PSC golf from the Travellers Rest

Barry Hooper
Monday, November 12, Plutaluang, Stableford
A Flight
1st Frank Kelly (16) 38pts
2nd Jimmy Chawke (14) 34pts
3rd Bruce Lawrence (10) 34pts
4th John Merritt (15) 34pts
B Flight
1st Brian Prudden (20) 37pts
2nd Bob Short (23) 37pts
3rd Colin Cronin (20) 34pts
4th Jackie McPherson (20) 32pts
Near Pins: Frank Kelly, Harvey Samuel, John Merritt, Gary Leigh
2’s: John Merritt, Harvey Samuel, Randal Barker, Akitoshi Ito
The usual four outings this week and the first at Plutaluang on Monday saw Frank Kelly back on form with a win on 38 points. Jimmy Chawke got the better of a three-way count back for second place over Bruce Lawrence and John Merritt - all on 34 points. Brian Prudden took the B Flight, again on count back, over Bob Short both on 37 points.
Tuesday, November 13, Emerald, Stableford
A Flight
1st Fergus Brennan (11) 37pts
2nd Ray Trembath (11) 36pts
3rd Mike Wardman (13) 36pts
4th David Thomas (6) 35pts
B Flight
1st Mod Chaviraksa (18) 35pts
2nd Amphan North (15) 35pts
3rd Roger Wilkinson (15) 34pts
4th Keith Marsden (16) 33pts
Near Pins: Amphan North, David Thomas, Mod Chaviraksa, David Exley
2’s: 8 winners
Tuesday and the first of two trips this week to Emerald: This course gets better every visit and they never seem to stop working on it. There is even a new road section on the approach to the clubs drop off point.
Fergus Brennan was still on form and won the A Flight with 36 points over the two count back 36’s of Ray Trembath (2) and Mike Wardman (3).
In the B Flight it was a ladies count back win for Mod over Amphan after both finished on 35 points.
Thursday, November 15, Green Valley, Stableford
A Flight
1st Ray Trembath (11) 37pts
2nd Amphan North (15) 35pts
3rd Randall Barker (16) 33pts
4th Philip Knight (10) 33pts
B Flight
1st John O’Leary (17) 33pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (18) 33pts
3rd Jackie McPherson (23) 32pts
4th Colin Cronin (20) 31pts
Near Pins: Peter Seward, Steve Gould, John O’Leary, Philip Knight
2’s: John O’Leary, Eric Grogan
Ray Trembath went one better than Tuesday at Green Valley on Thursday to take the A flight with 37 points and Amphan was second with 35. The B flight saw Jim O’Leary have a count back win with 33 points over Mod Chaviraksa and one of our visiting ladies Jackie McPherson was third with 32.
Saturday, November 17, Emerald, Stableford
A Flight
1st John Merritt (15) 38pts
2nd Frank Kelly (16) 38pts
3rd Fergus Brennan (11) 38pts
4th David Thomas (6) 37pts
B Flight
1st Orowan Sodok (32) 43pts
2nd Karl Byrne (18) 31pts
3rd Harvey Samuel (19) 31pts
4th LarsStrom (22) 31pts
Near Pins: Frank Kelly, Hugh Byrne, Lars Strom, Thomas Johansson
2’s: Frank Kelly, John Merrick, Thomas Johansson
Saturday and our second visit to Emerald saw John Merritt win again on count back with 38 points to take the A flight over Frank Kelly and Fergus Brennan.
The best and most convincing win of the week, however, has to go to Orowan Sodok with 43 points and a 12-point victory over second, third and fourth Karl Byrne, Harvey Samuel, and Lars Strom - all on 31. Congratulations Orowan
Reminder: If anyone is interested in golfing with the Travellers Rest we play every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We meet at7:45am for breakfast and transportation and new players are always made to feel welcome. Call Tewin on 086 056 7019 for further information.

Daryl finds it tough as Jim takes the plaudits

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Thursday, November 15, The Emerald - White tees, Stableford
1st Jim Furtune (28) 32pts
2nd Ian Campbell (25) 30pts
3rd Yves Philibert (24) 29pts
4th Willy Nachbar (24) 27pts
Some golf did happen somewhere on Tuesday but no one in the group is prepared to admit to it. Moving on … a group of 11 including new participant Aussie Daryl teed it up at The Emerald on Thursday. Daryl’s “no-return” indicated he was probably suffering from a case of jet lag - or more probably over-shagitis for which as we know there is no known cure. The average score for the day was 27.
Jim Furtune took the day’s honours with 32 points over Ian Campbell in second, Yves Philibert in third and Willy Nachbar in fourth. Willie got the better if a three-way count back with 19 splendid points on the back nine.
Only two near pins were won, both of them by Jeff Wylie. The longest 1st putt on the 18th green was nabbed by Jim Walton giving him more towards the cost of his beautiful new black and white Century 2000 kit bag.

