A decade for Diana Gold

The Diana Gold Charity golf event celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month at Eastern Star Golf Club and the Diana Garden Resort.

Continued | More We have a full report on this year’s tournament on features

Moore and Yamada shoot 40-pointers

PSC golf from The Bunker

Monday, November 17, Bangpra - Medal
A Flight
1st Geoff Cox (13) net 72
2nd Roger Privett (15) net 72
3rd John King (14) net 73
B Flight
1st John Hughes (16) net 73
2nd Jack Gayer (19) net 75
3rd Greg Dickinson (22) net 77
With lightning fast greens Bangpra was a stiff test for the field today, but there were still some fairly decent scorecards handed in when the golfer’s got back to The Bunker.
A count back determined the A Flight where Roger Privett lost out to Geoff Cox, both finishing on level par and John King came third only one shot behind. John Hughes is coming good just in time for the John Preddy tournament, he won the B Flight with a one-over par round while Jack Gayer, who’s been playing well lately, took second and newcomer Greg Dickinson was third with a reasonable net 77.
One of the near pin prizes went to a newcomer too - Finnish golfer “Nico” won one along with John Hughes, Roger Privett and Tony Robbins.
Wednesday, November 19, Khao Kheow - Stableford
Playing a stableford comp at Khao Kheow, where points are always hard to come by, a couple of players made it look easy with Philip Moore and Koji Yamada winning the A Flight and B Flight with 41 points and 40 points respectively.
A count back was needed in the A Flight and it was William Macey who took runner-up spot with a better back nine than Alan Sullivan. John Hughes in the B Flight, now off a 16 handicap, was runner-up and one point better than Jack Gayer. John leads the golfer of the month table with the points he scored on Monday and today.
Near pins went to John McDonald, Jack Gayer, Stuart Tinkler and Koji.
A Flight
1st Philip Moore (13) 41pts
2nd William Macey (11) 34pts
3rd Alan Sullivan (12) 34pts
B Flight
1st Koji Yamada (16) 40pts
2nd John Hughes (16) 36pts
3rd Jack Gayer (19) 35pts
Friday, November 21, Crystal Bay - Medal
1st John McKeen (14) net 71
2nd Roger Privett (15) net 74
3rd Rod Stevens (22) net 76
A lot of the regulars played in the Pattaya Sports Club monthly tournament today but the golfers who couldn’t get a tee time decided to have a game amongst themselves at Crystal Bay. Playing a medal round, newcomer John McKeen won with a fine one-under par net 71 ahead of Roger Privett in second place and Rod Stevens squeezed into third place on a count back.
Only three par three greens were hit and they went to Koji Yamada, Roger Privett and Jack Gayer who put his tee shot twelve inches from the pin and promptly missed the putt.

Herbie back on top

PSC golf from the Three Sisters Bar

Off the tee box early as usual minus Bill Key who is recovering from severe “Honda Rash”. The night before must have had rain and rain and more rain as some of the fairways were soaked and muddy. Well, what’s a few mud spatters here and there.

Herb Ishinaga (right) with runner-up Bob Benda.

Herbie Ishinaga, who has been absent from the top for a while, finally put it together coming in with a sharp 39 points followed by ever-present Bob Benda with a 37. Need to get the handicappers on these two. The rest of the gang trailed in with semi reasonable numbers but just not enough.
Lo and behold an errant cloud had the audacity to sprinkle a bit on the last few holes, barely enough to get one wet and not enough to cover the clubs. Everyone retired to Caddy Shack II for some of Herbies spicy sausages and some not so spicey ones too. San Miguel light was the order of the day served by beautiful Mae who will soon be heading back to work as a Caddy at Siam Country club.

In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Thomas Cotton
Tuesday, November 18, Plutaluang - Stableford
A Flight (0-16)
1st Perry McNeely 39pts
2nd Mashi Kenata 36pts
3rd Derek Brook 36pts
B Flight (17-up)
1st Pat Morrissey (37 pts)
2nd Grant Dawson (35 pts)
3rd Les Burns (33 pts)
Near Pins: Bill Knight, Don Carmody, Les Burns, Steve Hamstad
Long Putts: Hans Collett, Les Charles
Well, “High” season has arrived in Pattaya and the number of golfers attending our modest little competitions have swelled. Many golf courses have reacted by hoisting their green fees and this has raised the clamour by the golfers for inexpensive venues. So our captain, Derek Brook, was able to indulge the hoi polloi by booking this Tuesday’s outing at one of his favourite courses: Plutaluang, Navy. Many of our number feel very snug playing at Navy, such as ex-sailor Dave Richardson.
“In the Navy”, or out, Plutaluang has something for everybody - everybody except those who prize well manicured Bermuda grass. It was indeed fortunate that the seven seas have receded and the fairways are no longer under a metre or so of monsoon runoff.
We were treated to the East and West courses today, the weather was slightly cloudy and there was a gentle breeze interspersed with short drizzles, all of which helped to keep the temperature down and the scores up. And what could be more apropos than that the highest score was taken by former navy man and our own PSC Golf Chairman, Perry McNeely. With respect to PSC: “He wants you, he wants you, he wants YOU as a new recruit!”
Badger, one of our number, has recently been featured on Pattaya radio as a savant in the quiz of identifying song writers and singers and no doubt (or not much), he will be able to identify the original singers of “In the Navy”.

Mills on a hot streak

PSC golf from P J Pool Bar

Neil Duncan
Monday, November 17, Green Valley (White tees) - Stableford
A large field turned out for a combo outing with the East Side Friendly Golf Society. Yours truly scrambled home first in the lower handicaps division with 38 points closely followed by Ken Little on 36 and Tiger Jumparnit and Bob Drumm on 34.
Peter Mills won the lower handicaps division with 41 points followed by Jim Walton with 40, Mike Todd with 36 and Ed ‘Club Buster’ Horrocks with 33. The ‘same old faces’ claimed the technical dividends.
Wednesday, November 19, The Emerald (White tees) - Stableford
Seventeen of us played the now drying out Emerald this day.
Ian Wheeldon took the A Flight with 38 points followed by David Gardner (35) in second and Peter Coombs (31) in third. In the second tier, Peter Mills 37 points was a whopping 8 clear of second placed Paul Smylie and a further 7 ahead of Dave Walker in third.
Near pin bonuses went to Ian Wheeldon, Neil Duncan, David Gardner and Peter Mills whilst Paul Smylie canned the longest first putt on the 18th green much to his whooping delight. The average score overall was 28.3.
Friday, November 21, Treasure Hill (Yellow tees) - Stableford
Switching to the yellow tees on this course was a popular decision amongst the nine of us who turned out to play it. None of us really enjoys ‘jumping out of our socks’ hitting 3-woods all afternoon but even the shorter course with preferred lies still returned an average score of just 27.3 points.
Graham Darby won the day with 33 points while David Gardner (32), Peter Mills (29) and John Knight (28) took the minor spoils. Graham was the only player to get on the treacherous second green with his tee shot. Good Ol’ David had two other near pin bonuses and Bev Ewens sunk the longest first putt on the 18th green.
As can be seen from the results, Peter Mills had a really good week at the office in spite of having a manual handicap cut on Monday.
Note: Any golfers seeking to play with our group that wish to know about the format please visit P J Pool Bar & Restaurant on Soi Watboonsamphan (Soi Kanoi) or phone Neil on 089 511 0575.

Brilliant Black (burne’s) up the course

PSC golf with The Phoenix Tuesday Group

Mike Gerrard
Yes I was graced with being paired up with Gary Blackburne today: A very daunting and humbling experience. Playing off a 5 handicap, Gary was one-under par gross at the turn moving on from Mountain to Lakes course. And, although he did not fair quite so good on the back nine (what am I saying) he finished the day at 2-over par gross, to record 39 points.
Our little four-ball played a six-hole pairing system for the day, and whoever was Gary’s partner managed to win that particular game. Hence Gary won all three and the rest of us won only one and losing two.
The course is at last starting to dry out (especially from tee to green) and there is a little more run on the ball. Some of the rough around the greens is still a bit soft and due to this the greens staff cannot get to cut the height down. The dreaded bunkers are also in much better condition and it was noticeable that the ball was not plugging in the sand as has been the norm in the past. Another week or two should see this course as one of the best in the area.
Due to the better course conditions the scores were much improved from previous weeks (well for some that was). In second place with 37 points was the dapper Ken Hole. Well into pension years, Ken looks the perfect David Niven of Pattaya. Third was welcome returnee from Warrington, ‘Big’ Harry Gillicker, with 36 points.
Technical awards went to Graham Dietrich (2), Kevin Bird and Paul Taylor.
The rest of us just enjoyed the first free drink at Toy’s Music Bar and hoped for the lucky draw where, for the second week running, the luck of the Irish shone through as Hugh Byrne won the donated Green Bottle Inn voucher (our thanks to them).
Call me on 087 091 7565 if you would like to join our group. All non members of Phoenix enjoy the members guest rate of 1,000 Baht green fee with our group, during the high season.

