Thai Legends make their mark at Pattaya rugby 10s
Raimon Land Chris Kays Memorial
Rugby Tournament 2009
The weekend of May 2-3 saw the staging of the tenth edition of the Chris
Kays Memorial 10’s Rugby Tournament, and 16 rugby teams from all over
Thailand and other parts of the world descended on Horseshoe Point in
Pattaya to contest what is now becoming one of the principal 10 a side
tournaments in the region.
Horseshoe
Point was witness to some spectacular rugby action over the weekend May
2-3 as the venue played host to the 10th Raimon Land Chris Kays Memorial
10s Tournament.
Raimon Land were once again the principal sponsors of the tournament and
everything kicked off in great style at the Jamesons Irish Pub with
registration and early high jinks from the participants going under
names like SCC Growlers, The Buccaneers and Kaysies Crusaders! Our hosts
at Horseshoe Point and the local organizers had oiled all the necessary
wheels, even introducing draught English Bitter and Cider to ensure that
the tournament progressed smoothly from start to finish.
This year the junior section had been expanded and despite some late
drop outs the Boys Under 18 tournament was very hotly contested with
teams from Bangkok and the Provinces battling the local boys from
Regents School. The boys set a very high standard for the men to live up
to and everybody who witnessed the ability and courage of these young
lads agreed that the standards are improving very quickly. With the
introduction of an improved diet the Thai boys are bulking up and are
now more than a match for their foreign counterparts.
The Thai Legends 1 team (sans jerseys)
accept the Chris Kays Memorial Cup from tournament organizer Jim Howard
(center).
The tournament was won by the Surawittayakrn School from Surin and
surprisingly the runners up were the Chalermprakiet Team from Roi Et.
This year’s main tournament was to be contested by 16 teams with a very
strong local bias and some strong challengers from overseas. The Thai
Barbarians, who were the champions in 2006 returned after a two year
hiatus and there was strong representation from the expatriate teams in
Bangkok. The Southerners were as usual favourites from this group but
the Old Bangkok Bangers had found some young Bangers and they impressed
with their fitness and energy.
The Bangkok Japanese finally got their hands
on a trophy as they beat the Pattaya Panthers in the final of the Shield
competition.
The British Club and perennial crowd favourites the Bangkok Japanese
together with a new Thai club team, the Thai Legends, and Youngblood and
the Bangkok University rounded out the domestic challenge.
We also welcomed back a team from the Berkshire heartland the newly
amalgamated Reading and Abbey RFC in the guise of “ Kaysies Crusaders “
led by the mighty Ray Kays, Chris’ father. Another of Chris’ old sides,
the Singapore Cricket Club, had entered two teams, “The Nomads” and “The
Growlers “. Our old friends from the Australian Navy “The Buccaneers”
returned at full strength this year after word got out around Sydney
about what a great destination Pattaya was! We also welcomed back many
old friends who had previously played with the Panthers who came as the
Panthers Exiles or “Black Panthers”.
A sturdy ball carrier breaks the tackles.
The location was in perfect condition, the weather was benign and the
quality of the rugby was of the highest level throughout and there were
some very special displays during the weekend.
All likely protagonists assembled at Horseshoe Point at 09:30 am on the
Saturday morning and the organizers tent was besieged by team captains
anxious to know when would be their turn to take to the lush turf of
Horseshoe Point.
A
Thai Legend in full flow.
Unflappable as ever, tournament organizer Graham Macdonald with his dour
assistants Malcolm “The Root of all Evil” Clare and Wayne “Blowfly”
Oganoski soon had everything sorted out and play commenced under the
control of David Viccars and his merry band of referees. I guess that
they did a good job as I actually received a compliment on the quality
of the officiating and none of them were drowned in the pool on Sunday
night.
The sixteen teams were divided into 4 groups and Saturday’s games were
played in a round robin format to determine the ranking for the various
tournaments. In the perfect conditions hard and fast running rugby was
the order of the day. There were strong performances from all of the
Thai teams and The Southerners whilst the host team stunned everybody,
including themselves, by playing out of their skins and actually winning
their group and consigning the highly fancied British Club to bottom
place.
Wonderful
head and body – and the girl’s not bad either!
