Kitchen’s hot at Plutaluang

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

Sunday, March 25, the Pattaya Golf Society continued its very popular Sunday excursion to Plutaluang to play a stableford competition over the North and West nines on a very hot and humid day. Following the tradition of previous weeks the field was retained as one flight thus making the day special with a large pot up for grabs as a Sunday “treat”.

Erik Anttonen again showed his consistency, not even allowing a two-stroke penalty for grounding his club in a hazard to deflect his concentration and he recorded a score of 34 points to share third place with Keith Barr and Kazu Agune. They were only two points behind the “Smiling Samurai”, Masashi Iizumi, who turned up the heat on his competitors to record a level par 36 points and take second place.

When it comes to heat, the kitchen is where it’s at, and Tony Kitchen was running at gas mark five as he recorded a blistering 38 points from his best ever gross score. His golf was formidable and anyone who can hit a 270-yard tee shot off a handicap of ‘twenty-something’ deserves to be seen. His accuracy on the greens did not relent this time, as it has so often in the past, and it enabled him to take the day with full honours.

Erik Anttonen and Kazuki Takimoto shared the rolled over 2’s pot for their accuracy on N3 and W3 respectively to complete the list of prizewinners.

The Pattaya Golf Society visits Plutaluang every Sunday, leaving the OK Corral at 10am, and a sign-up sheet is available a week in advance at the bar.

Family Fortunes at Eastern Star

The Pattaya Golf Society travelled to Eastern Star on Tuesday, March 26 to play its second medal event of the month. The course was relatively empty and things got under way on time with the two usual flights, cut at 23 and under, being augmented by a Ladies’ flight for the first time in a long while. Indeed the ladies were to have the better of their male counterparts with good scores being registered.

Mod Churaiska was unlucky not to have her net 72 recognised as a winning effort but that went to Jan Hill whose net 70 was the best sub-par round of the day. In the second flight Malcolm Schofield was embarrassed as his net 81 found third place on the board, only one behind an equally bemused but delighted Rob Hill in second place. Jan was having the last laugh! John Rehm brought a semblance of order to the flight with his net 76 and it marked his first win with the group.

In division one Carl Lovatt threw off the yoke of his exalted flight status to record a net 74 for third place, one behind Erik Anttonen’s net 73. The flight winner was Dave Wilkinson and his 71 was a deserved reward for many months of perseverance and everyone was delighted to see him at the top of the leaderboard at last.

His wife Margaret shared the 2’s pot with Jan Hill and John Mason. The Booby Bevy went to Ray Underwood for double hitting a six-inch “tap in” on hole six.

Old friend, Paul Quodomine, celebrated the anniversary of his retirement by sponsoring four technical prizes, which were duly won by Ray Underwood, Dave Thomas (2), and Joop Medze.

It was a very happy day for Paul and American broadcaster CBS’s loss is certainly the Pattaya Golf Society’s gain! Thanks for the very kind gesture Paul, here’s to the next one!

Masashi ‘Top Gun’ at last

The Pattaya Golf Society’s final competition round of the month was played at Phoenix on Thursday over the Lakes and Ocean nines. It was the hottest day of the year and the relatively high cut figure at 22 catapulted many golfers into the top flight for the first time.

Of those remaining in division two, Paul Quodomine and Mod Churaiska shot 31 points for a share of third place whilst Keith Barr went two better to secure for himself yet another runner-up place. The divisional winner was Tony Kitchen whose 34 points was a fine reward for some good golf.

In the top flight John Wassall’s eagle on the ninth added five points to his score and helped him make 37 points for a share of runner-up place with David Thomas, whose round was uncharacteristically punctuated with a few rare mistakes. Nevertheless he still managed to post the day’s best gross figure of 77.

The best points score on the day was that posted by top flight rookie Masashi Iizumi and his 38 points represented his best round for a while as he approaches the inevitable point of his return to Japan.

David Thomas fired the day’s sole birdie ‘2’ to add bulk to his wallet yet again and Paul Quodomine’s contribution to David’s ‘2’ was recognised as he shunted David’s ball on the Ocean sixth away from the hole with his tee shot, in the process almost delivering an “in off” ace for himself. With David’s ball being replaced by consensus the two was secured. Paul’s reward? The Booby Bevy of course.

The Beautiful Game?: Riz Taylor

Relegation battle hots up

Well who’d have thought it? Things are starting to get interesting at the bottom of the Premiership table just a fortnight after the contest seemed to be done and dusted.