What’s on this weekend

Balloon Festival: The Pattaya Flying Fantasy 2008 International Air & Balloon show takes place at Thammasart University regional college educational ground from Thursday, November 27 to Sunday November 30. The event will include some spectacular night balloon takes offs along with parachute jumping, radio controlled model aircraft contests, a kite show, horse show and many other attractions.
Windsurfing: For people interested in water sports the National Windsurfing Association is hosting the Pattaya City RS:X Asian Championship, the RS:X Asian Youth Championship & the Pattaya City International Mistral Regatta from Friday November 28 through to December 5 at the water sports venue on Jomtien Beach.
Motor Racing: Friday, November 28 also sees the start of the 2008 International Rally of Thailand with the cars and competitors getting a spectacular send-off from Pattaya’s Walking Street at 8:30 p.m. Don’t miss it!

City snatch vital win in 10-goal thriller

MBMG International League 2008/09

Paul Frain
Pattaya City wanted to keep to their winning ways last weekend when they took on a struggling Bangkok United in the capital. The visitors started much the stronger of the two teams and it was no surprise when they went 1-0 after only three minutes when hitman Kai Heckman beat three defenders and sent a long raking shot into the back of the Bangkok net.
It was the perfect start and led to a period of sustained pressure from City that saw them double the lead when Craig Banks sent over a long free kick to Lee Homer, who headed the ball back into the centre for Mark Brittain to stab home and make it 2-0.
However, no sooner had the game restarted than City found the ball in their own net when a United midfield player made a great run and squared the ball for his teammate to tap in. This gave a lot of heart to the home side and they created a further couple of chances soon after.
Three minutes before the break United equalized when following another strong run by a midfield player, a cross came in and the centre forward fired it in off the post to make it 2-2. It was a great time to score, just before half time, and gave renewed confidence to the United side.
City began the second half determined to get on top of the game and Mark Brittain had a shot cleared off the line soon after the restart. Another goal was needed and this was provided when Emmanuel Tshuma made a great run down the right wing and crossed the ball hard and low for City’s Philipp Walter to direct the ball into the net to make it 3-2 to City.
Emmanuel had another good effort soon after that hit the bar, and he repeated the feat a minute later as City piled on the pressure. It was entirely with the run off play then when the towering Lee Homer headed home from a corner to make it 4-2. Danny Stevens hit both of the United posts with strong shots soon after, but a breakaway by the home side and a quick free kick saw them reduce the deficit to just one goal at 4-3.
City pressed forward again and Danny Stevens again hit the woodwork with the ball going out of play. Eventually, following a goalmouth melee, City gained some breathing space when Alastair Paterson volleyed in to make it 5-3 to the visitors.
United refused to lie down however, and once more came back to reduce the deficit to just one. Finally Kai Heckman sealed the victory for Pattaya with a long range effort that slipped under the keeper and meant City were able to see out the rest of the game for the 6-4 win and a vital 3 points.
Pattaya City are next in action on Saturday, December 6 at Horseshoe Point, kick off 4-00p.m.

World’s top jet skiers ready to make a splash at Jomtien

Thirty-five countries to participate in World King’s Cup Thailand Open

Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The White Sand Beach Jet Ski King’s Cup 2008 is ready to make a lot of waves when it scoots off from December 2 to 7 at Jomtien Beach, to be attended by jet-skiers from 35 countries and with the valuable silver King’s Cup up for grabs along with five million baht in cash prizes.

Thanee Sanmatkit, Vice Governor of Chonburi (right) and Veerawat Kahkai, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya City are seen at the preparatory meeting for the event.

Organized by the Thailand Jet Ski Association, under royal sponsorship of HRH Princess Ubonrat, and commemorating the 81st birthday of His Majesty the King, the event will be only the second time that a jet ski world grand prix has been held outside the United States, the first time being in Japan in 1994. It will also attract top jet-skiers from around the world.
There will be four categories competing for the beautiful King’s Cup trophy, which is made of some four kilograms of silver and worth 100,000 baht. The cash prize of five million baht is the largest offered so far in this type of competition in the world.

The World King’s Cup Thailand Open jet ski event takes place next weekend off Jomtien Beach.
The Thailand Jet Ski Association held a preparatory meeting at Pattaya City Hall on November 13, chaired by Thanee Sanmatkit, Vice Governor of Chonburi Province, and attended by Veerawat Kahkai, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya City.
Dr. Santhad Sasiwanit, Vice President of the Thai Jet Ski Association, said that after negotiation with the World Jet Ski Association, Thailand managed to obtain the rights to hold the second world cup event outside the United States provided it held the event according to the world association’s regulations.
HRH Princess Ubonrat will chair the opening ceremony to the competition on December 3 at the Marine Ballroom of the Jomtien Palm Beach Hotel.

A whole lotta Rozey at Century

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

Sunday, November 16, the Pattaya Golf Society visited the municipal lookalike course at Century Chonburi for a day’s stableford golf on this popular weekend track. As usual it was full but the group managed to get away on time.
The front nine went like clockwork but the starter’s insertion of a couple of six-balls at the tenth did little to improve the pace of play and things slowed remarkably after that. Nevertheless the returning Ronnie Ramsay put aside all thoughts of work and recorded 33 points for a share of third place with David Smith. David Thomas, usually so good on a tough track, came up with the goods again, scoring 35 points and registering yet another best gross, this time 79, to take second place. The day’s winner was new member Michael Rozenbroek and his 38 points was a fine return on a track never played before.
Rick Schramm and Steven Wilkinson took the 2’s honours and Chris Voller, so proud of finding his swing rhythm again, enjoyed the Booby Bevy after his meagre 26-point return. After a relatively good round and top-ten finish Roy Mann was surprised with Rabbi’s Slammer after failing to reach the red tees on a couple of drives but took the honour in fine style.
For “Rozey” it had been a good day but maybe for many golfers it had been a tough round at Century Chonburi.
Schramm - top dog
Tuesday, November 18, the Pattaya Golf Society visited an empty Mountain Shadow golf club to play a stableford competition over the testing course there. The two flights were cut at eighteen and under and with a blustery wind in evidence playing off the blue tees made the course a good challenge.
Accuracy, not long hitting, is the key to success on this course with its fairway trees and huge greens and in the second flight good scores were at a premium. Evan Millar’s thirty points was just enough for third place, one behind Roy Mann, making the podium for the first time in many attempts. Allen Dow, the IPGC’s newest member, from Dundee, returned 34 points from his first competition in the Kingdom for a deserved win.
The top flight was a much tighter affair with Jesper Hansen sharing second place with David Thomas, the latter’s best gross of 77 giving him 36 points. In itself level-par was a fine effort in the conditions but Rick Schramm went two better with 38 points for a conclusive victory.
Jim Ferris found himself in exalted territory as he shared the 2’s pot with David Thomas for his fine effort on the fifteenth and Evan Millar showed his credentials from the Rob Dolan School of Navigation as he arrived at the tee barely in time after a tour of nearby Sri Racha and had to top up his tank with the Booby Bevy.
Mountain Shadow is a fine venue for competition golf and once again the PGS golfers had enjoyed a splendid day on the golf course.
Ramsay rules the roost
Greenwood proved to be a perfect host yet again for the Pattaya Golf Society on Thursday, November 20, when the group called in to play a stableford competition over the A and C nines. The course was again in good condition and the large field was cut at eighteen and under for the second successive time.
A stiff breeze blew all day and the result was that low scores were at a premium. In the top flight Rick Schramm, Steve Wilkinson and Jean Morel all scored 34 points for a share of third place whilst David Thomas and Dave Smith went one better to share the flight win with 35 points.
In a competitive second flight, front nine leader Len Jones found that his putter head that became detached on the sixth knocked him out of the picture in favour of Evan Millar and Bill Pickersgill, who shared third place with 34 points each. Pat Murphy proudly took second place with a fine level par total but Ronnie Ramsay jnr. showed his dad how to do it with a splendid 38-point score, which easily won his flight.
There were no birdie 2’s and the obvious recipient of the Booby Bevy was Mr. Len despite the major claim by Chris Voller after a lacklustre performance by him the day after an expensive lesson at the driving range. Rabbi’s Slammer went to Tony Thorne after he was espied reading a golfing horoscope before the event which told him that “the figure six will be of special significance this week”. It was. He had six of them on his card!
Thanks Greenwood for another good golf day.

