrowly wide when he should have done better.
Seaboard thought they had scored 9 minutes from time when Campbell squared for Derbyshire to side foot into the empty net but the linesman correctly flagged for offside and the goal was disallowed.
Just when Seaboard were beginning to think it would not be their day, a long ball found Derbyshire and he played a neat ball inside to Campbell who this time made no mistake, sliding the ball past the Bangkok keeper into the net to register Seaboard’s 100th league goal of the season, an impressive achievement in only 21 games.
Seaboard played out the remaining few minutes and were pleased to hear the final whistle that heralded another precious 3 points on their travels.
Manager Bryant was delighted with his side’s commitment during the game and had nothing but praise for his trio of youngsters; Jake Baker, Colin McCubbin and Kirrill Giyasov whose performances on the day show that they have a bright future with the club. Bryant also had a special word for both his skipper Brian Wilkins and also Phil Orr who had come in and played a key role.
Final score - Bangkok United 1 Seaboard FC 2.
Seaboard’s next fixture is a home game against Les Gaulois at Horseshoe Point on Saturday 8th April kick off 4:00pm.
Seaboard FC have been fortunate enough to secure the sponsorship of AGS Four Winds International Movers and Cranes and Equipment Ltd. Europe-Middle East-Asia for this season and would like to thank them for their continued support.
Anybody who could be interested in joining Seaboard FC, whether their stay in Thailand is for a long or short period is more than welcome to come down to the football pitch in Naklua every Tuesday evening at 6:30pm, contact us at [email protected] or call Peter on 01 810 1470.

Chris John enjoys a purple patch at Pattaya Country Club

Diana Seniors and Ladies Open

Mike Franklin
Chris John enjoyed a ‘purple patch’, (metaphorically speaking that is), in the March Diana Seniors and Ladies Open at Pattaya Country Club. Returning the best score of the day, an impressive 44 Stableford points, Chris took the Seniors trophy - four points clear of runner-up Alan Gummer, who came in with a creditable 40 points.
The motto ‘never give up’ was never truer than with the Super Seniors on this March 30 outing. Fred Theobald was surprised to be runner-up with 32 points, but not more so than Bob Pearce who won the Supers with just 33 points. Bob certainly has the knack of often doing just enough to be in the prizes, even off his 9 handicap. Thong Padwikan celebrated a win in the Ladies division with 36 points, closely followed by Toy Theobald taking runner-up spot with 35 points.
Mick O’Meara took two of the near pins on holes # 5 and # 12. Arthur Bailey was closest on # 7 and Geoff Bowers on # 16. Alan Gummer and Terry O’Connor claimed the long putts.
The early starters had fine weather followed by some prolonged bursts of heavy rain in the afternoon. Just two newcomers - Maurice Kelly and S. Jan Vitek were duly welcomed.
The Diana Seniors and Ladies April Open is on Thursday 27th at Pattaya Country Club playing the usual Stableford Singles format.