The Thai Legends I and II ,Thai Barbarians and the hosts led the way
into the quarter finals with Bangkok University, Southerners, Buccaneers
and the Bangkok Bangers threatening to gatecrash the cup party.
Neither of the Singapore teams lived up to their early promise but there
were some strong performances from Kaysies Crusaders and the Young Blood
to qualify for the plate quarter finals.
After a hard day’s play, cooling off in the pool was obligatory and a
strong start was made on some of the mighty hangovers to be seen the
following morning.
The final rounds of the Junior Tournament were played early on Sunday
morning to allow the old fellas to sleep in but some of the hardier
souls were there to support the youngsters. With a slightly later start
the order of play was in some doubt, however the Chairman and his
organizing team had everything under control and the knockout phase
commenced with few complaints.
Partying had definitely taken it’s toll in general but on the home side
in particular and several other teams were also short on resources.
Tired limbs were anointed and strapped and the quest for Cup, Plate,
Bowl and Shield got under way. Many first time losers were surprised to
find that they then had to play more games than if they had won as a
trickle down was enforced. Again there were some superb performances and
some very close encounters with not a few surprises.
The Bangers take on the Bangkok Japanese.
After the youngsters had shown their paces it was on to the main
tournament and the men ground their way through a very heavy schedule
that finally weeded the weak from the strong. The Cup quarter finals saw
some very good and hard games and eventually Thai Barbarians, Thai
Legends I and II Club and Southerners progressed to the semi finals,
which arguably produced the finest rugby of all with Southerners only
going down to the Thai Legends II in a very hard and tense match that
went right down to the wire.
The Thai Barbarians fought gallantly against the other Thai Legends team
but were finally outclassed by the new boys. So the Cup Final was to be
an all Thai affair and a one club affair with the Thai Legends I and II
playing against one another. Any thoughts that after a joint warm up
that there would be any favours granted were quickly dispelled as both
teams were determined to lift the trophy. It was an absolutely cracking
final in which the young Thai boys displayed total commitment and great
handling. The superior fitness of Thai Legends I eventually triumphed
over their second squad and they captured the title in style, winning a
hotly contested final 19-7.
In the Plate it seemed obvious that the foreign sides SCC Nomads,
Kaysies Crusaders and the Buccaneers would set the pace and it was hoped
that the hosts, the Pattaya Panthers, would be able to reproduce their
form of the previous day and the fallen stars of the British Club would
shine again. However, Bangkok University and Youngblood had other ideas
and there were some very closely fought encounters.
The local boys finally prevailed and age, injuries and the heat
accounted for most of the protagonists. So we had another all Thai final
between Bangkok Unversity and Youngblood and we saw a cracking game
which was only decided in the last move of the match when Bangkok
University used their secret weapon Ian “The Tank” Brydon to crash over
with almost the whole Youngblood team on his back.
The competition for the Bowl was by contrast a bagful of surprises with
clubs like The Bangkok Bangers, The British Club and Kaysies Crusaders
all vying at this level when everybody would have expected them to be in
the Cup. Eventually the final came down to those old rivals The Bangkok
Bangers and British Club contesting a very close final, which saw the
Bangers squeeze home against the young BC side in a high scoring game,
22-19.
This year we had introduced a Shield competition in the hope that the
Panthers might win something but after flattering to deceive on
Saturday, the Panthers could just not get up for it on the Sunday,
however, the final between the scholars from Shrewsbury School and the
Bangkok Japanese produced some very exciting rugby and after toing and
froing the final result was arguably the most popular result of the
weekend as the Bangkok Japanese had finally won a trophy!
The Thai Barbarians run the ball against
Kaysies Crusaders.
After the final whistle everybody crashed into the pool and the
presentations were made to all trophy winners by Jim Howard the Chairman
of Pattaya Panthers RFC and Henri Young the Marketing Director of Raimon
Land. Ray and Lin Kays (Chris’ parents ) were also on hand to assist and
Ray presented the prestigious Chris Kays Award, for the person
contributing most to the tournament on and off the field, to (and this
was not fixed) Chris’s brother Simon. When told of Simon’s achievement
Lin Kays comment was “Just like Christopher ... but at least he kept his
clothes on. The award for best player of the tournament was presented to
Tim Bell from Kaysie Crusaders, so they didn’t leave empty handed.