Geoff takes the Medal

IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday, November 16, Green Valley - Monthly Medal
A Flight
1st Kris K net 67 (Medal Qualifier)
2nd Ian Grout net 69
3rd Dave Stockman net 70
B Flight
1st Roy Thornton net 68
2nd Yui Bietry net 68
3rd Pierre Bietry net 73
C Flight
1st Geoff Doody net 67 (Medal Winner)
2nd Albert McAvoy net 69
3rd Peter Ring net 72
Near Pins: Yui Bietry, Dave Stockman, Ron Birdsall, Ian Grout
2’s: Eddie Beilby, Pete Emslie, Kris k, Ian Grout, Dave Stockman and Seamus Cotter
Baan Jing Jai hidden six: 1st Pierre Bietry, 2nd Kevin Hamilton
Two players advanced to the Gold Medal in January, but only one made off with the prized tankard. Englishman Geoff Doody prevailed on the dreaded count back over Kris K. Geoff’s superb back nine net 32 was just a tad too much for Kris.
Trailing Kris in A Flight was Ian ‘the plastered’ Tiler just two shots adrift with a magical net 69. Dave Stockman tied up A Fight with a net 70.
Roy Thornton took the honors in B Flight with a solid 68, on a count back over Yui Bietry, followed by husband Pierre who had better luck with his count back over Bruce “Skippy” Milner, both on a net 73.
Geoff Doody’s back nine magic also helped win C Flight. Albert McEvoy was placed second with a very good net 69. The third and final place on the podium was filled by the Irish match play expert, Peter Ring on a net 72, after a count back over Big Kevin Hamilton.
Monday, November 17, Crystal Bay - Stableford
A Flight
1st Liam McGuiness (13) 43pts
2nd Peter Henshaw (16) 36pts
B Flight
1st Hernando Slottsdahl (19) 38pts
2nd Kurt Erik Persson (25) 37pts
The immaculate Crystal Bay welcomed the Lewiinski’s gang to a mid-week stableford comp. A Flight was an Irish affair, and it was Liam McGuiness who amassed 43 sparkling points to win by seven clear shots from the Chairman Peter Henshaw. Peter beat Lindsay Semple and Nicky ‘two gloves’ on a count back for second place, all with an even par 36 points
B Flight winner was our old friend Hernando Slottsdahl with an excellent 38 points, followed by another good friend Kurt Erik Persson one shot adrift and believe it or not, our old mate Seesa Pompimo missed the podium by one shot.
Liam McGuiness, Lindsay Semple, Nick Payne and Jim Morris shared the 2’s pot.
Back at Lewiinski’s it was cheers to Mr. McGuiness.
Wednesday, November 19, The Emerald - Stableford
A Flight
1st Pat Regan (10) 39pts
2nd Ben O’Connor (12) 37pts
3rd Des Griffith (5) 36pts
B Flight
1s Gabriel Enright (24) 36pts
2nd Eddie Beilby (16) 35pts
3rd Sean Murphy (19) 35pts
“The Emerald Isle” is what the Irish contingent of golfers from Lewiinski’s nickname the Emerald G. C. And for a good reason, they always seem to play well there and today was no exception.
Irishman Des Griffith claimed third place in A Flight with an even par round of 36 points, Ben O’Connor (guess were he hails from?) placed second on 37, but top of the heap was Co. Dublin’s Pat Reagan with an impressive top score of the day 39 points.
B Flight saw Gabriel Enright win with an even par 36, and “Captain Fantastic” Eddie Beilby took the second slot on 35 after a count back over the unlucky Sean Murphy.
The 2’s pot was shared by Ben O’Connor, Des Griffith, Don Lehmer and Mark Wood.
Friday, November 21, Plutaluang - Stableford
A Flight
1st Chas Li (7) 41pts
2nd Jimmy Day (13) 37pts
3rd Justin Fowlis (14) 35pts
B Flight
1st Peter Henshaw (16) 38pts
2nd Colm Mullen (16) 38pts
3rd Brian Wood (17) 38pts
On what was a rare visit to Phutualang by the Lewiinski’s group, it was Chas Li who took charge of A Flight, playing the West and East nines, by amassing 41 points for the win. Jimmy Day followed Chas on to the rostrum into second place with a very good 37 points. It took a count back to separate Justin Fowlis, and Brian Sullivan on 35 points apiece, Justin just edging Brian for third place.
B Flight saw a right battle with three players carding 38 points apiece. Third place went to Brian Wood, in second spot was Irish man Colm Mullen, and it was no surprise to anyone that the winner was the Chairman himself, Peter Henshaw.
Colm Mullen, John Warren, Mark Wood and Vic Nesbitt shared the 2’s pot.
Finally, Pattaya’s “Mr. Golf”, Steve Donovan, the scribe for this society for many years and friend to us all, passed away this week. All at Lewiinski’s offer our deepest condolences to Steve’s family. Steven was my mentor and great friend. May he R.I.P. He will be missed by his many friends
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya Land Soi 1, Beach Road Soi 13/3 near to Walking Street, any one wishing to play with us just pop in, and add your name to the list or give Bob a call on 080 096 8232. Transport is provided.

Keerati takes Thai Laser National Championships

The winners and participants from the recent Thai Laser National Championships 2008 at Royal Varuna Yacht Club.

Story & Photos
Judy Gardham
Keerati Bualong, a world champion Byte sailor, earned the title of Thai Laser Champion 2008 in a weekend of very competitive sailing in mid November at Royal Varuna Yacht Club, triumphing over a fleet that included several past champions.

Lasers flying in the breezy conditions off Royal Varuna.
The weather on the Saturday morning was challenging, with more than 15 knots of wind from the north and choppy waves, which became worse as the day progressed and the tide turned against the wind. Twenty four sailors signed their entry forms, rigged their Lasers and set off towards the start boat which was anchored well out towards Koh Larn.
One unfortunate sailor suffered rig damage even before the end of the first race, and returned to shore with a broken mast. Philippe Narbonne won the first race, closely followed by Keerati and Gareth Owen. At the beginning of the second race, Philippe was over the line and had to return and restart. He ended 13th, with Keerati 1st and Gareth 2nd. The fleet returned to shore for lunch, reporting tough sailing conditions and multiple capsizes.
The two afternoon races produced a first place each for Gareth and Philippe, but Keerati was also sailing well, very fast upwind and only handicapped by too many ‘swims’ en route.
Race four started with a General Recall. At the restart Gareth had pole position and kept his lead around the course, close covering the opposition all the way to the finish line. He reported later that the technique is to get ahead, then stick to the opposition “like —— to a blanket” (as they say at West Kirby Sailing Club, UK, where Gareth refined his skills participating in team racing).
So, Day One finished with Gareth and Keerati joint overall leaders. Tired sailors repaired to the Varuna beach bar for refreshment to ease their aching muscles. Ray Waldron, who is usually to be seen at Ocean Marina helming the Gulf Charters Platu, said it was his first Laser race in forty years and great fun, but he was completely ‘worn out’ (being from the Antipodes, he expressed his condition more colourfully than can be reported…)
A change in the weather overnight produced an almost windless Sunday morning. However, by 10 am the committee boat reported 6 knots out on the race course, so the fleet set sail once more, with sighs from the heavyweights and smiles from the lighter people who had struggled the day before. Malee Whitcraft, one of the only two women taking part, said “Great! My kind of weather.” Ray later admitted that good sailing in light winds is even more challenging than that in high winds.
It proved difficult to reach the start, with little breeze and a strong outgoing tide on the way. The fifth race finally started at 11:30 with Thai navy sailor Pontep Sookudom getting away fast from the fleet but Gareth was in a good position at the up-tide end of the starting line. By the windward mark, the fast upwind technique of Keerati had regained him the lead, with Gareth second. At the finish, the order was still the same, with Pontep third. Vadim, who learned to sail in Cadets and is possibly the first Russian guest sailor to compete at Varuna, came fifth, his best result of the series.
The light and shifty wind moved more to the north for the sixth race and the fleet leaders made tactical mistakes. It was a win this time for Pontep, followed by Marcel Dubbelman.
To end the competition on a high note, the breeze picked up for the seventh and final race. Gareth started badly, Keerati and Pontep dominated again, but ‘bronze’ this time went to Aaron after battling around the marks with Chaulapong, who sailed consistently throughout the series to achieve overall fifth place.
So ended a great weekend’s competition, with conditions to test every sailor and many thrills and spills.
Final result after one discard: Keerati Bualong 1st, Pontep Sookudom 2nd, Gareth Owen 3rd. The award for Best Radial went to Nut Butmarasri, and Best Lady was Marlee Whitcraft. Philippe Narbonne, last year’s runner-up, was 4th overall.
Congratulations to all the sailors who participated and made the Nationals such a success. As always, thanks to the race officials and helpers, especially Sukit, Visanu, Lim and Hans, and to Richard van den Heuvel for his excellent organization of the event.