Just a few short weeks ago it looked certain that Charlton Athletic, West Ham United and Watford looked destined for life in the miserable abyss that is the ‘Championship’ come the start of next season. A shocking thought for any football fan as I’m sure you’ll all agree.

But is going down actually all that bad? These days we’re conditioned to believe that dropping out of the almighty ‘Promised Land’ that is the Premiership is the worst possible scenario for any football club, up there in the disaster stakes along with signing Ade Akinbiyi or appointing Peter Ridsdale as your Financial Director.

Admittedly there’s the money factor - a subject you just cant get away from these days - and the loss of Premiership status will see an enormous fall in income for the three sides that eventually go down this year (although that’s offset by ‘parachute payments’ from the Premier League to help sides adjust to life in the lower tiers), but when you think about it, do you actually care?

After all, the vast majority of the cash swilling around the Premiership these days ends up lining the pockets of mercenary footballers and their seedy, greedy little agents. It’s spiralling out of control, but I suppose you can’t blame them. I’d also gladly accept pots of cash in return for kicking a football around a few times a week, but there’s a huge difference between some of the game’s great players making the cash their talents merit and some of the also-rans making megabucks for altogether less impressive performances.

Lucas Neill at sixty thousand pounds for West Ham every week springs to mind. Nothing against the boy Lucas, but this is a astronomical figure for a half-decent defender badly in need of a good haircut.

Going down gives your club a chance to rid itself of the mercenaries who are only in it for the ‘bling’. No matter how much a player professes to love his club there’s nothing like a drop of a division to test that badge-kissing “love” to its limit. Along with this benefit also comes the opportunity of getting a regular ticket to see your side play, cheaper admission prices and of course the chance to visit Barnsley. So it’s not all bad.

But although Watford still continue to struggle along with a combination of bad luck and the inability to hit a cow’s backside with a banjo in front of goal, East End neighbours West Ham and Charlton appear to have stumbled into a bit of unlikely form in recent weeks and suddenly the battle to stay up is now wide open. Charlton’s win over Wigan, their second in succession, moves them to within just three points of the Latics, and only one behind Sheffied United. The race is on, and clubs as far up as Middlesbrough in twelfth place, just six points ahead of Charlton, will be playing with added urgency in the coming weeks.

It’s all getting rather exciting, which makes for less meaningless games to sit through. Chuck in a genuine title race for the first time since who knows when and a sprinkle of competition for the UEFA Cup places and you couldn’t really ask for more, could you?

As well as chocolate eggs and days off work, Easter also brings a glut of Premiership fixtures with a full programme on Saturday and another on Monday which should begin to answer a few questions. Look out for Chelsea at home to Tottenham, West Ham’s trip to Arsenal tomorrow and even Charlton at home to Reading late on Monday, amongst other potential crackers.

Cup bonus?

Great news! The winners of the Scottish and FA Cups - along with their European counterparts - could receive an automatic place in the Champions League from 2009 if proposals are agreed to by UEFA. The suggestion, brought up at the governing body’s European Club Forum, could see the winner of each country’s main knockout tournament included in an end-of-season playoff system or even granted an automatic Champions League spot.

“A number of clubs have expressed an interest in this situation,” said UEFA suit William Gaillard. “We are not against it in principle and if this is the view of the majority there is no reason why we shouldn’t do it. The clubs that we have heard from have responded quite favourably,” he droned.

Can’t say I object. It’ll certainly put the wind up the sails of a few teams that seem happy to finish fourth in their respective divisions. That’s you, Liverpool.

Quinn digs deep

Sunderland chairman - and recent visitor to Pattaya - Niall Quinn dug into his pockets last week to shell out on taxi fares to transport Sunderland fans back to the North East from Cardiff.

The big-hearted Irishman came to the rescue after a number of fans of the high-flying Championship side were thrown off an easyJet flight following their side’s 1-0 victory. The group were singing, to the tune of ‘Here We Go’, “Niall Quinn’s disco pants are the best. They go up from his a**e to his chest. They’re better than Adam and the Ants. Niall Quinn’s disco pants.”

After the resulting delay the flight was cancelled, leaving around 100 Sunderland fans unable to get home before Quinn intervened by shelling out more than ten thousand pounds in cab fares.

“It must have cost a fortune but it shows again that he’s the most decent bloke in football. I can’t think of a single chairman or a single club that would do something like that for its fans. Everyone thanks him from the bottom of their hearts,” said one grateful Mackem.