A vote of thanks is due to all the organizers supporters and sponsors
without whom a tournament like this could not happen: Raimon Land the
principal sponsor, MBMG International, Omega Logistics Ltd, Hamptons
International, G4Ssecuricor, Mackenzie Smith Law, Cranes & Equipment
Asia Ltd., Contract Resources Asia, WMS Thailand, Jardine Shipping, The
Comcon Group and of course Horseshoe Point for providing a perfect venue
and Fluids Asia Pacific who supplied all the beers and ciders and the
very attractive beer servers, who definitely brightened up the whole
weekend, just ask Russell Jay from Soundzgood Discotheques who provided
the music.
United draw another blank in the capital
Pattaya United striker
Madengue Moussina (left) challenges a Muang Thong United player for the ball
during the match in Bangkok last Sunday.
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
Following on from a pair of disappointing goalless draws in their
two previous matches, Pattaya United once again failed to find the back of
their opponents net for the third game in a row as they went down 1-0 to
Muang Thong United in Bangkok last Sunday.
Valeri Zanu scored the only goal of the match for the home team to hand
Pattaya their third loss of the season and send the large crowd at the
Thunder Dome Stadium into raptures.
Pattaya now have just 8 points from their first 9 games of the season and
are currently lying in thirteenth place in the table with just three clubs
below them. The ‘Dolphins’ will need to put all their efforts into breaking
their goal drought this coming weekend when they take on PEA F.C. in Pattaya
on Saturday May 16 with the kick off at 6 p.m.
Running for charity
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The KFC Charity Run Pattaya will take place on Monday, May 17 at the
multipurpose ground in Jomtien to raise money for scholarships for students
in rural areas.
A meeting was held at City Hall on May 7 to discuss preparations for 10.6
kilometer mini marathon which is also being held to promote exercise and a
healthy lifestyle among Pattaya’s general population.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay, Runners Club of
Pattaya chairman Anuphong Udomratanakulchai and the representative of Yum
Restaurants International (Thailand) (KFC), Chatarin Phonkitikul.
The starting line will be at the multipurpose ground with several male and
female categories starting from ages 15 up. Those interested should be at
the appointed venue by 4.30 p.m. on the day of the event. The admission fee
is 200 baht which also provides a T-shirt and a souvenir medal for every
runner whilst the first five winners of every category will receive
trophies.
City go back on
top after goal fest
MBMG International League 2008/09
Paul Frain
Pattaya City learnt the bad news before their game that the nearest
challengers to their title had won their match 1-0 to go top of the league,
one point ahead of City with one game in hand.
City just had to score goals against the bottom club Bangkok United who had
conceded 68 goals in their previous 18 matches, but a shock awaited them as
the team from the capital fielded their strongest side and went into a shock
lead in the 5th minute. With City putting pressure on their opponents goal,
a breakaway saw one of the United forwards open the scoring with a rasping
shot which cannoned off the inside of the City goal post and into the net to
give them a 1-0 lead.
This setback did not upset the run of play and City were level within four
minutes when some clever one touch passing by Jake Baker and Ernest Dipita
saw the final ball being played through to City’s centre forward Pierre
Ndjanna who lashed it into the net to equalize.
The Bangkok defense was split time after time as they played the offside
trap but were caught too square and good chances were missed by Pattaya. The
pressure had to tell, but it took a good run by Emmanuel Tshuma, who beat
four players before giving the ball to Pierre Ndjanna to score his and
City’s second goal and make it 2-1.
City were really firing on all cylinders now and it was just one way traffic
to the United goal, but Pattaya just could not find the goal as chances went
begging.
Eventually a five-man move saw the ball come to City’s midfielder Craig
Banks whose shot hit the post and thankfully went into the net to make it
3-1. United’s keeper continued to pull off some good saves to stop City from
adding to their score and half time came with City leading 3-1.
After the interval, City wingers Jake Baker and Emmanuel Tshima just tore
the United defense apart, but there were no takers in front of goal. City’s
Paul Derbyshire bought a great save from the keeper after he beat four
players and Earnest Dipita missed two golden chances to put City further
ahead.