The Beautiful Game?: Chelsea leave title door ajar

Tuesday March 21, Noble Place, Stableford
Riz Taylor
Who’d have thought it? Chelsea’s draw against struggling Birmingham on Saturday means that what less than a month ago was a seemingly unassailable eighteen point Premiership lead is now down to just seven. It’s squeaky bum time at Stamford Bridge for Jose Mourinho and his men, no doubt about it.
It seems like only the other day that Mourinho was making predictions of clinching the title at home to West Ham on Sunday, and yet a stuttering, spluttering run of poor results combined with some fantastic form from Manchester United means that Chelsea will now be looking over their shoulders. With a home match against United still to play later this month, the Blues find themselves desperately needing a win over the Hammers. A gentle canter over the finishing line it most certainly is not.
Sunday looks likely to define the season. As recently as two years ago any encounter between Arsenal and Man United was the Premiership showpiece; an often decisive battle to determine the destination of the trophy. But not anymore. Roy Keane’s midfield clashes with Patrick Vieira are but a distant memory, and Arsenal’s rebuilding leaves them struggling for fourth place despite an improvement in recent form. For United it’s simple - nothing less than beating the Gunners will do. Sunday’s match simply cannot be missed.
Other than eight straight Premiership wins, the talk at United is of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s possible departure at the end of this season after a battle with Louis Saha to claim the starting slot alongside Wayne Rooney. Yet the two rivals combined to take the points on Saturday as United scraped past Bolton. Saha, whose fantastic form again kept the Dutchman confined to the bench as the game kicked off, scored United’s first and then set up van Nistelrooy as United grabbed the winner eleven minutes from time.
Arsenal overpowered a sorry Aston Villa by five goals to nil, and if you managed to catch any of this match you’ll be wondering how on earth Villa aren’t fighting relegation. They were simply awful. It’s fortunate for them and their increasingly unpopular manager David O’Leary that two local rivals are even worse.
West Bromwich Albion suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at the weekend, meaning that despite some battling performances the Baggies have picked up one point from a possible twenty-one. Birmingham have been equally poor this season, and even the co-chairman David Sullivan was unable to keep his thoughts to himself a fortnight ago as he tore into his side’s players.
“The players need to look at themselves and stand up and be counted. Some people aren’t playing to their maximum potential,” he said. “Unfortunately some of them don’t see it like that. Some of them aren’t earning their money.
“We’ve had occasions where players haven’t turned up for club events, and that’s very disappointing. Some of the players can’t be bothered. They’re on £20-30,000-a-week and it does make you incredibly resentful. Whatever happens this season we’re going to bomb a lot of players out in the summer and bring in players that want to play for this club.”
Hardly the biggest morale booster for Steve Bruce and his men. But even if Birmingham can recapture some lost form, the final nail in their Premiership coffin could be driven home by Harry Redknapp and his Portsmouth outfit who have notched up three straight wins. Redknapp’s magic method of buying every available player during the transfer window seems to have finally come good.
After already paying out on a Chelsea title win, UK gambling firm Ladbrokes has reopened the betting, though the Blues are still 16/1 on to defend their trophy. Keep your eyes on the television this weekend, because here is the story of a season in the space of two days. Chelsea and their fans could never have imagined having to scrap for the Premiership, but if United can overcome their old enemy on Sunday it’s definitely ‘game on’.
Remaining Fixtures:
Chelsea
April 9 v West ham (H)
April 15 v Bolton (A)
April 17 v Everton (H)
April 29 v Manchester United (H)
May 2 v Blackburn (A)
May 7 v Newcastle (A)
Manchester United
April 9 v Arsenal (H)
April 14 v Sunderland (H)
April 17 v Tottenham (A)
April 23 v Middlesbrough (H)
April 29 v Chelsea (A)
May 7 v Charlton (H)
Gretna boss: “It’s a fairytale”
To the other end of football now, and a hearty congratulations are in order for second division side Gretna, who managed to beat Dundee and claim a place in this year’s Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park. The tiny borders side will also qualify for Europe, assuming their opponents Hearts also qualify for the one of the continental competitions.
Gretna only entered the Scottish league five years ago, and recently claimed the league division two title to be promoted for the second year in succession. Manager Rowan Alexander said: “We’re the first club from the third tier to reach the final, It’s incredible how far a team from a small town have come in five years. It’s unbelievable and, whatever happens in the final, it’s a great achievement. It’s a fairytale now. The whole town was here and I’m so proud of everyone at the club.”
No Viagra required
Teddy Sheringham became only the second outfield player over 40 to play in the Premiership on Sunday when he came on as a substitute during West Ham’s derby draw at home to Charlton Athletic. It’s a remarkable achievement for the former England man, and only the reactions of Charlton goalkeeper Thomas Mhyre stopped Sheringham from grabbing a late winner to cap his special day.
Speaking to the BBC earlier last week, Sheringham reflected on a hugely successful career. “There were times when I thought to myself ‘I’m not going to make it,’” he said. “I remember my second game for England - we lost 2-0 to Norway, I was subbed and didn’t do myself justice and I thought that was the end of my England career.”
The highlight of Sheringham’s club employment came during a hugely successful spell at Manchester United, which of course included the famous treble in 1999. But it was England’s 4-1 thumping of Holland in 1996 that Teddy rates as his finest moment.
“Scoring two goals at Wembley against a Dutch team that was supposed to rip us apart and ripping them apart - it doesn’t get any better than that,” he said.
Looking to the future, Sheringham has been impressed with West Ham’s progress this season. “Last season we scraped into the Premiership so everyone expected us to falter,” he admitted. “But the manager’s bought wisely - the players who’ve come in have taken us on to a different level and the players who won promotion have also performed at the top level, so long may it continue.”
Now, the answer to last week’s question. If you remember I asked you who was the last English manager to lead out an FA Cup final side. The answer was Dennis Wise with Millwall. This week, can you name the only other outfield player over 40 to feature in the Premiership? What’s that? You need a clue? Alright, he’s Scottish.