German ‘Legend’ in speed sensation

A senior traffic inspector in Germany is looking for alternative employment this week after his appeal for reinstatement was quashed by a court in Munich.

The official found himself in hot water after he and two colleagues attempted to cover up a speeding ticket issued to the German football legend Franz Beckenbauer in 2005.

Bayern president Beckenbauer was filmed at around 40 km/h over the speed limit in his home town, but the trio attempted to pass off the infringement as an unmarked vehicle being used by traffic police. But an eagle-eyed city official uncovered the plot after recognising the speeding “policeman” as the one and only ‘Kaiser’ of the German game.

Jack Robertson takes monthly award

PSC golf from The Bunker

Monday, March 26, Bangpakong Riverside, Medal

The week got off to a fine start for Brian Maddox with the Bunker Boy’s playing Medal format at Bangpakong. Brian won the B Flight with the best score of the day, a four-under par net 68, which was one shot better than Jack Robertson’s net 69, whilst Dave Keats came in third a further four shots back on net 73.

Jack Robertson: March ‘Golfer of the Month’ at The Bunker.

John McDonald and David Harvey shared the winnings in the A Flight with two-under par net 70’s with third place going to William Macey on net 71.

Only three par-3 greens were hit with William Macey getting one prize and Alan Gorse getting the other two.

Wednesday, March 28, Greenwood, Stableford

On to Wednesday, and with only two games to play to find out who would be ‘golfer of the month’ for March, and three players left in with a chance, we knew the competition would be fierce.

Jack Robertson, Brian Maddox and Dave Keats were all in the hunt and amazingly Jack and Dave tied for first place in the B Flight, winning with 39 points each whilst Brian Maddox shared third place with Gordon Evringham and Jim Wooler, all with 37 points. This took the golfer of the month competition in to the last game of the month on Friday.

In the A Flight John McDonald won with 38 points ahead of three players; John Hughes, Paul Smith and Peter Hapgood, who shared third place with 37 points each.

Near pins were won by Geoff Parker, Peter Hapgood, John Hughes and Frenchman Jean Morel.

Friday, March 30, Burapha, Medal

A Medal comp at Burapha on Friday saw Dave Harvey win the A Flight with net 74, Charlie Gooch come second with a net 75 and John McDonald take third on net 76.

It was to be in the B Flight however, where the ‘golfer of the month’ award would be decided and it was Jack Robertson who came out on top, sharing first place with Lee Butler after both shot level par net 72’s. Brian Maddox and Richard Baldotto shared third place with a pair of net 75’s.

Near pin prizes went to Brian Maddox, John McDonald and Dave Harvey collected the other two.

Richard departs on a winning note

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Monday, March 26, Treasure Hill, Stableford

Treasure Hill was host to a Stableford competition in two flights with the cut at Handicap 19. The course on the day was under extensive renovation with weeding going on everywhere and most holes adding more drainage.

Richard Kubicki took the A Flight with 39 points whilst second on a count back was Brian Noguer from Kris Helgason, both with 36 points. Carole Kubicki took the B Flight with 38 points making it a clean sweep for the Kubickis. Henk De Bock was second with 36 points on a count back from Graham Mitchell.

Near Pins: Jan Lovgren, Graham Mitchell, Peter Hammond, Brian Noguer

Thursday, March 29, Burapha, Stableford

The test for the day was to be the A & B Nines at Burapha, the question of the day was to be would the Kubickis continue their fine form and win again?

It was an absolutely perfect day as we stood on the first tee, bright skies, a light wind and 18 holes ahead on one of our favourite courses.

Richard Kubicki had been chopped a couple of shots for his fine form of late, so surely this time we would have him, before he went home on the Monday next. The scribe did his best with a fine 23 points on the front nine, whilst it was also heard that Rob Brown, of the ‘never won a count back’ fame was also burning the course up. This time maybe we could get him.

As the players came in it was obvious that there were some seriously good scores, and over 40 points was seen to be common, whilst many had 39 points in the A Flight.

So did he do it? Well the answer is yes - the winner of the A Flight, 0 to 15 was none other than Richard Kubicki with 42 points ahead of the ‘never win a count back’ kid Rob Brown, who also had 42 points but lost on count back. In third was Derek Brook with 40 points, and he blew the last two holes. Well done Richard, he has worked hard at his game of late.