‘Sunday Best’ for Dixon

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at the OK Corral

A grey and remarkably cool day welcomed the Pattaya Golf Society to Plutaluang on Sunday, November 11, as they called to play their regular Sunday stableford event over the South and East nines.
The course was well prepared but, as always, the greens nearest the clubhouse were slower than those beyond the road through the course and this called for some adjustment. In addition the wind was present throughout and the Brits in the pack could have been forgiven for thinking it was an overcast English summer’s day.
The scores in the single flight were generally good and amongst those in contention were Leo van der Haegen, whose 36 points took fourth place, Jean Morel whose 37 qualified for third and an excellent 38 points on his return for Don Nellis, which gave him second place.
The day’s winner was visitor Tony Dixon and his forty points will live in his memory for quite some time. Tony shared the 2’s pot with Don Nellis and Leo van der Haegen and the best gross of the day was registered by Kasuo Takimoto, at 82.
Jim Proctor was having one of those days we all get occasionally when nothing goes right and his mediocre score was reflected in the frosted bottle of amber liquid he enjoyed as his consolation prize. Everyone had enjoyed the day.
All in a day’s work
Bangpra beckoned the Pattaya Golf Society on Tuesday as a seasonally large field turned out to play in the first of the month’s Order of Merit events, this time stableford off the white tees.
The course was in fine condition but the back nine greens still bore evidence of recent sanding and were thus a little unpredictable. The fairways, on the other hand, were magnificent and a golfer striking the ball well would reap huge benefits from the round.
The day was fine, the company was very pleasant and the starter accommodated the eager golfers by letting them “loose” forty minutes earlier than planned and for organiser Len Jones it was the sort of day to dream about. No hassle, just golf!
Scores were good with Michael Lindberg and Ray Underwood sharing fourth place with 36 points each whilst Paul Quodomine held third place on his own with 39. Paul had the pleasure of playing in a four-ball whose total was some 155 points, an average of 38.25 each, and needless to say the leader was in there somewhere.
Rookie Martin Hoblyn raised eyebrows yet again with 42 points for second place but the winner fired the second best round of the year with the group, 45 points, to equal his personal best in Thailand. Yes, for Len Jones it had been a good day at the office! The secret was his fairway shots and two shots in the water on the twelfth cost him the opportunity to record his best score in nine years.
Ray Underwood and Tony Dixon shared the large 2’s pot and for Swedish lady golfer Helene Lindberg the nineteen bunkers she visited during the round guaranteed for her the Booby Bevy, one of the small band of ladies to take the enviable award.
It had been a day of fine golf at Bangpra, and after a forty-plus round earlier in the year the course is rapidly becoming the “theatre of dreams” for the PGS golf organiser.
Quality from Quodomine
An astonishing week ended for the Pattaya Golf Society at Greenwood on Thursday with yet another forty-something to celebrate.
The large field had gathered to play a stableford event over the “C” & “A” nines on a hot and humid day. The course was its usual fine challenge with well prepared greens and fairways and the field was cut into two flights at 22 and under.
In the top flight Emiel van der Wiele, a very late entrant, made up for his haste with a comfortable level-par score of 36 for third place whilst Tony Thorne and Peter Ditz shared the major honours with fine 37 point scores.
In the second flight 36 points was enough to see Martin Hoblyn home again in third place and the amiable Japanese golfer, Kazu Agune played the golf of his life in recording 39 points for a rare podium place.
Paul Quodomine’s similar score on Tuesday was emulated by his magnificent forty points on this day, ending the week in style for the American who had finished the week with incredible figures of seven-under par. He may be regretting it on his next outing!
Kazu and Peter Ditz shared the 2’s pot for their fine efforts on C6.
On the first tee Mr. Len had received an SMS informing him that a trio of Frenchmen had arrived at Green Valley by mistake and the sad “menage” were toasted for their absence at a packed presentation later. After all, as a Belgian friend pointed out, “They’re French and green is green!” What a day it was at Greenwood.