The leaders reach to the leeward buoy.

The Square Ring: by Howie Reed

For those that haven’t noticed, “pundits” have been predicting the demise and eventual disappearance of boxing from the sporting scene for eons. This time the culprit for the demise will be the MMA’s (Mixed Martial Arts) and in particularly the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
The latest to jump on the “boxing’s dead” bandwagon are ESPN’s ‘pardon the interruption’ co-hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. While both are respected sports writers on this subject, they are full of bull.
With limited appeal, the MMA’s are but a “pimple on the backside” of boxing. Each year there are over 350 world title boxing bouts throughout the four corners of the earth. Add another 400 or 500 “minor title bouts” and on size alone boxing rules. The MMA’s also suffer from a lack of talent that is needed to sustain their “sport”. Boxing, while short on talent in some divisions, still has plenty of youngsters working to be professionals.
The UFC has had limited success on PPV with sometimes monthly shows. That’s as opposed to boxing’s numerous PPV events. The December 6 PPV bout between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya will probably produce more revenue than the last 5 UFC shows combined.
Pattaya Godfather, O.R. Cross, would probably argue that “lousy heavyweights” will be the death of boxing. He may still have a point.
Blue mania in Vegas? Not so much
Not too much this time around. As reported last week in TSR, the Ricky Hatton- Paulie Malignaggi fight traveled under the radar screen in fabulous Las Vegas. While this fight was a major event in the UK, as any Ricky Hatton fight is, it’s not the case so much in Nevada. In Vegas it barley raised notice in local media, the venue was downsized from 16,500 to 12,200 and tickets were available until the last minute.
While many boxing fans are seen as stupid and dolt like, they are in fact quite discerning. Las Vegas should send a really big thank you note to the Hatton fans that traveled across the “Big Pond” for a fight that meant nothing.
Steve Carp covers boxing for the local Las Vegas birdcage flooring. Here’s his view prior to the fight.
“Unlike last December when he took on Floyd Mayweather Jr., and a couple of thousand Hatton fans from the United Kingdom watched him enter the hotel, there were fewer than 200 people in the lobby of the ***. When he finally climbs into the ring Hatton will be greeted by about 8,000 of his followers. That’s a good number of fans but a far cry from a year ago when 30,000 supporters invaded Las Vegas, making the 16,270 tickets a hot commodity.”
Even Vegas knows a stinker when it sees one.
Hatton-Malignaggi
As this space indicated last week, Ricky Hatton (45-1) had no trouble dispatching Paulie Malignaggi (25-2) via a TKO that came only 28 ticks into the 11th round when Malignaggi’s trainer Buddy McGirk tossed in the towel. The unofficial reason for McGirt’s actions, as espoused by the TV talking heads, was to “spare Malignaggi further embarrassment and more punishment.”
The fight had all the suspense of an old goat going into a Pattaya bar with his freshly cashed monthly check and knowing what’s going to happen. There are “givens” in life. You knew the result shortly after the introduction but before the first round bell.
New and improved Hatton?
For the new and improved Ricky Hatton it looked strangely like the old Hatton, except without the “heavy firepower” that has been his trade mark. New trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. was supposed to be doing wondrous things to Hatton’s style that would allow him to extend his career. As TV guy Larry Merchant said about trainer Mayweather Sr., “Well it seems he didn’t hurt him.”
That’s not to say that there weren’t some upsides to Hatton. Sir Frog correctly points out: “Hatton was in the shape of his life, he didn’t even have one problem with breathing in the 11th round. I think it was ridiculous (the towel thrown in), he was getting a boxing lesson from Hatton but was not out the game. Not good for Malignaggi’s almost perfect record.”
Next up for Hatton? He said after the fight, “Let them come forward.” Who? Well it could be the winner of De La Hoya- Pacquio on December 6 and at Wembley or Manchester Stadium.
Sir Frog is not your usual Frog, as he’s spot on in this case. Whilst there are fights out there for Hatton, albeit not big money fights, this fight was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya with every intention of setting up Hatton against the winner of the December 6 mega fight.
Sir Frog croaks out a winner with, “Hatton is a tough champion and deserves a better title then IBO or Ring Magazine.”
Note to Sir Frog as he’s right again. The IBO is less than useless and Ring Magazine is owned by Oscar De La Hoya’s company.
“WBC, that’s the title he has to go for, who agrees? Timothy Bradley, here we come!” is Sir Frog’s parting shot. Not going to happen though until Bradley is promoted by De La Hoya.
Sirimongkol Singwancha (60-2) - Remember him?
He was and is as good a boxer as has been produced in Thailand in years. From August 2002 till August 2003 he was the WBC super-bantam champ. He won the title by a 2-round KO of Kengo Nagashima in Japan. In his second defense he lost a UD (117-111 twice and 118-110) to Jesus Chavez. Since that loss he’s run off a string of 16 on the trot which he made 17 against Rogelio Castaneda (24-15) as part of the Hatton undercard. He’s now campaigning as a light-welter at 144lbs. Think he might get a “tune-up” against Hatton? Not out of the question.
At Casino Rama, Ontario, Canada
Steve Molitor at 28 and 0 was the toast of the Canadian boxing world and the IBF jr. featherweight champion. Celestino Caballero (29-2) held a similar title with the WBA. Now Senior Caballero owns both titles as he destroyed Molitor in four rounds before the hometown folks.
Caballero landed heavy-handed power punches that Molitor couldn’t elude nor answer. Caballero dropped Molitor at the end of the third round. In the fourth Molitor again went down, he beat the count but after Caballero drove his glassy-eyed opponent into the ropes, referee Luis Pabon waved it off.
Caballero now says he wants WBC champ, Israel Vazquez or WBO champ, Juan manual Lopez. Is ok with TSR.
Haye-Klitschko - Summer 2009
Probably not going to happen but it provides for some nice chatter while enjoying a pint (or 20). The BBC is reporting that Chelsea F.C. would welcome the chance to host a possible world heavyweight title fight between Britain’s David Haye and one of the Klitschko brothers. The story goes on the statement that “there is a link though no contact has been made.” No, I have no “EYE DEER” what the hell that means either.
“The only thing that could prevent that (the fight) from happening is if Vitali gets his wish of a lucrative match against Lennox Lewis,” says the BBC. Ain’t going to happen. Back in April there was talk of a match between W. Klitschko and Haye. Wladimir didn’t think much of the idea.
“He (Haye) has to learn to behave himself. Our meeting didn’t even start, you can’t talk to him, it’s impossible. He’s nuts,” said the Ukrainian.
As eloquently stated above, Lennox Lewis isn’t coming out of retirement to fight anyone. Haye’s manager has echoed those thoughts. “At first they were talking about Wladimir, now they pull Wladimir out and offer me Vitali. The one with the better chin but who has slowed considerably over the last few years.”
For Haye’s part he couldn’t give a “rats” which one he fights. “I watched Vitali against Samuel Peter. I thought to myself, ‘is this it?’”
Note to David Haye: You may be nuts but you seem to have figured out this situation pretty well.
Pyramids along the Nile
It was to be a WBF world heavyweight title fight between Danny Williams and Frans Botha in Egypt. As mentioned too many times, no one has ever said that boxers were candidates for MENSA.
Danny Williams, The Brixton Bomber, had signed a contract to fight Botha but in the mode of Tommy Morrison many years ago he decided to take a tune up fight. He chose Pole, Albert Sosnowski, who was coming off a loss to the 23-14 Zuri Lawrence. Of course Williams lost - title fight off.
South African Botha, who actually lives in Southern California, didn’t mince words: “I can’t believe it. I’ve been training for the fight and preparations were going great, but now I hear Williams has been KO’d by a bum.”
A while back, Tommy “Two Guns …No Brains” Morrison was in line for a heavyweight title fight. He was coming off a win over George Foreman. While getting ready for the title shot he decided to fight in one of his home towns. Michael Bentt at 10-0 was the opponent. Bentt knocked Morrison out in 1. Bentt would then go on to fight Herbie Hyde but would lose and then retire. Morrison would later get a title shot against Lennox Lewis and lose.
Herbie Hyde (46-4) the old “Dancing Destroyer” is still around and kicking. He took 2 years off then came back as a cruiserweight where he’s 11-0 with 7 KO’s fighting out of Germany. Recently he dropped out of a WBC title eliminator fight with Ruskie, Grigory Drozd at the DS Nagorny in Nizhny Novgorod. No, TSR has no idea what a “DS” is or where one would find either Nagorny of Nizhny on the map. The guess is that if one could find one the other would be close by. Just a guess.
Remember Barry McGuigan?
One of the more popular boxers of the 1980’s was Irishman Barry McGuigan who reigned as the WBA featherweight champion from June of ’85 to June of ’86 when he ran into Stevie Cruz. This was only one of two fights that McGuigan had outside the friendly confines of the UK.
Against Cruz the hard punching Irishman lost a razor thin UD 141-142, 142-143 with the Mexican judge completely out of line at 143-139. McGuigan would give Bernard Taylor his first loss in 33 fights with a KO in 8 but would later retire after being stopped on cuts by Jim McDonnell.
Recently McGuigan teamed up with world champion dart player Canada’s John Part in a charity darts tournament. They lost in the first round 3-0.
Jeeves Time
“I say Jeeves my good man, you look a little puffy. Fighting an eating disorder are we?”
“Actually no your Lordship. I went to visit Doug at the Bourbon Street in Bangkok. I celebrated Thanksgiving Day there with fried turkey, roast turkey and all the fix’ins. Even trotted across the square to visit the Silver Dollar for their special breakfast.”
“You celebrated Thanksgiving? But that’s an American holiday Jeeves.”
“No your Lordship, in the ‘Mother Country’ we celebrate it, as your late pal Barry Twomlow used to say, ‘cause it’s the day we got rid of the likes of you.’ Lager, cigars and music are on me. Oh yes, and I noticed that you did that gay thing again with the “whilst” and “albeit.” You are so predictable.”
“Cheewit dee krap.”