In the B Flight the winner was Don Mackenzie, who came out of obscurity with a fine 46 points, his handicap has now been decimated and he will remember it with a fond memory. In second was Brian Gabe, also with a fine round of 43 points that would have been favourite to win most weeks. In third was Mike Winfield with 39 points.

So we bade farewell to the Kubickis, who now go home with happy memories, but we will get them next time.

T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: Max Arne, Johan Reynisson, John Frazer, Kevin Dunne
Long Put: Derek Brook, Larry Simpson

Warberg’s ‘forty-two’ - Best of the day

Mike Franklin

Good leading scores from the Seniors, topped by 42 Stableford points from Richard Warberg and 40 points from Morten Gauslaa were well ahead of the field at Pattaya Country Club in the March Diana Seniors and Ladies Open. The Super Seniors fared not so well and Arthur Bailey’s 35 points was enough to win with Neil Allison Super runner-up with a modest 33 points.

Arthur Bailey, Gerd Lindberg and Richard Warberg - all winners in the March Diana Seniors and Ladies Open.

Last in line were the ladies with 32 points from Gerd Lindberg the winner and 31 points from runner-up Birgitta Luning.

Terry Welch claimed the near pins on # 5 and # 16 with John Eyers closest on # 12 and Ian Edwards on # 7. Mick O’Meara and Gerd Lindberg had the longest putts on # 9 and # 18 respectively.

It was a fine day with difficult, dry conditions to deal with that was reflected in many of the scores. Nevertheless it was a good day and perhaps a warm-up for the next outing on Thursday 26th April. Sign-up at the Green Bottle, or at the Diana Garden Resort Driving Range.

Hobbling Herb keeps the field at bay

PSC golf form The Three Sisters Bar

On the 20th of March with the weather warming up, Dale Murphy with his new handicap still managed to beat the field. With his drives on line and a hot putter, Dale managed 38 points to win by two strokes.

Paul Kraft came in second with 36 points. I don’t know how he does it, but Paul still walks the course. His drives are still out there but erratic at times.

At the end of the month it was Herb Ishinaga’s turn to make it to the top. With his knees giving him problems, Herb hobbles around the course using his clubs as a crutch. It didn’t bother him too much as he scored 40 points to win by four shots.

Dale Murphy still shooting well came in second with 36 points. The rest of the field followed with Jim Tully and Paul Donahue fighting it out for the bottom slot. The main thing is that we all enjoyed ourselves, as every round we play is a plus.

League closes with only one position change in top five

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers & 1st Place team – Aht, Bill, (Dang & Maliny Team Montana), Mai & Ken

After 30 weeks of bowling Montana is the league winner, VFW Post 9876 grabbed second, House of the Golden Coin moved from fourth to third, Diamond Shop dropped from third to fourth and Jack & Tar will get the fifth place trophy.

In the final week’s round of matches, VFW Post 9876 won all four points from Montana and House of the Golden Coin took all four from Diamond Shop. Jack & Tar was able to hold on to fifth place as they took two and one half points from Café Kronborg.

Three Sisters tried to get into the top five as they won all four from Café Ole but just came up a few points short. Domicil won four from Shenanigans and Brother D took three points from Mai’s Thai Restaurant.

Aht had the best bowling of the day with a 607 series, games of 168, 204 and 235. The Pattaya Plus Bowl gives PSC league bowlers a free Heineken beer for three strikes in a row and two beers for five strikes in a row. Aht was seen leaving the Bowling Alley with lots of beers.

The next league will start on 23 April and all PSC bowlers are invited to join us at 13:45 hours on Friday April 23 when teams will be formed in a blind draw.

Takeshi takes the Monthly Medal again

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, March 26,
Eastern Star, Stableford
1st Trevor Schirmer, 36pts
2nd Dave Lee, 35pts
3rd Walt Straub, 34pts c/b
4th Chris Knapp, 34pts c/b
5th Peter Tucker, 34pts c/b
6th Barry Traynor, 34pts c/b

A week of tough golf started out at the always-tricky Eastern Star, where there has been a considerable improvement in the fairways and green surrounds, but with the greens still a tough proposition with pins in difficult places.

Trevor Schirmer made up for losing out the previous week in a very high scoring Stableford with a steady level par round that proved good enough to take the day’s honours. This was after Dave Lee had thrown away a great chance to take his first win for several months with an uncharacteristic, on the day, double bogey on the last. In the end it was a big disappointment for Dave after playing very tidily for 17 holes and then taking four from the edge.