The Beautiful Game?: Riz Taylor

Wanted – decent English footballers

The Premier League returns to our screens this weekend amid rows over the hoardes of “greasy foreigners” now plying their trade in the division.
There are now so many, they say, that the fortunes of the English national side are being affected as Johnny Foreigners and Carlos Kickaballs come over and take all the jobs. Your average, hard-working English folk aren’t getting a look in, and that’s simply not cricket.
Sir Alex Ferguson chimed in with his thoughts last week, agreeing with FIFA supreme suit Sepp Blatter’s comments about the lack of opportunities for home-grown players in some of the major leagues. Fergie said: “It’s certainly not wrong that clubs should be seen to have a proportion of home-based players. I totally agree [with Blatter] but it would be a problem for a club like Arsenal. That’s why they’ll protest the loudest.
“You want to protect your own, and there is nothing wrong with that. But, for the good of the game in England, it would be good to see more home-based players at the top clubs. United’s critics would say, ‘It’s all right for you, you already have English players in your side.’ But I think if you asked a neutral, they would rather see more home-based players.”
There’s nothing too surprising about those comments, but then Ferguson finds himself in an enviable position on the subject. Currently on United and England’s books are Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown and also budding goalkeeper Ben Foster.
But are these genuine worries of Ferguson, who is a Scot after all (and let’s face it they’re not famous for their concerns over the wellbeing of the English national side) or just an opportunity to get up the noses of Arsenal, who are looking to be United’s main rivals for the title this year?
Certainly ‘Le Gunners’ are at the other end of the spectrum. The only Englishman on their books – or at least the only one likely to feature in the big matches this year – is Theo Walcott, who is still unproven at the highest level, and there’s no doubting that Arsene Wenger has a preference for youngsters of a continental background. The Arsenal boss, however, insists that in the near future a number of young English talents will be making an impact in his first team.
Of course they will. Meanwhile the media turned on the English players themselves in their quest for a quote on quotas. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard also called for a scheme to put a limit on foreigners, which is surprising when you consider that about 350 of them join him at the Anfield training ground each week.
“I believe,” he said, casting a sideways glance in the direction of Alvaro Arbeloa, “that if foreigners do take over completely it will make things even worse for the national team.”
“I’m all for that,” he continued when asked about the quota scheme as Xabi Alonso made V-signs at him. “I support the Liverpool academy now and I am desperate for another young player to come through into the Liverpool team. I support that in the national team as well. There’s a big danger that we stop producing quality young kids because of the amount of foreigners in the game.”
So what do you think, and most importantly who can we start pointing fingers at? My own issue is not with the top quality stars we’ve been seeing since the mid nineties - the likes of Schmeichel, Zola, Cantona and Henry - the real problem here is the number of very average ones currently making a tidy living from the English game. Nobody can make a serious argument against the fact that great players – wherever they are from - raise the standards and make the league a better place, but what is less difficult to defend is the sheer amount of also-rans currently featuring.
Price is surely the issue. A half-decent right back from Eastern Europe, for example, would could cost a fraction of what his English counterpart playing in, say, the Championship would set someone back. Lower league clubs hang out for the best possible price for their young stars, and drive up the price.
So that’s settled then, it’ all the fault of the greedy lower division teams demanding huge prices for English players they’ve nurtured. They’re the culprits. But wait! Why shouldn’t these sides demand a slice of the financial action they’re enviously eyeing above them? How else are struggling teams supposed to haul themselves into the be-all-and-end-all world of the Premier League if they can’t make a few bob on a player now and again?
Maybe it’s the huge amounts of cash swilling around the Premier League that’s at fault here? Well no. Weren’t the dominant Liverpool sides of the 70’s and 80’s heavily influenced by foreign talent? I seem to remember one of Liverpool’s cup-winning sides failing to feature a single Englishman, the team instead populated by the cream of Irish, Scottish and Welsh talent - still foreigners in the eyes of the football world. So if it’s not that, maybe it’s the coaching of young English players? Or the fault of agents?
Who knows? And importantly who cares? All that is clear is that when there are more Scots and Irish playing in the Champions League than there are English players, despite the English Premier League having four sides in the tournament, it’s time for the English game to start taking a long, hard look at the way things are going.
For what it’s worth I think the solution is for the English government to annoy the living daylights out of its temporary resident footballers by refusing to issue long-term visas to them. Instead each should be forced to go on a visa run every three months in a luxury minibus, including a full breakfast beforehand, a packed lunch on board and free headphones to watch a barely passable copy of a Hollywood movie. Even if England still struggle against the likes of Macedonia and Greece it would, if nothing else, be of some consolation to picture the likes of Andriy Shevchenko and friends experiencing a taste of life as your average expatriate. Because after all, it’s all the foreigners’ fault that England aren’t very good, isn’t it?
Hot off the press
Steve Bruce looks set to become the new manager of Wigan Athletic. The former defender moves from Birmingham, where he……zzzzzz.
Shock news – Bad food makes you fat and lazy
“Soccer ace Cristiano Ronaldo has been warned to cut out the pies after falling for tasty Brit grub,” said the Daily Star last week with typical understatement. Apparently the wing wonder was “knocked out” when he discovered British treats like pie ’n chips and fish suppers.
However Manchester United’s highly-paid nutritionists have told the star that he is risking his waistline and career after the Portuguese told a magazine in his home country: “I dated a girl from Manchester and she showed me that steak pies and chips are very good.”
“But I have to be careful,” he said after being told off. “The club do not want me to eat too much of this food because it would not be good for my game.”
“Stuff like pies and chips aren’t the fuel for superstar athletes,” said a club source. “Now and again is fine – they can get away with a little diversion from their eating programme. But the days are long gone when players prepared for matches with haddock and chips and bottles of brown ale. We do find, however, that many overseas players will sample our standard fare out of curiosity because the chances are they don’t eat it in their homelands.”
Three Thai footballers to join ‘Citeh’
Ignoring our earlier comments on dodgy foreign imports, hooray for Thailand as three of the nation’s footballers joined Manchester City last Friday. A gleeful trio of Suree Sukha, Kiatprawut Saiweaw and Theersailp Dangda all signed three year contracts with the Eastlands club, overseen by Swedish manager Sven-Goran Eriksson at a ceremony held in a Bangkok hotel.
Suree and Kiatprawut are former Chonburi Football Club players, while Theerasilp lists Nongjok United as one of his previous employers. At the press conference after the signing ceremony, Eriksson said the decision to acquire the three players came from himself, not from the club’s chairman, a certain ex-Prime Minister of a certain South East Asian nation.
“I should be very, very surprised if my chairman, (whose name escapes me at the moment), gives me orders when we talk about football, or talking about whatever. I don’t think he is that kind of man,” said the Swedish management maestro. “All of the football decisions in the club are taken by me and only by me. Now, how much is a short-time room near Nana Entertainment Plaza?” he asked.
Alright, the last sentence was made up. Moving onto the weekend there are a number of pretty uninspiring matches on telly, so the choice games could start with Newcastle and Liverpool first up tomorrow, which will end up 1-1, and then Spurs visit West Ham on Sunday followed by Fulham at home to Blackburn Rovers. See you next week.