Dave gets dream start, Keith has dream finish

PSC golf from The Grapevine

Thursday, March 30, Noble Place.
Up the highway to Noble Place, thirty-three Grapevine golfers traveled to play the A & B courses, with 2 flights: 0 - 16 and 17+. Four lady golfers teed it up off the reds while the boys went from the whites. A recent addition to our golfing line up was David Arrowsmith (11) who started with an eagle on B1, his first hole. Despite a few shaky holes, he was able to top the podium in the low flight with 39 points. Fergus Brennan (14) scored 38, while Dave Askew (11) had 37 to round out the place getters.
In the higher flight, Keith Hodges (26) scored a days best 42 to easily lead the way from Mike Wing (23) with 38 and Ian Dunkley (36) on 37 points. Mike declared he “is on the way back” while Ian was happy his golf gear was found. Keith was just pleased to be hitting some good shots. Well-done, young fella’
The technical prizes can be hard to win at Noble Place, with A2 & B2 particularly tricky to get close. The near pins were won by Matsumoto, Jeff (2), Grant, Steve and Peter. The long putts were won by the same Steve and Peter, while Brian drained a monster on A9 to score a handy voucher.
With 5 lucky draws this week due to non-won technicals providing extras, there were plenty of happy golfers after a fine day at a great course, concluded by the usual fine fare. Don’t forget, if you’d like a great day out golfing, come on down to The Grapevine and sign up. For more information, please call 038-361-736. Cheers and good golfing.

No silly JIGS golf on ‘Four Fools Eve’

Mike Franklin
The course was excellent, the weather was fine, and the scores were good at Eastern Star Country Club & Resort on Friday, March 31 for Jameson’s ‘Four Fools Eve’ Team Scramble.
A comfortable field of 92 golfers teed off from the 10th and enjoyed the day with all team net scores under par. Four teams excelled with net scores under 60, best of the day coming from the formidable grouping of Hans Collett, Anders Pedersen, Pelle Sweden and Michael Dige. With just a 2.7 handicap the team shot a gross 58 to produce a winning 55.3 net. Two eagles and numerous birdies made that happen and shows how good ‘good golfers’ are when on form and a team playing in sync.
It also points up the amazing skill of the tour professionals when you consider that they sometimes do this alone with their caddy, on the toughest courses in the world. Eastern Star is by no means a walkover so all credit to Hans and his team.
Just a couple of shots behind, with a gross 62 and net 57.2 off a 4.8 handicap, was Gez Lees with Nick Strasshine, Gareth Gill and “Sugar’ Robinson. In third place, with a gross 63 and net 58.9 off 4.1 handicap, were Tony Oakes, Jeff North, Ploy Thongpen and Vincent Smyth.

Birthday boy Mike (background-left) announces the winning team of Hans Collett, Anders Pedersen, Pelle Sweden and Michael Dige.