Chris Knapp also showed much better form than of late, as he led a group at two-over on count back to secure his first of two podiums in the week.

There were no 2’s in either the first division or the second division.

Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Markuu Tynell.

Wednesday, March 28,
Plutaluang North West,
Stableford
1st Barry Traynor, 34pts c/b
2nd Claus Nilsson, 34pts c/b
3rd Glynn Nicholas, 33pts

Another very tough day on one of the longest 18 holes in the area, measuring some 6750 yards from the white tees with very little run. It meant that the field were struggling from the get go to come to terms with the course although the condition and presentation could not be faulted.

Barry Traynor did just enough to ensure another of his ‘nip and tuck’ wins as he crept past the post with a two-over round that proved enough to see off Claus Nilsson on count back. Barry showed great character in coming home in level par whist Claus slumped to 4 over.

Glynn Nicholas, refreshed from his 2’s win and the subsequent shopping spree at the last outing, slipped a little but still managed to slip almost unnoticed on to the podium.

Barry Traynor and Mikael Jansson shared the 2’s in the first division, whilst Glynn Nicholas took full advantage of a change of handicap that put him into the second division, as he swept the four-rollover pot which turned out to be almost enough to buy the wife a new dress.

Back at The Haven The Doc welcomed back Mikael Jansson.

Friday, March 30,
Phoenix Blue,
Monthly Medals
First Division
1st Takeshi Hakozaki, net 72 c/b
2nd Norman Isherwood, net 72
3rd Barry Traynor, net 77
Second Division
1st Frank Pilkington, net 76
2nd Brian Kelly, net 78
3rd Chris Knapp, net 79

The last outing of the week proved to be the most difficult with the tees about as far back as they can go and still be rated as inside the course. The fairways were also offering very little in the way of forward momentum after the initial bounce.

Takeshi Hakozaki took the first division monthly medal for the second time in succession with a solid level par round that was just good enough over the back nine to see off the challenge of Norman Isherwood, who wilted slightly after a fine start. Barry Traynor was again in the hunt although a long way behind the leaders.

The second division was won by a very surprised Frank Pilkington who had only gone back to The Haven to enjoy a drink with the winner, but he found that it was he that was celebrating his four-over round, which had been enough to see off Brian Kelly and Chris Knapp a few shots behind.

There were no 2’s in the first division but surprisingly Brian Kelly and Walt Straub managed one each to share the second division pool.

Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed back Doug Campbell after an extended visit to Canada.

Players toil in the heat at Phoenix

IPGC golf from The Caddy Shack

Tuesday, March 27, Phoenix, Medal

Local favourite Phoenix was the venue for a Medal competition over the Lakes and Ocean courses. It was the hottest day of the year and many golfers suffered in the sweltering conditions.

Steve Barber, off his 25 H/cap, fired a three-under net 69 to win the day ahead of Mark Joshua (7) in second with a net 71, and Paul Smith (5) who came home with a level par net 72 for third.

Al McGrory scored the only ‘2’ of the day to scoop the pool.

Friday, March 30, Sattahip, Stableford

Friday saw a trip south to the Navy course at Sattahip for a Stableford competition over the South and East layouts.

Unfortunately, the condition of the greens was not up to the usual standard and with putting a lottery, the scores were lower than expected.

Mark Joshua went one better than Tuesday with a winning 35 point total. Damian Trante came in second with 33 points whilst there was a tie for third between Steve Barber and Emmet White, both players coming home with 30 points each.

The 2’s pot was shared between Don Francis, Jan Eriksen and Paul Smith.

Mol’s Eclectic is Electric

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, March 25,
Green Valley – White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Paul West (10) 41 points
2nd Jim Wickstrom (4) 39 points
3rd John Pegrum (10) 39 points
B Flight
1st John Hillier (15) 41 points
2nd Gerry Hannan (12) 39 points
3rd Dave Potter(16) 38 points
C Flight
1st Bob Lindborg (18) 44 points
2nd Jez Lees (19) 41 points
3rd Mol Thongkiew (24) 41 points
NP’s: Bob Patterson; Bob Lindborg; Fred Theobald; Steve Maxcari
2’s: Mark Wood, Steve Mascari (2), Tony Molloy, Bob Patterson, Liam McGuiness, Peter Henshaw, Bob Lindborg, Jez Lees, Fred Theobald

Well if it needed to be affirmed, Bob Lindborg showed why he deserves to be known as the Guru of Green Valley as be humbled the defenseless Sunday set-up with 44 points. That best of the day and C Flight winning score was three clear of The Principal and Ms. Mol, our Title Gal. Jez showed little chivalry in winning the count back over the lovely Ms. Mol.