PSC golf from The Bunker Bar

Monday, November 12, Treasure Hill, Medal
Making the long journey to Treasure Hill for a Medal competition is always a daunting task and Monday was no different as the scores showed.
The winning score in the A Flight was net 79 scored by a surprised Roger Privett! Derry Cooney was second with net 80 and Mashi Kaneta came third a shot further back with net 81.
The scores in the B Flight were slightly better but still nothing to write home about; Peter Habgood edged out David Johnson on a count back to win with net 75 with third place going to Granville Swanton on net 77.
Granville won one of the near pin prizes too, the others going to Lee Butler, Gordon Melia and Geoff Parker.
Wednesday, November 14, Mountain Shadow, Stableford
From one tough course to another but at least it was a Stableford comp this time.
John Thornber nabbed third place in the B Flight, edging out both PJ Redmond and Jack Gayer after all finished with 35 points. Second place went to Lawrence Harding with 36 points and the winner was newcomer John Harvey who had one point more.
In the A Flight Jim Treen was third with 35 points, Tony Scambler did his chances of winning the golfer of the month no harm by taking second place with 35 points, but Roger Privett won again to stay on Tony Scambler’s heels.
Tony Scambler got a near pin prize along with John Stolarszyk and Brian Maddox.
Friday, November 16, Pattaya Country Club, Medal
Friday saw Eddy Graham mark his return to Thailand by winning the A Flight, shooting a fabulous seven-under par net 65. Alan Campbell was second with a one-under par net 71 and Roger Privett beat Tony Dixon and Geoff Parker on a count back to take third place with a net 74.
Tony Robins won the B Flight with the same score as Eddy in the A Flight - net 65; Mark O’Dwyer came second with net 73 and Fred Griffin got the third spot with a net 77.
Near pin prizes were shared between Alan Campbell, John McDonald, Roger Privett and Tony Robbins.

Emerald shows its teeth as players struggle to break par

Golf news from The Bowling Green

Gareth Weeks
Monday, November 12, Emerald, Stableford
Emerald was the venue on this fine Monday morning, with a tough test ahead, we set off leaving the Bowling Green with a good field of players ranging from single to high handicap, today all playing one flight.

Monday winners: (L-R) Tony Cowe, Gareth Weeks and Peter Brown with a Bowling Green staff member.

Wind blowing, and tricky fairways made our test more difficult: many players spent long periods in the rough grass or required wet suits to play their second shots. This course has always been a favorite of mine and is looking in fine condition, although I must say a little dry in places. With its friendly staff, and excellent clubhouse service, this is still a good venue, and value for money.
Back at The Bowling Green the scores came in and it was apparent that the course was the victor with no player equaling their handicap. In first place with 35pts was yours truly, second was Tony Cowe with 33pts, and in third was Peter Brown “Rolex” with 32pts
Friday, November 16, Plutaluang N & W, Stableford
Friday saw the Bowling Green group, with several new players, traveling towards Sattahip on course for Plutaluang’s Navy, all hoping to be given North & West nines for this Fridays Stableford competition. And so it was, and with the sun shining and very little breeze the day was set for some good scoring.
With the course looking very lush and in fair condition, the disappointing side was slow and inconsistent greens with many players leaving putts well short. This reflected in the day’s results.
Winning with 35pts was Des Sharkey, second place went to newcomer Mike O’Brian with 32pts and in third was Alan Griffiths.
The Bowling Green golf group would like to welcome any new players interested in playing golf. We meet at 8:00am Mondays and Fridays at The Bowling Green, Pattaya.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