The Berger King is back

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, November 17, Khao Kheow - Stableford
Division 1
1st Alan Griffiths 35pts
2nd Anna Donnestad 34pts
3rd Rodney Nabbe 33pts
Division 2
1st Bob Morrissey 40pts
2nd Geoff Picken 36pts
3rd Ole Stamnes 33pts
4th Chris Knapp 33pts
Now playing exceptionally well following the readjustment of the fairways and rough, Khao Kheow is a very good test of golf and that was underlined by the scores in the first division with Alan Griffiths leading in the field with a one-over handicap round that still proved good enough to see off the challenges of Anna Donnestad and Rodney Nabbe in second and third places respectively.
Bob Morrissey took his first win out of The Haven with an excellent four-under round to easily keep Geoff Picken at bay in second place a further four shots adrift.
Ole Stamnes did well to keep the old sea dog back in third with a better back nine of 18 against Chris Knapp’s 15 after the Cap’n had finished the front half level on handicap.
The overall scores indicated the hidden difficulties of this quality course and that was underlined as the CSS went out to 74 on the day.
Yasuo Suzuki and Norman Isherwood shared the 2’s in the first division and Ole Stamnes, Chris Knapp, Bob Morrissey and Anthony Bullock shared the second division pot.
Before presenting the prizes The Doc welcomed new members Chuck Jamieson, Dave Smith, Steven Wilkinson, Michael Rozenboek and Anthony Bullock and also welcomed back Dave Howden and Anna Donnestad.
Wednesday, November 19, Phoenix – Stableford
Division 1
1st Norman Isherwood 41pts
2nd Phil Knight 40pts
3rd Yasuo Suzuki 39pts
4th Rodney Nabbe 38pts
Division 2
1st Stefan Hoge 43pts
2nd Paul Hartley 42pts
3rd Roar Berger 41pts
4th Geoff Picken 39pts
Once again a large field for the ever popular Phoenix, played over the Mountain and Lakes nines and with the barometer now firmly fixed in the “Fine” position it was a great day for golf.
Norman Isherwood continued with his recent form to take the first division from a surprised Phil Knight by a single shot ahead of Yasuo Suzuki and Rodney Nabbe in third and fourth places.
The second division was led in by Stefan Hoge with an outstanding seven-under to out do the even more surprised Paul Hartley, who put together his best round ever and still lost by a shot.
Roar Berger had the first of his week’s five-under scores only to find that a normally winning effort was only good enough for third. Geoff Picken failed to add much to his teaching replacement fund as three-under was only fourth on a low scoring day.
Grant Cadell slotted in the only ‘2’ in the second division whilst Norman Isherwood and Al Keith shared the first division.
Back at the Haven there was a welcome for Anthony Knutsen and a welcome back to Rodney Crosswell and Stefan Hoge.
Friday, November 21, Mountain Shadow - Stableford
1st Roar Berger 41pts
2nd Anna Donnestad 37pts
3rd Russell Exley 33pts
4th Erik Donnestad 32pts
With many of the usual suspects away on a road trip to Soi Dao, the numbers were reduced even further by the event being held at Mountain Shadow, a course that holds terrors for many players especially when their game is “not quite up to scratch.” So following two previously heavily subscribed outings in the week the day was a fairly muted affair with only one division.
Roar Berger showed the benefits of playing alongside a professional teacher for a couple of weeks, as he scored a second consecutive net five-under to this time take the top spot. His score ensured a reduction for the next week of three strokes on his handicap to take him down to the lowest level of his career.
Anna Donnestad once again outscored her teaching professional husband, Erik, with a very tidy one-under her handicap of 5 to claim second spot ahead of Russell Exley and Erik in fourth place.
Steve Donovan
Steve Donovan, who died in the early morning of Friday, November 21 following a motor cycle accident, became the latest sad statistic in the litany of Pattaya’s roads.
Steve had been a stalwart member of the local golfing community having been a past Chairman of the PSC golf section and was a current member of the IPGC committee and continued to be active in many of the larger tournaments as a joint or sole organiser. He was first and foremost a mediator, which came in part from his past experience as a lawyer acting as a senior legal negotiator for Boeing Air Industries in the Asian area, who dealt fairly and responsibly with all factions, a friend to all without fear, favour or rancor, and a shining example for others to try an emulate.
He will be sorely missed by his surviving family and friends and all golfers that play on the eastern seaboard of Thailand in any form of organised golf, and not least by this reporter, who mourns the passing of a dear friend.

Richards & Anderton find winning combination

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

Monday, November 17, The Emerald – 2-person scramble
Our fun game of the month and a pairs stableford scramble: one player from Division 1 and the other from Division 2 using a 40% combined handicap allowance and a minimum of 7 drives per person over the round.
There were 24 teams out today and by the halfway stage there were only 7 points separating all the pairings. When all 24 cards were returned the differential had gone out to a 15-point spread with Dave Richards and Martin Anderton winning with 51 points. In second place were Billie Sampson and Srithong Tann who beat Miss Oam and Paddy Wilson on count back after both pairs finished with 47 points. Coming in fourth place, Bill Hewitt and Roger Ribbins did likewise to Alan Duckett and Martin Holland after they both came home with 46 points. In sixth place with 44 points were Jim Connelly and Ken Foster to grab the last prize.
Near Pins (Team): #5 Joe Kubon and Harry Riley; #7 Ted Morris and Bryan Rought; #13 Jean Morel and Peter Seward; #15 Billie Sampson and Srithong Tann.
Longest Putt (Team): #5 Andy Oz and Raivo Velsberg; #17 Georges Faber and Mam Morel.
Near Pins (2 shots): Tony Duthie and Andy Mills
Near Pins (3 shots): Georges Faber and Mam Morel
Wednesday, November 19, Century Chonburi – Stableford
Our first visit here for at least six months and with a much smaller field than of recent times. On arrival it was straight onto the first tee and a timely tee-off, but when we reached the 10th hole the marshall tried to fit numerous groups in between our players with 2 four-balls subsequently slowing down our 3rd and 4th groupings. Why does it always happen here?
No nearest the pins today but Mam Morel birdied the difficult 17th hole to take the rolled over ‘2’s pot in Division 1 while Andy Oz did likewise in the second division with a birdie on the 13th.
In the Division 1 stableford competition, Ted Morris finished third with 33 points; three points ahead was Mam Morel in second, and the winner was Peter Seward with 40 points. In Division 2, Les hall beat Lars Strom on a count back to take third position after they both came in with 35 points, the in-form Martin Holland took second place with 38, but Andy Oz just managed to pip him on count back to take pole position.
Friday, November 21, Eastern Star – Stableford
Almost another maximum field out today with our regular Friday morning slot, and at this time of the year the wind changes to a really cool breeze from the north making it a really pleasant day for golf.
Harry Riley recorded the only ‘2’ in Division 1 with his birdie on the 6th hole while there were none in Division 2.
Miss Nom came in third in Division 2 with 35 points and there was a smile on the old man’s face as the exchange rate has reached its lowest level in years, she can play next week now. One point ahead of Nom was Jimmy Johnson in second and the winner today was Martin Holland with 38 points.
Three tied for first position in Division 1 after all scored 35 points; the count back found Paddy Wilson in third, Paavo in second, and the winner was Srithong Tann.
Nearest the pins went to (Div 1.) Paavo, Tom Sathrum and Raivo Velsberg, and (Div 2.) Valentina Hiller, Martin Holland and Andy Oz (2).
Next week will be our second annual club championship played over 36 holes at Phoenix and Eastern Star which has been generously sponsored by Northern Thai Realty. Many thanks to John Seymour and his team.
As a final note, all at Jomtien Golf were sad to hear the news of the passing away of Steve Donovan and our thoughts are with his family.