Unfortunately, there were no prizes for fourth place as the other ‘under net 60’ score was returned by the distinguished Eastern Star Management team comprising GM Khun Saradej, Operations Manager Khun Jiirapol, F&B Manager Khun Chamnan and Course Superintendant Khun Kiwiporn. With a net 59.7, less than one shot behind, their score was a creditable performance. Khun Kiwiporn did seem to know the greens quite well!
Recognition, and encouragement, is traditionally given to the highest net score of the day that, on this occasion, was a below par 70.7 and won by the enthusiastic Dream Team of Jack Levy, Ernie Bakke, Kurt Farnham and Jameson’s Landlord Kim Fletcher. Their reward was an ‘Apriluno’ cocktail, specially shaken for the occasion and skillfully downed in one, suggesting that this was maybe not the first time they had been on the lower step of the podium.
Thanks were duly accorded to Khun Moo, Jameson’s Manager, and Khun Wanchai for their help on the day, and to the management and staff at Eastern Star who never fail to give the utmost support to the organizers on tournament days.
The abundance of technical holes resulted in ‘Near Pins’ being claimed by Tai Kennedy, John Larder, Saranya Chaiyanont and Ken Little. It was a tape measure call on hole # 13, Saranya Chaiyanont’s claim staying good by just half a ball. For the record, the correct way to measure is from the center of the hole to the center of the ball, as was applied in this case. Long putts were claimed by Pekkha Raiha (his last shot of the day on # 9), Paul Butler, and Prakong Robinson who was longest on # 2 & # 14.
Saranya Chaiyanont won the Ladies long drive on # 7 and Hans Collett was longest for the men on a hole he dislikes (but usually wins) the par five 4th.
The technical of the day had to be the ‘Nearest Guinness Keg’ on the short par four 12th. Ploy Thongpen was closest and can look forward to 40+ pints of cool smooth Guinness.
The prizes were all consumables apart from the winning team’s trophies, kindly sponsored by Terry Schofield of North Shore Real Estate. Moving away from the conventional, the trophies were traditional Thai wood table lamps and suitably illuminated on the prize table.
Back at Jameson’s the tournament carvery was ravaged and the silly Heineken prices taken full advantage of during the extended Happy Hour, topped off with a free Irish coffee. My pending 71st Birthday on April 1 was duly acknowledged and celebrated, and I did blow all the candles out.
All said and done, it was an enjoyable day all round and a good start to the program of four majors in the year, the next being a ‘Summer Singles Stableford’ on Friday June 30th. Meanwhile the new Jameson’s ‘JIGS’ white polo shirts are on sale in the bar at just 350 baht each. Sizes to fit all from 4XL to Ladies Medium.
For all the Jameson’s news and events, go to www.jamesons-pattaya.com and check out the golf page and Kim’s Weekly Pub diary.

The Eastern Star management team of Saradej, Jiirapol, Chamnan and Kiwiporn used their local knowledge to record a very respectable score of net 59.7 for fourth place.