Jeeves, I’ve seen you in a lot of “getups,” but wearing Union Jack shorts and T-shirt with an Arsenal cap is a new style for you. If I may ask, what’s the deal?
‘Well your lordship, with David Haye winning the WBC/WBA cruiserweight title the United Kingdom now has 8 world champions. We have Jose Calzaghe, Rickey Hatton, Enzo Maccarinelli, Clinton Woods, Junior Witter, Gavin Rees and Alex Arthur. How about that?’
Well Jeeves, old “Jolten” Joe Calzaghe is not only maybe the best fighter in the business today but he’s no slouch in the “trash talking” department either. Absolutely love his talk about Bernard Hopkins.
“I’ll give it to Ol’ Popkins, he’s the king of talk,” said the Welshman. “He’s boxing’s version of Oprah Winfrey and they should give him his own TV show because he loves the sound of his own voice. The guy can talk forever but that’s all he can do. How about putting a little bit of fighting behind those words? I guarantee that I will make him have a fight against me - and not a stinker like the one against Winky Wright.
“He says he wants to fight me but does he really want to get an a kicking from me? Because that is what the man is going to get plain and simple. All I want is his name on my unblemished record with nice big W KO 6 next to it. I’ve told him I’ll fight him anywhere, anytime, and I’ll gladly accept his offer of a free facelift if I come to America. The only thing is, I will leave the ring as I enter it - the same good looking kid!”
As the date of December 8 grows closer the anticipation builds for what many hope will be the fight of the year. Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton has the entire English speaking world ready to let loose with a great big “AttaBoy”. All he has to do is close the deal by beating Floyd Mayweather. So far 37 boxers have tried to “close the deal”, to say nothing of Mayweather’s big mouth, with no success. To be honest no one has even come close since Mayweather’s early days.
The American promoter for the fight is Oscar De La Hoya and his Golden Boy productions. Most pay-per-view fights have a main event and then a lot of fluff before. Kind of like a cream puff - a lot of air surrounding the cream. With all tickets long gone and casino pay per view sites sold out, TV PPV will “come on in.”
The top of the under-card has Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy (21-1) trying yet again to gain back some of the “bloom that left the rose” when he got taken to the woodshed by “Jolten” Joe Calzaghe in March of last year. How bad was the beat-down? “Jolten” Joe got 119 on all the judges’ cards and lost a point in the 11th. That’s a “beat down.”
Last December, Lacy was less than scintillating against Vitali Tsypko where he struggled against someone he should have handled with ease. After a year off Lacy now gets former “Contender” star Peter Manfredo Jr. (28-4) who Calzaghe also did the business on. If Lacy can’t look good against the straight-ahead Manfredo then maybe another career is in the offing.
Really good boxers take that first defeat, learn and improve. Others that will be ordinary take the first defeat, don’t build on it and slip below the radar becoming an “opponent.” Be interesting to see which way Lacy will go after his year’s sabbatical.
“We’ve pulled out all the stops to make this card the event it should be,” said Oscar De La Hoya. “There is no filler on this pay-per-view card, with each fight holding important implications for the winner and the loser. These are the fights I want to see as a fight fan.”
The question is would Oscar pay $54.95 USD to view them? ‘No way Jose’. Nor would The Square Ring but my pal the Blind Guy did. Not only does he supply the fight with snacks, he’ll even supply a goodly amount of Miller Genuine. Count me there!
Karl Freitag is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the web site fightnews.com. Should have mentioned that he’s also a darn good reporter and writer. On a recent day he produced an interview/story with Antonio Tarver.
Tarver, as some will know, calls himself the “Magic Man.” He’s Magic only because he has gotten as far as he has with little talent, skill or intelligence. That’s where his creditability stops with The Square Ring. Tarver makes the IQ of an ice cube seem enormous. Harsh you say? Yes, but any boxer that says: “All these judges are in somebody’s pocket against me,” has serious realty issues.
Then the “north end of a south bound horse” continues: “I have a very sophisticated style. I don’t even look like I’m working hard. Maybe I ought to start grunting and making sounds and all these faces and you know for people to feel like I’m working hard. But when you make it look so easy, then they don’t think you’re putting out. And that’s not the case.”
Poor Antonio not only has to “be cool” but, in his own words, he’s up against the man.
“But I can’t educate all these judges”, he continues. “You know the criteria when it comes down to judging a fight: Aggressive jabbing, aggressive boxing, defense. They give some points for aggression, but sometimes aggression can be misinterpreted.”
Yea Antonio, like a boxer is actually trying to fight instead of dancing around and doing the “shoeshine routine” that draws yawns and has helped account for why boxing is leaving the mainstream of international sport.
Tarver concludes: “So my whole thing is this - Maybe we need to rewrite the way judges judge fights.”
So there you have it. Poor Antonio Tarver isn’t getting treated fair cause the sport of boxing won’t re-write their rules for him. Oh yes, he holds the IBO lightweight title. IBO? That means “I Be Ordinary.” The Square Ring would like to apologize to all “north ends of southbound horses” and all those that are “ordinary” for lumping them in with Tarver.
The WBC recently concluded their annual convention in Manila. The best news to come out of the confab was that they didn’t feel it necessary to make changes for the sake of change. Halleluiah!
A couple of Thai’s got a few early presents under the Christmas tree courtesy of the WBC. Former WBC champion #1 Pongsaklek Wonjongkam gets a chance to regain his title in late January when he meets conqueror Daiuke Naito. Wonjongkam had little trouble the first two times he fought Naito (32-2), winning a TD in 7 and then a lopsided UD (120-107 twice and 119-110). Their third fight went to the Japanese boxer 116-113 according to judge Cousin Bruce McTavish - so that’s the way it was. What happened? No idea.
Eagle Den Janlaphan (18-1) is the reigning WBC minimum weight champion. Most know him as Eagle Kyowa, a Thai who but for his first four bouts of his career has lived and fought in Japan. At the WBC convention it was approved that he would make a mandatory defense against Thailand’s Oleydong Sithsanerchai (24-0) in Bangkok. The fight may or may not be held to commemorate the 80th birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The fight is next Thursday, November 29. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on December 5 but that’s probably close enough as “This is Thailand.”
Back in March Veeraphol Nahkoluang (59-3) lost his WBC bantam title to Hozumi Hasegawa. At the WBC convention he was ordered to fight Vusi Malinga (16-2) in a title eliminator. Malinga, a native of South Africa, has no experience outside his home country and is definitely a little short on the experience scale. Looks like the last step to a rematch with Hozumi.
Let’s give Nahkolung some credit though as since his loss to Hozumi in March of last year he’s been in the ring 7 times with 7 wins. Nahkolung probably thinks that the third time’s the charm. He’s had two loses to Hozumi.
He ruled boxing in the state of New Jersey, USA with the gentle touch of Idi Amin Dada or Pol Pot. For 21 years he was the boxing commissioner holding in his hands the fate of boxers, officials and promoters. Get crossways with Larry Hazzard once and there wouldn’t be a second time. Boxers, judges and referees knew that if they wanted to work in New Jersey it was best to bow and kiss Hazzard’s ring when he entered the room. The rough, tough and the hardened quaked when he decreed. Kings and dictators were mere mortals in his presence. One referee Joe O’Neal ran afoul of Hazzard and never worked again in New Jersey.
But now Hazzard is gone. He was “terminated” by the state Attorney General for “undisclosed reasons”. Conjecture is that “undisclosed reasons” means a lot of different things in the Garden State. It might well lead to criminal prosecution in the near future or a permanent resting place in the Giants Stadium end zone like Jimmy Hoffa. One can only guess that not a lot of tears will or were shed for Hazzard - nor should there have been.
Yes Jeeves, what is it?
‘Your Lordship was wrong again. Mr. Bernard Hopkins would differ with you in regard to Larry Hazzard. He wrote: “I am shocked and appalled at the decision by the New Jersey States Attorney General, Anne Milgram, and her office to dismiss Larry Hazzard from his services as longstanding head of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission. I am standing up to renounce this decision and I encourage all members of the boxing community - fighters, trainers, judges, promoters, commissioners, television networks, and the media - to join me in protesting this decision.”’
OK Jeeves here’s the deal. Before you leave for Bangkok and Bourbon Street’s Thanksgiving buffet, fetch my post-column lagers, my fine cigars and the new “Dwight sings Buck Owens” CD, then file Mr. Hopkins’ shock and call to arms with my list of great Iraqi downhill skiers.