J.C. edges low-scoring affair at Greenwood

PSC Golf from the Café Kronborg

Derek Brook
Thursday, November 20, Greenwood – Stableford
This was to be a dry run for the next day, when all would return to Greenwood for the PSC monthly tournament and play the same 18 holes, the A & C nines.
The day brought strong winds and the course is now starting to shake off the effects of weeks on heavy rain - so we expected great conditions and that is what we got.
Greenwood on the day was quiet and peaceful, so we all had a nice round without the hold ups we expected on the morrow, and soon we were back in the restaurant cooling down.
In the A Flight, 0 to 18 nobody shot their handicap, so the winner was Koji Yamada with 35 points ahead of a count back for second on 34 points that was won by Don Richardson in second and P.S. Basi in third.
In the B Flight we had slightly better scores with the winner decided on count back on 36 points, and first was J.C. Lhoste ahead of Tom Cotton in second. In third we had another count back, this time on 34 points that saw Svend Gaarde in third and Leif Kirkegaarde just missing out.
Near Pin: Leif Kirkegaarde, Peter Hammond, Ian Bell

Busy times ahead as numbers rise

Golf from the Travellers Rest

Barry Hooper
The entry numbers here just keep going up and up. It’s true some people are leaving but many of our regulars are returning along with many a new face. Long may it last. So as previously reminded, please book in early for our four days of golf outings.
Top scorer of the week was Jimmy Woulfe who had a good second at Khao Kheow on Tuesday, but he outshone that effort on Thursday when he banged in a forty one pointer to win the second division at Phoenix. Well done Jimmy
Monday, November 17, Crystal Bay - Stableford
Division 1 (0-14)
1st Mike Rushant (11) 36pts
2nd Mod Chaviraksa (12) 33pts
3rd Dane O’Brian (14) 32pts
4th Ito Akitoshi (9) 32pts
Division 2 (15-up)
1st Neil Allison (18) 33pts
2nd Jack McNamara (20) 33pts
3rd Gary Leigh (16) 32pts
4th Jimmy Woulfe (15) 32pts
2’s: Fergus Brennan, Mike Rushant, Brendan Devlin and Jack McNamara.

Saturday podium placers Bill McGarvie and Neil Jones with the ‘2’s winners, Brendan Devlin and Geoffrey Williams.
Monday saw a trip to Crystal Bay where we had not been for some time. This is another class course and not the easiest about. The numbers attending were good so two divisions.
Division 1 went to Mike Rushant with his 36-pointer, three ahead of second placed Mod Chaviraksa. Division 2 went to Neil Allison on count back over Jack McNamara, both on thirty three.
There were four ‘2’s on the day, them going to Fergus Brennan and Mike Rushant at the fifth, Brendan Devlin at the eighth, and Jack McNamara at the fifteenth.
Tuesday, November 18, Khao Kheow – Stableford
Division 1
1st Gerald Thwaites (10) 39pts
2nd John Hefferman (11) 36pts
3rd Ted Lodge (12) 36pts
Division 2
1st S.J. Tinkler (13) 35pts
2nd Jimmy Woulfe (15) 34pts
3rd Jimmy Chawke (16) 32pts
Division 3
1st Neil Allison (18) 34pts
2nd Gary Leigh (17) 33pts
3rd Tony Jones (20) 33pts
2’s: Tony Jones, Jerry McCarthy, Jimmy Woulfe, Neil Allison and Rodney Becket.
Khao Kheow Golf Club was the venue on Tuesday, the A & B courses were chosen and we had another large turnout so three divisions.
Neil Allison took the third division for his second win of the week, this time with thirty four points and just one up on Gary Leigh in second. S.J. Tinkler made the second division his own with a thirty five-pointer, just one back in second was Jimmy Woulfe, and Jimmy Chawke took third on count back over Billy Fitzgerald. The top division saw a clear three shot win for Gerald Thwaite over John Hefferman in second.
Five ‘2’s were recorded on the day: Tony Jones at the third, Jerry McCarthy and Jimmy Woulfe at the fifth, and Neil Allison and Rodney Becket at the twelfth.
Thursday, November 20, Phoenix Ocean & Mountain - Stableford
Division 1
1st Hugh Byrne (12) 38pts
2nd Bill McGarvie (12) 37pts
3rd S.J.Tinkler (13) 34pts
Division 2
1st Jimmy Woulfe (15) 41pts
2nd Andy Galvin (19) 32pts
3rd Ted Senior (16) 32pts
Division 3
1st Rod Stevens (22) 37pts
2nd Paula Byrne (30) 32pts
3rd John Heman (20) 30pts
2’s: Hugh Byrne (2)
Thursday was our regular weekly visit to Phoenix to play Ocean and Mountain. The entry was even better than the previous week so three flights again.
The third division (20 up) saw a win for Rod Stevens on 37 points, five ahead of Paula Byrne in second. Division 2 had Jimmy Woulfe on top with a massive 41 points, nine clear of runner up Andy Galvin. And lastly, the top flight (0-14) saw a narrow win for Hugh Byrne by just the one point over Bill McGarvie.
Only two ‘2’s were recorded and both of these went to Hugh Byrne so he had a bit of a cleaning up session on the day.
Saturday, November 22, Greenwood - Stableford
Division 1
1st Benny O’Connor (12) 36pts
2nd Bill McGarvie (11) 34pts
3rd Neil Jones (12) 33pts
Division 2
1st Chatel Patel (14) 34pts
2nd Jerry McCarthy (13) 33pts
3rd Robert McVey (14) 31pts
Division 3
1st Andy Galvin (19) 32pts
2nd John O’Leary (17) 31pts
3rd Kenneth Davidson (23) 31pts
2’s: Geoffrey Williams, Brendan Devlin.
Saturday we went to Greenwood as part of our rescheduled November Saturday programme. We had extremely good participation however it was a late start time at eleven o’clock and as all know it is fair distance out to this course which led to a very protracted day.
The course played very long, with little carry at times, and this was enhanced with some of the tail-enders guilty of some slow play. So the presentation was much later than normal which resulted in a poor attendance for the prize giving. Disappointing that - and extremely bad manners with many prize winners forgetting to mention that they could not make it back.
Andy Galvin took Division 3, just one up on John O’Leary who won a count back over Kenneth Davidson for second. Division 2 went to Chaten Patel, also by a one point margin over Jerry McCarthy, and in the first division it was a win for Benny O’Connor, with Bill McGarvie coming second and Neil Jones third.
The ‘2’s were shared by Geoffrey Williams and Brendan Devlin