Paul West on his second to last outing of this stay sat atop A Flight with a fine 41-point effort that was two clear of the tandem of Jim Wickstrom and John Pegrum. Jim’s medalist round of gross 73 had the better inward distribution than John’s.

In the middle flight, Johnny Hillier edged Irishman Gerry Hannan by two points and The Valet’s Best Friend by three.

Monday, March 26,
Green Valley – White Tees, Stableford & 2-day Eclectic
A Flight
1st Per Ashcan (7) 39 points
2nd Mark Wood (6) 37 points
3rd Hugh Byrne (9) 37 points
B Flight
1st John Hillier (15) 37 points
2nd Dave McFeely (15) 36 points
3rd Serge Straeten (15) 33 points
C Flight
1st Mol Thongkiew (24) 42 points
2nd Sean Murphy (18) 41 points
3rd Noy Pimmoen (29) 38 points
2’s: Per Aschan, Peter LeNoury, Mossy Quaid, Pat Regan, Bob Patterson, Brendan Bird, Matt Andrews

Monday the Society returned to what is tantamount to its home course, Green Valley, to have a daily competition and to complete the Two-Day Eclectic. Ms. Mol, our title gal threw a strong 42 points at the course and her C Flight competitors.

Sean Murphy came within a point of Mol’s best on the day total and had to settle for second. Another of the gals, Noy Pimmoen rounded out the C Flight podium, leaving Sean to look like a thorn between two roses.

Per “I think I am always on time” Aschan topped A Flight with 39 points, two better than the Pride of Aberdeen and Irishman Hugh Byrne. In B Flight Johnny Hillier made it two in a row when his 57 points finished one clear of another of those intrepid ‘Micks’, Dave McFeely. Monsieur Serge rounded out the day’s prize giving when his 33 points came a surprising B Flight third.

2-Day Eclectic
A Flight
1st Paul West (10) 45 points
2nd Jim Wickstrom (4) 44 points
3rd Peter LeNoury (10) 44 points
B Flight
1st Mol Thongkiew (24) 51 points
2nd Bob Lindborg (16) 48 points
3rd John Hillier (15) 47 points

For any reader unfamiliar with an Eclectic it is simply taking the best score the competitor had on each given hole over the, in this case, two day period. The WoM for the two day eclectic and winner of B Flight is none other than our title gal, Ms. Mol.

Mol had a strong foundation on Day One with her third place 41 points. Her 42 points on Monday certainly suggested that there may be some help coming and indeed there was as she added 10 points to her eclectic. That leapfrogged the Guru who could only squeeze out an additional 4 points to embellish his opening 44 points.

John Hillier won the two daily comps but when the scorecards were put together that only provided him 47 points, still good enough for third.

Paul West could only add four points to his Day One total, but it was enough to top out the A Flight of the Eclectic. It was one better than the trio of Jim Wickstrom, Peter LeNoury and Gerry Hannan. The Luck of the Irish failed to save Gerry from podium banishment, as Jim and Peter took the silver and the bronze, respectively.

Wednesday, March 21,
The Emerald – White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Gerry Hannan (12) 43 points
2nd John Leckie (7) 38 points
3rd Mossy Quaid (8) 37 points
B Flight
1st Dave McFeely (15) 37 points
2nd KeithWorboys (15) 35 points
3rd Dave Driscoll (19) 34 points
2’s: Kris Kritsanajootha, Bill McGarvie, Simon Philbrook, Peter LeNoury, Steve Mascari, Pierre Bietry, Steve Miller, Steve Steele

The lads and lasses went south to play Nick Faldo’s creation which had to be finished up by Desmond Muirhead. The course, which was for years the stepchild of Eastern Seaboard golf, is maturing into one of the area’s best. While many find the course difficult, don’t try telling that to Gerry Hannan who gave the layout a shellacking with his A Flight winning 43 points. Newcomer John Leckie tapped the till for second place, closely followed by Mossy Quaid.

In A Flight, Dave McFeely, the winner, was the only player who bettered his handicap. Keith Worboys and the consistent Eskimo followed David in with 35 and 34, respectively.