Eastern Star put to the test

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Derek Brook
Tuesday, November 13, Eastern Star, Stableford
The email arrived and it contained one from Eastern Star, that explained they had put in a great deal of work on the greens and the course was now in excellent condition and was fit to play. They also sent a photo of every green. So with such effort I just had to book the course, but would it be all it was cracked up to be?

“The greens are fine”, says Derek with one of his near pins.

Anyway, off we went, and the drive down there is one of the better trips, both ways, so we soon arrived and booked in, a quick change and onto the first tee.
This is a tough course, and one of those that if you shoot your handicap you are always in with a chance, mind with the ladies tees at least 1,000 yards in front of the men’s it was not impossible we would have a lady winner.
The layout was in excellent condition, with fine fairways and the greens were far better than they had been the last time we played them. The course is now one to play, mind on this day the wind, as is normal at present, was blowing hard so the scores would not be good - and they were not!
Sat in the restaurant as the cards came in, it looked just like last week, or the names were the same, mind the scores were different, they were worse except for one.
Later back at Bert’s the results were read out.
In third was Frank Pilkington with 31 points, losing second on count back to Richard Kubicki. In first, and a street ahead, with 40 points was Jackie MacPherson and he was our deserved winner for the second week in a row.
In the technical section, the result was also the same as last week with yours truly getting three near pins and a long put. Sometimes it goes for you, mind as per last week the points score left a lot to be desired, drive for show, put for dough. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Derek Brook (3), Don MacPherson
Long Putt: Derek Brook, Frank Pilkington

Apple scores an ‘Ace’

PSC golf from Beaver Bar and Grill, Ban Chang

Nigel Cannon
Friday, November 16 saw twenty-seven golfers meet at The Emerald to play a stableford competition. As usual the welcome from the staff was warm as was the weather - if a bit windy for the first few holes.