The Square Ring

by Howie Reed

Well it’s about time too. Dapper Dave “King of Second Road” Stewart, (18-0) has been signed, sealed and delivered for a British lightweight title fight against Lee Meager (19-1-1). Dave and Lee are good friends and with the fight taking place at York Hall, Bethnal Green it’s like a home game for both as 15 of their combined 37 fights have been staged at that venue. This fight was supposed to be held on April 7, as reported in The Square Ring, but Stewart needed a little extra time to recover from an eye cut suffered in his last fight against Jason Nesbitt.
On the same card, Lenny Daws will meet Nigel Wright at the light welterweight limit. The night of boxing promoted by Hennessy Sports on Sky TV sounds like the “next great event.” There should be an incredible atmosphere. You have two vacant titles being contested by the most eligible contenders. Many will see the fights as classic 50-50 affairs. In both you have boxers at very similar stages of their career. All the fighters are on the way up and there is a lot at stake. In addition to the prestigious British title, everything will open up for the winners. Whoever comes through each fight has the potential to go on and dominate Europe in their respective division. We will see what we will see.
The ‘Land of Shrimp on the Barbie’ and inflated male egos may have a new “hero” in the wings. This could prove significant if Danny Green should lose to the ‘Bum’ Mundine in May. The name to put on the watch list is 260-pound former rugby league football star Bowie Tupou (2-0).
He recently got a second round KO over Corey “Chopper” Wainwright (0-3) who came into the ring at 253 pounds but left weighing considerably less after getting the “stuffing” beaten out of him. Tupou has the veteran trainer Johnny Lewis in his corner. Lewis has trained Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding and Kostya Tszyu amongst others. Lewis said, “Bowie is the fittest big man I have trained. He has shown he has a bright future in boxing.” The next great heavyweight or the next great flop? Stay tuned.
Tiz no wonder that the boxing fan is bewitched, bothered and bewildered. Last week two stories broke. At best one might be true. Joan Guzman (24-0), the former super-bantam champ jumped ship to promoter Oscar DeLaHoya and Golden Boy Productions. Why?
According to manager Jose Nunez: “Our previously scheduled bout with WBO champion, Scott Harrison, was postponed numerous times. This caused Joan, as well as me, great frustration and we finally came to the realization that we cannot win against Frank Warren and all of his antics.”
With that it was announced that Guzman will fight in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 6 on the undercard of DeLaHoya-Mayorga. The same day of his announcement, the following came flying through the air.
“WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison is scheduled to appear at a press conference in Belfast tomorrow to discuss a scheduled mandatory WBO defense against Guzman in that city on May 20. It’s not clear if Guzman will still be challenging for Harrison’s belt or not.”
At the press conference Harrison predicted a KO over Guzman. Of course, with Guzman elsewhere that might be difficult.
Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton will defend his WBA super lightweight title in America on May 13. After much wrangling and hand wringing the opponent will be Luis Collazo, (26-1) who’s claim to boxing fame may be a win over a ‘traveling on the down side of the hill’ Miguel Angel Gonzales.
Collazo’s manager Nirmal Lorick said: “We will take less (money) to get more on the flip side. A lot of people point their fingers at Don King and they say Don King is a bad guy, but Don King was doing the most that he could for us... if it’s not Luis, it would be someone else. We’re going to show the world that Luis belongs in the same ring with Ricky Hatton and when we beat Ricky Hatton, then we’ll talk.”
Collazo, who couldn’t fill a phone booth with paid customers, gets $500,000 US. The flip side? He gets nothing. To defend, Hatton gives up the IBF (“I Be Fixin”) title. If Hatton had defended the IBF title his next opponent would have been Aussie, Naoufel Ben Rabah (24-1) who has done little more than send in a check.
Denmark’s best known boxer, Johnny Bredhl (55-2) recently returned in triumph to the ring after a 2-year absence. Bredhl retired at the top of his game in March of 2004 after winning a unanimous decision over Nobuaki Naka and defending his WBA bantam title. Chosen for his return was Alexander Fedorov whose 18-1 record belied the fact that he was terribly out classed. When that happens the best advice is to “foul” and hope for the best. Referee Renato Caddeo finally chased Fedorov at the beginning of round seven after repeated ‘infringements’. The loser was penalized in two rounds for fouls. Naughty, naughty!
The WBC cast a majority vote, that the “new” Oleg Maskaev (32-5) will be the next challenger for the heavyweight title held by Hasim Rahman (41-5-2). A boxer turning around his career is about as rare as a Thai playing in the National Basketball Association. Maskaev may be the exception. He’s on a 10-0 run with 8 KO’s, a streak which came after an 8 month layoff. He and champion Rahman met once before with Maskaev winning via an 8th round KO.
Might actually be interesting but will have to go some to beat Sunday’s WBO title fight between the now ‘ex champ’ Lamon Brewster (33-3) and Sergei Liakhovich (23-1). Imagine that? They scheduled a heavyweight title contest and a fight broke out. Who would have thunk it?
Sergei Liakhovich fighting after a layoff of almost 16 months had more hand speed, more stamina and enough power to keep Brewster off balance on his way to a unanimous 12 round decision. The Square Ring had it 116-112, which was in line with the “official” scoring of 115-113, 115-112 and 117-110.
There were a couple of chances where Liakhovich might have scored a KO. The first time referee Ernie Sharif inexplicably parted the fighters with about 8 seconds left in the round for reasons known only to himself. Maybe he heard things. The second time Liakhovich “rushed” the process and punched himself out with a meaningless barrage.
Brewster got a knockdown for himself in the 7th when Liakhovich went down on one knee to catch his breath. In that round Liakhovich had built such a large advantage that Brewster only got a 10-9 round rather than the 10-8 usually associated with a knockdown.
Liakhovich used a lead right hand to the body to inflict significant damage on Brewster. That, in itself is unusual. A lead right to the body is usually countered by an opponent’s left hook over the top. Never happened. The bottom line is that it was the best heavyweight fight since Lewis-Klitschko back in June of “ought 3”.
“Yes Jeeves, I do think this calls for a celebration which will include a toast or two”