Friday, March 23,
Eastern Star – White Tees, Stableford
A Flight
1st Kris Kritsanajootha (9) net 72
2nd Peter LeNoury (10) net 73
3rd Jim Wickstrom (4) net 74
B Flight
1st Barry Chadbourn (21) net 72
2nd Trudy Chadbourn (22) net 77
3rd Pierre Bietry (21) net 78
2’s: Brett Peter LeNoury, Trudy Chadbourn

Eastern Star can play as tough as any course around and that was certainly in evidence as no one bettered their handicap and only two equaled theirs. Kris Krits topped out A Flight, closely followed by Peter LeNoury and Jim Wickstrom, in one stroke increments.

Barry “Chad” Chadbourn, B Flight’s winner, had a little bit more breathing room than Kris had. Chad’s closest pursuer was none other than his charming bride, Trudy. Monsieur Pierre was a surprised but happy bronze winner with his net 78, but that’s medal play for you.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

Jeeves have you put on some weight?

“I fear I have Your Lordship. I went to Bangkok last Monday night and stopped in to see your pal Ned at the Silver Dollar. They had a special of barbecued ribs with all the sides for only 150 baht and a special promotion of hickory smoked pork sandwiches for 70 Baht. I made a real pig of myself.”

I’m sure that somewhere on the magic box that takes pictures out of the air to make them reappear in either your place of residence or favorite beverage salon, the Pongsaklek Wongjongkam (64-2) - Tomonobu Shimizu (10-1) title fight is being shown.

WBC Flyweight champ Pongsaklek has held the title since 2001 when he knocked Malcolm Tunacao down 3 times for a first round KO. At the time Pongsaklek was 38-2, so the win against Tunacao at 11-1 should have come as no surprise.

No need to again quote chapter and verse why this is no more than a paid workout for the champ who should record his 17th successful title defense. With half of Pongsaklek’s fights ending in a KO, this one could go either way. Shimizu’s only loss came at the hands of Thailand’s Kaennakorn Klongpajol who was 1-2 at the time and now sports a 2-10 record. H’mmmmm.

If your name is Wanheng Meenayothin, you weigh 105lbs and have a 3-0 professional boxing record. Should you be over the moon by stopping Ma Wi Ming in his first fight at 2:21 of the first round? Should you make your decision after some jerk writer for a major Eastern Seaboard newspaper informs you that the three guys you beat are a combined 0-13-2? Finally, should you be buoyed by capturing the WBC 105lb Youth title?

Nope. Not when you consider that on the same card last Friday at the Watsingh School in Bangkok, former WBC Fly champ Chatchai Sasakul (59-3) got a 4th round KO and Medgoen Singsurat (48-4) got a 6 round KO. The answer is “maybe”, as Meenayothin is a former Muaythai champ - so there might be hope.

Still more than a week away but grabbing headlines anyway is the Manny Pacquiao - Jorge Solis title match in San Antonio Texas USA. Unfortunately, as seen too often in boxing, it’s not the boxers that are getting the press but promoter ‘Buffalo’ Bob Arum.

There are in life some people that either can’t or just aren’t smart enough to realize that there comes a time when they should “Shut the **** up.” Arum falls into that category. As has been covered “ad nauseam”, Pacquiao signed contracts with both Arum (Top Rank) and Oscar DeLaHoya (Golden Boy) last year. Arum took the opportunity to call the Golden Boy group “creeps”. Remember in the school yard back in the day saying “takes one to know one.”

There are some that thought the April 15 fight between Pacquiao-Solis would never see the light of day. Golden Boy, as expected, attempted to get a court injunction until its’ federal lawsuit could be heard. The request was denied by the U.S. District Judge Philip M. Po, ruling that the suit, “is rich with issues concerning whether Golden Boy or Top Rank will ultimately prevail. The Court cannot at this stage of the proceedings declare which party enjoys a probability of success on the merits, nor that the balance of hardship tips in favor of one party (versus) the other.”

“Oscar ought to be ashamed of himself,” Arum said. “Here’s a guy who is going to make millions upon millions of dollars on May 5, and he goes to court to try to deprive Manny Pacquiao from fighting and earning a living. It’s one thing to sue Top Rank and try to get as much money as you can from Top Rank, because that’s business. But to go to court to try to prevent another fighter from making a living is despicable. If we’re wrong, sue us for damages. The contract they signed with him provides how they would be compensated. “It’s a good measuring stick to use. The damage to a fighter from not fighting is a hell of a lot more than the damage to a promoter from not promoting.”