‘Ace’ girl Apple with A Flight winner Bill surrounded by beaverettes.

It was a day to remember for one of our regular players - ‘Apple’ Phanom Jitchana - who had an ‘Ace’ on the 7th hole (her first). Playing with her partner Eddie Blackwell and the day’s scribe, there was a shout from Apple and the caddies when it popped in, but unfortunately Eddie and I were in deep conversation and missed it!
Back at the Beaver Bar Apple rang the bell in celebration much to the appreciation of all present.
In the absence of Dennis Willett, away on ‘international duty’, Eddie Blackwell was the organiser for the day and yours truly announced the winners.
There were 2 flights: A Flight went to Bill Knight with 38 points over Josh Chaney (36) in second and Paul Taylor (34) in third.
In the B Flight, Keith Wittle scored 34 points for first, Steve Black (33) was in second and Bob Noble (32) rounded out the podium in third spot.
Near pins went to Mikeal Anderson and of course Apple!
Golf from the Beavers Bar starts at 9:30am on Mondays at Eastern Star and at 7:30am on Fridays at The Emerald: Anyone interested in playing should meet at the course before these times.

Practice makes perfect for Dave

Jomtien Golf with the I.P.G.C.

Monday, November 12, Century Chonburi, Stableford
With a couple of very late cancellations, an almost full field took off up the 331 for our first visit here in six months.
The bunkers still need some attention after all these years, but the majority of players, a few on their first trip, enjoyed the day. After the club championship last week with three divisions, the rollover kitty in the 2’s was split evenly between our normal two divisions, so a worthwhile win in either.
There were no 2’s recorded in the first division however, so the pot gets even bigger for Bangpra on Wednesday. Only one ‘2’ in division two, and for the second time running, Glyn Evans went home smiling.
Amazingly, all eight prizes were won in the nearest the pins competition today with Unto Kilovnen winning two and Burnie Sinclair and Howard Stanley the other two. In division two William Chang, Glyn Evans, Tarja Kankainen and Dave Ross shared the spoils.
In the stableford competition, some close scoring was seen in both divisions with Howard Stanley claiming first place in Division 1 after beating Ted Morris on a 13/11 back six count back, both players coming in with 35 points. Jim Connelly’s 34 points was good enough for third place.
It was another count back scenairo in Division 2 with Dave Ross beating Tarja into second place after a 20/17 back nine and in the biggest upset of the day, Colin Mearns beat Jack Hinchey with a 24/20 count back on the last nine holes after both recorded scores of 35 points.
Wednesday, November 14, Bangpra, Monthly Medal
With the earliest tee-off time of 11.42am over the next four months and with a maximum field going out now, we all arrived back around 6.30pm, too late for most, so it’s bye bye to Bangpra until April.
With three rollovers in the 2’s competition in Division 1 it was all to play for on these difficult par-3’s but Raivo Velsberg got two birdies on the 8th and 12th, Ben Findon on the 8th and Timo on the 17th to split the pot four ways. Dave Exley got the only ‘2’ in division two on the second hole.
Ben Findon, Paddy Wilson and Timo scored near pins in Division 1 whilst Dave Exley, Martin, Kari Aarnio and Peter Grant did likewise in Division 2.
After hours of practice on the driving range and now playing off 7, Dave Richards returned a net score of 67 to win Division 1, Ted Morris’s 71 gave him second place and Jack Watkins was third with 76.
In the second division a net 66 from Joe Kubon gave him first place, with Jim Connelly second on net 68 and Peter Elder third with net 72.
Friday, November 16, The Emerald, Stableford
No access to Eastern Star today so we had to switch to nearby Emerald for our no frills Friday game. With a larger field there were four prizes to be won in each division for the stableford competition.
Still going strong Dave Richards came in first with 39 points followed by Raivo Velsberg with 35, John Smith in third place on 34, and Douglas Ruhen beating Jim Connelly on a 20/16 count back after both finished with 33 points.
An amazing 32 points and a lot of jovial barracking back at the bar earned Ken Foster first place in Division 2, whilst Russell Benson beat Page Thomas into second place on a 13/12 count back after they both finished with 31 points. Fourth placed Richard Kings pipped Rick Newman and Peter Elder on the count back system after they all came in with 30 points.
Jomtien Golf runs out of the new bar next to the post office in Soi 5, Jomtien Beach Rd on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays for a 10.00am tee-off. Please sign up in the bar or ring Glyn on 086 837 5464.