Beautiful Game? by Riz Taylor

A Topsy Turvy week

What was all that about? Can anyone else remember a weekend when none of the Big Four won their matches, not even scoring a goal? Viva la revolution!
It won’t last, mind you, but at least it’s a positive sign that this season may not prove to be the dull affair that we all expected. What, for example, are Fulham doing in the top half of the table? Have they no respect for the Premier League, and those for which it was created? Upstarts Hull City continue to bite the hand that feeds them, ticking along nicely in sixth place. Even Middlesbrough are in the top ten.
The reason? It seems that, although the established top order are faltering their way through the season, the division has returned to those dark and distant days of about five years ago, when anyone was capable of beating anyone. And long may it continue.
With those unlikely names pushing for the European places, this must mean a few of the more fancied sides at the beginning of the season are struggling to get into gear. Tottenham continue to enjoy a revival under Harry Redknapp, taking 13 points from their last 18 available, while megabucks Manchester City disappoint in eleventh.
Not that Saturday was disappointing for City, not by a long shot. A 3-0 demolition of Arsenal announced Mark Hughes’ men as a prospective player in the title race, not perhaps breaking into the big time themselves but certainly capable of terrifying any of their rivals when the mood suits. It is good news for everyone, and good news for the Premier League.
Not that Manchester United will see it that way. The European champions’ stuttering season continued at the weekend with a draw away at Aston Villa – no mean feat given Villa’s recent impressive form – but this weekend throws up a Manchester derby, away at ‘Citeh’, and a potential thunderbolt of a match for your viewing pleasure on Sunday evening.
Don’t fancy that? Well how about Arsenal’s visit to Chelsea, Sunday’s late one. Given Arsenal’s recent form you’d expect Chelsea to dish out a thumping of epic proportions, but who can tell? Chelsea’s home form has been their only weakness this season, and with the Gunners desperate to impress this could quite easily be another belter. And if that’s not enough for you, Newcastle visit Middlesbrough on Saturday for a game that both sides desperately need something from.
It’s official – the Premier League is exciting again. Enjoy.
Millions written off
More than 28 million pounds worth of tax money owed by struggling football clubs in English divisions has been written off by British Revenue and Customs, research by the BBC has found. The debt was incurred by 18 clubs which have gone into administration with unpaid tax bills in recent seasons.
In one case, Leicester City settled just 10% of their 7 million pound tax bill. Under league rules, clubs pay football-related debts such as salaries and player transfers first, but Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs believes this is unfair.
The Football League says it will consider stricter financial controls, including asking all clubs to provide it with more information about their accounts. Since 2000, 42 professional clubs in the Football League and the lower divisions such as the Football Conference have gone into administration - some more than once.
The BBC examined the tax debt in 18 cases. In total, the 18 clubs owed approximately 31.7 million to the taxman, but paid back only 3.5 million - meaning the public purse lost out to the tune of more than 28 million pounds.
There’s more!
Meanwhile, Italian giants Juventus have unveiled plans for a new 40,000-seat stadium on the site of their former ground. When complete, Juventus will become the first team in Italy’s Serie A to own their own stadium, as most Italian grounds are owned by local councils.
In the United States, Columbus Crew have won the MLS Cup in the United States by way of a 3-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls. Touchdown!
In Liverpool, the owners of Liverpool Football Club have applied to register the Liver Bird as their trademark, prompting the city council to take legal advice. The club has applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office to register the image for 450 pounds.
The club’s owners hope this will stem the tide of counterfeit Liverpool merchandise bearing the famous Liver Bird emblem, but Liverpool City Council said the club had “no right” to claim the bird as its own. Deputy council leader Flo Clucas said the council was taking legal advice over the trademark application. “I have some very real concerns over it,” she said.
More bad news for want-away Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, as the club are unlikely to be sold until February unless a deal is done in the next three weeks. The warning came from Keith Harris, chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, who has been charged with the task of finding a buyer by Ashley.
“If you put yourself in the position of a prospective owner, you want to have had a chance to work with the manager to decide on what should happen to the playing staff, both coming out and going in,” he muttered.
And finally Brendan Rodgers has been confirmed as Watford’s new manager. The 35-year-old has left his post as Chelsea’s reserve team manager and succeeds Aidy Boothroyd on a permanent basis. The Northern Irishman will be joined at Vicarage Road by Frank Lampard senior, who will be employed on a consultancy basis, while it has been confirmed that former caretaker manager Malky Mackay will stay at the club as first team coach. Which is nice.

Ernie Hills shoots low gross at Greenwood

PSC 84thMembers Monthly Golf Tournament

Derek Brook
Friday, November 21 - Greenwood
Sign up for the PSC monthly tournament these days and your whole day is taken care of. About the only thing you do get is a bit of a lie-in in the morning, and after the night before who complains? But from then on it is all go.

A & B Flight winners Ito Akitashi and Ian Rippley collect their prizes.
Not so long ago it was a quick presentation at the course, but it is now a whole new world as Pattaya Sports Club forges ahead. In this new era we have many helpers, particularly the outlets who welcome the golfers into their bars and provide them with fine food. This month it was The Moore Bar, while last month it was Shenanigans and the month before Jameson’s. It seems Shenanigans are into the swim as we are invited to Shenanigans Jomtien next month.
The tee-off at Greenwood was somewhat inhibited by the fact that the course had changed their agreement from a few weeks before, and the Golf Chairman had to reschedule the start. On the day this meant we were slowed down on several holes, and we did meet a lot of new (and old) friends at the Par 3’s. In fact I met many old friends and the day turned out well, if a bit slow. Our round was about 5+ hours.

The C & D Flight winners are all smiles at the presentation.
One of the nice things, as said, is that we got a lie-in, and did not have to leave Pattaya until 10 a.m., so we arrived shortly before 11 and joined the queue. Soon we were through and realised that the green and caddy fee were such that we got the competition fee already covered. Good game this golf ennit!
The wind had dropped from the previous day and the course was really in excellent condition, so with having to wait for most shots we were able to smell the flowers. What a fine day it was, just perfect for a slow walk not spoilt.
The changing room after was a bit crowded but we can be thankful for small mercies as the original plan was to have a ‘shot gun start’ - now that is real fun in the showers. Yes, I mean a big wait. We do not share at Pattaya Sports Club.

Seniors winner Tony Duthie (right) with the PSC Golf Chairman.
On returning to Pattaya it was off to The Moore Bar and Grill for the presentation. One of the good things about the new après-golf nights out is that you can take your wife/friend with you and it is a really fine night out. The food here was excellent and was laid out in many different locations. We were also warmly welcomed by the management and made to feel most welcome, and there were a lot of us, the place was very full.
Such a night like this cannot be organised without the help of so many sponsors, so I will take this section to thank them, and there are many. Firstly special thanks go to The Moore Bar and Grill for the fabulous venue and the fine and helpful staff, particularly the accommodating Naiyaporn Hongsakule the Restaurant Manager.
Thanks also go to Shenanigans ‘The Irish Pub’, Trattoria Italiana, Moon River, Tequila Reef, Green Bottle Diana Group, The Blue Parrot, Cafe New Orleans Restaurant, Drum and Monkey, Tahitian Queen ‘Rock n’ Roll Bar’, Sunset Cafe, Apex Profound Beauty ‘Skin Cafe’, MBMG Insurance Group, the various local media outlets, and the personnel of Greenwood Golf Club who made our day such a fine one.
It was then time for the presentation, but not before a sad note was introduced. The Vice President (that would be myself) had to report that one of our long time supporters and former Golf Chairman, Steve Donovan, had passed away earlier in the day after a traffic accident. Steve will be long remembered as a strong supporter of golf in Pattaya, and he will be sadly missed by all his friends.
The presentation was carried out by our Emcee Mike Gerrard, but not before The Golf Chairman thanked all the various bar organisers for their help. With the new expanded monthly tournament all the assistance is much appreciated, particularly from his many helpers on the day.
So to the presentation and the results are shown elsewhere on this page but there were not many people who went away empty handed. After all, it is not what you come with but what you leave with that counts.
Note: Next month’s tournament is at Plutaluang with the prize giving at Shenanigans Jomtien. T.T.F.N.

Montana regains first place

Pattaya Sports Club Friday Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Mio, Nok, Ken & Tue.

Montana regained sole possession of first place after they won three points from Sala Thai; both teams struggled with lanes five and six and the scores were low.
Nok bowled games of 179, 209, 189, (577 series), and Sue rolled a 512 to lead Sabai Sabai Friday to a three-point win over VFW Post 9876. Café Kronborg led by Kran’s 558 series took three points from Montgomery; La bowled a 204 game and 516 series for Montgomery. House of the Golden Coin and Jack Tar split their match with each team getting two points; Mio bowled a 543 for Golden Coin.
Tue had the best series of the day for Bavaria knocking down 594 pins with games of 223, 192 & 179 and they won all four points from Brother D. Leo bowled a 539 for Bavaria and Antero had a 531 for Brother D. Café Ole won all four points from Canada with pin counts low in this match.