Think it gets under Arum’s skin that the biggest fight in years between Mayweather jr. and Oscar is being staged in his hometown of Las Vegas, by two fighters he used to promote, and he gets not a dime. Not to mention losing the spotlight he so dearly loves.

Interesting box fight on Sunday from the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. Joe Calzaghe will extend his winning streak to 43 when he faces first-year Contender runner-up Peter Manfredo jr. at 26-3.

Lots of credit has to be given to Manfredo’s management as they have parlayed his two losses to Contender winner Sergio Mora into a career. Manfredo really doesn’t belong in the same ring with Calzaghe except as a showcase for “maybe” the best super middleweight in the world.

Manfredo is a good kid and gets a payday but the only “name” win on his resume’ is Scott Pemberton. Pemberton got whacked out in two by Jeff Lacy and then retired. He was still retired when Manfredo jr. KO’d him in 3.

The importance of this fight is that people around the world will be able to contrast Calzgahe’s performance with that of Mikkel Kessler’s two weeks ago. Kessler at 39-0 was impressive when he tossed a shutout at Librado Andrade, 120-108 on all cards, before 25,000 at Copenhagen’s Parken Arena. The Square Ring had it 118-110 for Kessler because we’re always kinder and gentler than most professional judges. When Calzaghe gets by Manfredo jr. Sunday, a ‘super-fight’ with Kessler is in the works.

Also on Sunday, Thailand’s Wethya Sakmuangklang (70-4) travels to Ishikawa, Japan to do battle with Futa Nakagishi (9-1-1) at the Sangyo Hall. Interesting guy is Sakmuangklang, not only for the fact that he’s got 70 wins but also that he’s never won a world title. He’s had two shots - losing to Guty Espasdas jr. in 2000 and getting KO’d by Manny Pacquiao in 2001. Since that loss Sakmuangklang is 29-0 which is a career for most boxers.

Talk about a long time for a rematch. In November of 1996 Henry Maske lost the only fight of his brilliant career to Virgil Hill. More than 10 years later Maske got a re-match which followed his retirement after that loss. Last Sunday Henry Maske (31-1) turned back the clock with a convincing 12-round decision over Hill (50-6) at The Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany.

Doing the television yaking for the fight was pal Benny “I Keek a Touchdown” Ricardo and Al Bernstein, who I’ll bet a baht never said, “it was a close fight” as did one writer. I’ll also bet they never said that the point Maske lost due to a head butt in the 8th, “didn’t play a role in the scoring.” That’s just silly. Of course it did as Maske won easily 117-110, 117-110 and 116-113.

Before the fight the Hill camp protested about having all European officials. Who cares? ‘Tip of the hat’ to Maske who managed to turn back the clock - and it wasn’t even the end of daylight saving time!

WBO Bantam champ Jhonny Gonzalez (34-5) stretched his winning record as a bantam to 20-0 when he destroyed former champ Irene Pacheco (33-2) last Saturday. Pacheco had been the IBF Fly Champ until whacked out in 11 by Aussie Vic Darchinyan in ’04. Thai boxing fans may remember I had trouble with spelling “Jhonny” Gonzales for his 7th round KO of Ratanachai Sor Vorapin last year.

Gonzales took control early and battered Pacheco, especially in rounds 7 and 8, before closing the deal at 1:04 of the 9th. Like to see Gonzales against either Veeraphol Sahaprom (55-3-2) or Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym (27-1).

The Square Ring closes this week on a very sad note. It’s sad because a great friend of this feeble effort and the boxing world was buried last Friday at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in New York City.

Carol Castellano was a premier boxing judge, not only in the United States but also throughout the world. In the ‘Golden Age’ of boxing it was Carol Castellano’s name that was associated with major world championship bouts. Carol was a pioneer because at important world championship fights she was there to judge. Carol was there because she was very good, not because someone was trying to make a political statement. When you listened on radio or watched a fight on TV very seldom, if ever, was there any disagreement with a Carol Castellano judged fight.

With her husband Tony, the name Castellano became synonymous with quality, knowledge, honesty and integrity. As the boxing bell tolls 10, Carol will be remembered as a good person, with a warm smile and a devilish sense of humor. Unlike many boxing officials Carol knew that boxing was about the boxers and not some officials with over blown opinions of themselves. Carol was a one off who will be missed by a sport and friends alike for a long time. May she rest in peace.