Close scoring at Crystal Bay

PSC golf from The Caddy Shack

Monday, November 12, Crystal Bay, Stableford
Twenty-eight players turned out for the stableford competition on a course in good condition and playing relatively easy. It was no surprise to see many good scores posted and the winners’ circle tightly packed.
The competition was split into 2 groups. In A Flight there were three players tied on 35 points, Takimoto, Roger Moore and Les Easton, but all falling one short of the winner on 36 points, Kiwi John Murdock.
In B Flight the scores were even higher, the course being sympathetic to the higher handicappers. In first place with a creditable 38 points was Lee Adams, who beat Cameron Clotworthy, also with 38 points on count back. Third place went to Jack Gayer with 37 points, and fourth place went to Steve Durry with 36 points.
The 2’s club reflected the good golf played today with 5 players recording a ‘2’. They were Jeff North, John Murdock, Steve Durry, Andy Wilkinson and Lee Adams.
Wednesday, November 14, Green Valley, Stableford
Once again there was a good turnout at Green Valley, the course in beautiful condition, but with a troublesome wind blowing, good scores were going to be difficult to come by, which proved to be the case with the higher handicap players.
The A Flight winners’ circle was crammed with talent, with the spoils going to Vincent Smyth with 38 points closely followed by Clive Bruce on 37 points. Third place went to Brendon McGovern with 36 points playing off H/cap +1.
B Flight was not as tight as A, with runaway winner Ian Hart scoring 37 points. Left in his wake in second place was Les Easton on 34 points, two points in front of third placed Joey Clines, playing in his first game on his return to Pattaya. Welcome back Joey and Dave.
The 2’s club was won by 3 players: Brian Orr, Brendon McGovern and Dave Bramley.

Brian records first scalp and takes the Mug

PSC golf from The Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Monday, November 12, Khao Kheow, Stableford
The venue was Khao Kheow A & B layouts and the weather was blowing a gale. The cut was at handicap 19 and the course on the day was in better condition than it was a couple of months ago.

Bjarne, right, presents the Mug to Brian, center, as Dave looks on.

Walter Bachli took the A Flight with 37 points ahead of Steve March in second on a count back over Richard Kubicki in third, both 34 points. Robert Avery was in fourth with 33 points.
Andre Barril was the winner in the B Flight with 39 points ahead of Joe Vanderwegon in second with 36 points. Jan Hendriksen was in third on count back over Mike Winfield in fourth, both with 35 points.
Near Pins: Walter Bachli, Joe Vanderwegan, Monty Jarsmer, Henry O’Brien
Long Putt: Carole Kubicki, Bent Moeller
Thursday, November 15, Pattaya Country Club, Stroke - Monthly Mug
It never fails to amaze me how quickly the Monthly Mug comes around. But no matter how quickly it does come around, it is always enjoyed, and on this day we had a bumper turn out. As usual at this time of the year the old hands return and we saw a lot of old faces.
Pattaya Country Club was in good condition, however with a strong wind the scores were never going to be good and any sub-par round would always have a chance. Sat in the restaurant later as the scores came in it was apparent that our thoughts were correct, and indeed we only saw one score sub net 70.
Back at the Cafe Kronborg the players waited expectantly for the results. In the A Flight, 0 to 20, the winner was Mike Rushant with a net 70 ahead of Graham Buckingham with a net 71, in second, on count back over Robert Avery in third. In fourth was Walter Bachli with a net 73.
In the B Flight the winner was Mike Winfield with a net 70 ahead of Jan Eriksen in second with a net 72. There was a count back for third and fourth on net 74, with J.C. Lhoste in third and P.Singh Basi in fourth.
So to the winner, and with his first ever victory Brian Noguer proved the strongest on the day with a net 69. Well done Brian. T.T.F.N.
Near Pin: Lee Dunnecliff, Robert Avery, Mike Winfield, Lee Dunnecliff
Long Putt: Don Richardson, Dave Richardson

Brother D hold their nerve to take the title

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Mai, Jon, Morn, Antero, Dang, Bill, Konrad & Tue.

Brother D kept their nerve taking three points from Mai’s Thai Restaurant to capture the first place trophy after 30 weeks of bowling. Café Kronborg came in second as they won all four points from Montana. Mai’s Thai Restaurant dropped from second to third and they will collect the third place trophy.
Three Sisters won all four points in their match against Diamond Shop and passed Montana to win the fourth place trophy. In the other matches Beaver Bar & Grill took all four points from VFW Post 9876. Café Ole won three points from Jack & Tar: Antero bowling as a Pacer had the best series of the day with games of 178, 201 and 200 for a 579 pin total. Bill Key rolled a 207 game, 555 series, Morn had games of 211, 191 and 172 for a 574.
This league was a bit unusual with only the top four teams ending up with more winning points than lost points.
Any PSC members out there who want to bowl in the upcoming league come down to Pattaya + Bowl across from Big C on Second Road at 13:30 on Friday and put your name in the hat to join a team.