Results & Standings November 21 (week 19) Team                                         Points           Standings Montana                                      3 – 1                49 - 27 VFW Post 9876                           1 - 3                47 - 29 Sabai Sabai Friday                       3 – 1             45.5 - 30.5 Café Kronborg                              3 - 1                42 - 34 Café Ole                                      4 – 0                41 - 35 Bavaria                                        4 - 0             36.5 - 39.5 Montgomery                                1 – 3             36.5 - 39.5 House of the Golden Coin              2 – 2                34 - 42 Brother D                                     0 - 4             33.5 - 42.5 Jack Tar                                      2 – 2                33 - 43 Sala Thai Restaurant                    1 - 3                33 - 43 Canada                                       0 - 4                25 - 51

41-points the popular score at Burapha

PSC golf from the Outback Golf Bar

Joey’s Column
Monday, November 17, Burapha - Stableford
The last time the Outbackers played Crystal & Dunes at Burapha was way back on October 6 and for some reason, it is nearly always played from the white tees rather than the blues, which are used on A & B. There is no doubt that in the summer this course can be tough with its narrow fairways and long wet rough, but today that certainly wasn’t the case. In wonderful playing conditions on quick greens, the 57 Outbackers that played today made light work of this course with 12 players equaling or bettering their handicap and another 9 within two more of that.
Forty-one points won Div A for Paul Bourke; the same winning score was posted in Div B by Rosco Langoulant and also in Div D by one of the frequent UK visitors, Don Shilton. Pat Regan (38) was runner up in A, and after a recount, Paul Hibberd pipped Rick Sharp on count back in B, both with 40.
A big welcome goes out to the great bunch of guys mostly from Kent, UK., who enjoyed some success when playing with the Outback Golf Bar on Friday at Plantation, and who fared even better today taking three of the podium places in Div C. Brian Elliot (great putting), was the winner on count back with 39 from his colleague, David Knowles, whilst Tony Cox on 35 took fourth. Only Bob Lindborg (37) in third prevented the clean sweep.
Div D saw Johnny Spiller find his form to take second place with 35points, while Jum claimed third place with 32 on a count back over two more of the visitors, Papa Alan and ‘young’ Jack Shilton.
There were seven ‘2’s coming from Paul Bourke, Briany Christie, Rosco, Pimusa, Pottsy and John Kittilsen had two.
H’cap adjustments were as follows: Paul Bourke is cut from 10.7 to 9.7; Rosco is cut from 14.0 to 12.8; Paul Hibberd from 14.2 to 13.2 and Rick Sharp from 13.0 to 12.1. The UK boys will apply their own cuts when they join the Outback Golf Bar again on Friday at Plantation.
Div A (0-12)
1st Paul Bourke (11) 41pts
2nd Patrick Regan (8) 38pts
3rd Desmond Scott (12) 36pts
4th Richard Garland (11) 35pts
Div B (13 & 14)
1st Rosco Langoulant (14) 41pts
2nd Paul Hibberd (14) 40pts
3rd Rick Sharp (13) 40pts
4th Joe Mooneyham (13) 37pts
Div C (15-20)
1st Brian Elliot (15) 39pts
2nd David Knowles (19) 39pts
3rd Bob Lindborg (15) 37pts
4th Tony Cox (20) 35pts
Div D (21+)
1st Donald Shilton (32) 41pts
2nd John Spiller (22) 35pts
3rd (Jum) Karagit (33) 32pts
4th Alan Papa (26) 32pts
Wednesday, November 19, Phoenix - Stableford
Arriving at Phoenix, anybody would have thought it was going to be a five hour plus round; there were golfers from everywhere, the Haven, Phoenix Members, Tour groups, Thaigerline and 27 Outbackers. With long queues to pay green fees, there was no sign of any downturn in the numbers for the high season on this course.
Well hats off to Phoenix management, it all worked out extremely well as the Outback Golf Bar teed off on time on Lakes and Ocean, completing the round just over four hours later.
Surprisingly, there were no ‘2’s, so the pot was added to the prize money enabling Capt’ Jack to make three divisions with a payout out down to fourth place, meaning 44% of the field won a prize.
Harvey Samuel pipped Jack on count back, both with 36 points, in an unusual Div A which went down to handicap fifteen. Barry Chadbourn was in a class of his own in Div B, trouncing the rest of the field by six clear shots with 40 points. Second was Glyn Davies (34), who was late on the tee and rushed to catch up his playing partners. By the time he settled down to play golf, three or four holes had gone; so most of his score came from only fourteen holes.
Gary Saunders, who hits the ball a long way off the tee but not always in the right direction, got it straight enough to score 38 points to win Div C, but when this young man learns to putt he won’t be on 26 handicap for long.
Finally, welcome today to a good friend, Tomas Earthrowl, third in Div B with 34 points and the Davies (yes, from Wales) brothers - Derek coming third in Div C with 30 points. Also to Jean Phillipe, who’s not from Wales, but France; who turned up for breakfast from nowhere on a motorbike with a set of clubs. He was on his way to play Treasure Hills on his own but changed his mind to play with a few new found friends.
Div A (0-15)
1st Harvey Samuel (15) 36pts
2nd Jack Moseley (10) 36pts
3rd Rosco Langoulant (13) 34pts
4th Bob Lindborg (15) 33pts
Div B (16-21)
1st Barry Chadbourn (21) 40pts
2nd Glyn Davies (18) 34pts
3rd Tomas Earthrowl (20) 34pts
4th Nigel Cannon (21) 32pts
Div C (22+)
1st Gary Saunders (26) 38pts
2nd Paul Crosland (22) 32pts
3rd Derek Davies (25) 30pts
4th Joachim Oestreicher (24) 28pts
Friday, November 21, Siam Plantation - Stableford
This was the last visit to Siam Plantation for a couple of weeks due to a major tournament next Friday (Nov 28) and the King’s Birthday the following Friday (Dec 5). The Outback Golf Bar resumes normal service here on Friday December 12 through to the beginning of February 2009, when the course will be closed for about three weeks in preparation for the LPGA event at the end that month.
Tapioca & Pineapple saw some 37 Outbackers playing in superb conditions, even so, the course was the winner again, with only young Jack Shilton managing to equal his handicap to win Div C. He won by one point from the lovely Jum (35pts), as she continues to show improvement.
Bruce McAdam doesn’t play this course very often, as he prefers the more southern venues on a Friday, but nevertheless he demonstrated that he can play it if needs be, totting up 35 points to take Div B. Paul Greenaway, a frequent visitor here, won Div A again with 34, from first timer Ken Davies in second on 33. Rosco is also getting the hang of playing here with 32, edging out Barry Tregurtha on a count back over the last six holes, both having 18 on the last nine.
There were three ‘2’s today, two conventional ones from Fred Gemme & Rick Evans; and another slightly different one, also from Rick Evans, holing his second shot on the Pineapple Par 4 ninth, for an eagle. Great shot Rick!
Div A (0-14)
1st Paul Greenaway (9) 34pts
2nd Ken Davies (14) 33pts
3rd Rosco Langoulant (13) 32pts
4th Barry Tregurtha (11) 32pts
Div B (15-19)
1st Bruce McAdam (17) 35pts
2nd David Knowles (19) 32pts
3rd Dave Stacey (16) 30pts
4th Keith Meehan (18) 29pts
Div C (20+)
1st Jack Shilton (30) 36pts
2nd (Jum) Karagit (33) 35pts
3rd Bob Fagan (20) 34pts
4th Derek Davies (25) 33pts
Friday, November 21, Plutaluang S & N - Stableford
The South & North course have been linked together to be known in the future as the Old Course. Ongoing work has improved conditions here beyond recognition as this course continues its popularity with the Outbackers. Twenty-eight of them roamed this lovely parkland course today, which currently represents excellent value for money and Jim Payne shot the best score of the day, 39 points, to win the B division.
Jan Slotten had another good round, scoring 37 points, enough to take the premier division from Mike O’Brien (35) and a newcomer to the Outback, John Pegrum (34). Familiar names filled the minor places in both A & B including Pimusa (33pts), who beat Bob Pearce & Henry O’Brien on count back and Barry Chadbourn (32pts) beating Johnny S with the same score.
Upon reviewing the card, one can’t help noticing the strange re-indexing of the holes, in particular the 3rd on South (420yd) - index 17) and the 3rd on North (the island green Par 3) – index 2.
Brain Mills scooped the ‘2’s pot with the only par-3 birdie.
Div A (0-19)
1st Jan Slotten (16) 37pts
2nd Mike O’Brien (19) 35pts
3rd John Pegrum (10) 34pts
4th Pimusa Tonkhoksoong (14) 33pts
Div B (20+)
1st Jim Payne (24) 39pts
2nd Paul Challis (24) 36pts
3rd Barry Chadbourn (20) 32pts
4th John Spiller (22) 32pts
That’s all for now. If you have any thoughts, scandalous stories or suggestions, why not drop me a line at [email protected].
The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. All are welcome to come and join us for a beer and a hit. Just call in and put your name down on the list or give Bob a call on 087 941 2474. More information can be found on our website www.outbackgolfbar.com.