Soon after, another combination between Jake Baker and Earnest Dipita saw
the ball come to Paul Derbyshire who was unmarked and he slotted it home to
make it 4-1 to City.
United replied with a snap shot which hit the underside of the bar but the
loose ball found it’s way to City’s Earnest Dipita who ran on to slip it
past the United keeper and make the score 5-1, which was the full time
result.
This result puts City back at the top of the table and still in hope that
the teams below them drop points in their remaining games. City’s last game
will be on Saturday, May 23 whilst their nearest rivals all play this coming
weekend.
English Premier League fixtures
(All kick-off times listed are Thai local times)
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Man Utd v Arsenal, 18:45
Bolton v Hull, 21:00
Everton v West Ham, 21:00
Middlesbrough v Aston Villa, 21:00
Newcastle v Fulham, 21:00
Stoke v Wigan, 21:00
Tottenham v Man City, 21:00
Sunday, 17 May 2009
West Brom v Liverpool, 19:30
Chelsea v Blackburn, 22:00
Monday, 18 May 2009
Portsmouth v Sunderland, 02:00 (Tue)
Scottish Premier League fixtures
Saturday, 16 May 2009
Rangers v Aberdeen, 18:30
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Hibernian v Celtic, 19:00
Hall on top once more
PSC golf with the Three Sisters Bar
Coronation Day kicked off May’s golfing for the Three Sisters Group
at the Pattaya Country Club, ergo Holiday Rates for players. The
higher rates didn’t seem to keep any of the regulars away however. A
good group teed off at 0615 hours, that’s 6:15 AM for you
non-military folks and the weather could not have been nicer. The
course is in fine condition and the play was fast.
Tuesday
winner Richard Hall (left) with runner up Herbie Ishinaga.
Regrouping at Caddy Shack II all the players enjoyed some of Herbie
Ishinaga’s spicy or plain hot dogs plus nibbler snacks. As the cards
were tallied we found once again Richard Hall on top with 36 points.
Me thinks that Richard is due for some handicap adjustments (Golf
Chairman note). Right behind Richard was Herbie Inshinaga with a 34.
Bill Key and Dale Murphy came in with respectable 32s, Dale playing
only his second game following knee surgery, way to go Dale! Some of
the regular big hitters found their games a bit off and their scores
shall remain in confidence.
Champions retain their title at Papa Ray classic
Papa Ray Rogers Memorial Golf Tournament
The winning team with Papa Ray’s
nephew, Gary Rogers, (second left).
Derek Brook
Thursday, May 7, Plutaluang N & S
The legend continues. When Ray went to ‘’the great golf course in
the sky’, Gary, his nephew, vowed he would not be forgotten as long as he
and Ray’s friends were around. This day was a justification of those
comments.
On the day we had a fine turnout with normal groups being well down on
numbers, but Ray had many friends here and all like to turn out to remember
him. So with a fine turnout and food and presentation back at ‘RR’ Ranch, it
was just like old times. Nothing much changes with Dave still running the
day, Bjarne and family from the Cafe Kronborg dealing with food and the
normal friends helping out.
The runners up.
Plutaluang was in fine condition on the day, and even
myself, who is not a favourite of the course, have to admit it was in very
fine shape with a competitive rate organised by Dave and PSC. This was as
good as I can remember here and the course is back to the North and South,
or ‘The Old Course’ configuration and I have to admit it is a venue that now
comes into consideration when you are thinking of booking a good course, not
just a cheap one.
We also got around pretty quick, and after went into the restaurant to pass
a little time until we had to be back at Ray’s House for the presentation.
The restaurant has got a little costlier of late, mainly noted by the ‘one
for the road’ crew, but I have to say all my group had food and it was of
excellent quality and of a good price. I shall definitely eat here next time
and there are many courses I cannot say that about.
The
third placed team.
Back at ‘The Ranch’ the day was well underway, with food being consumed and
Max taking the cards in and passing out a ‘Memorial Cap’ to all the players.
As can be guessed, the front had ‘The RR Logo’ on and was in either red or
green and was fine quality. One chap even had on his 1996 Papa Ray shirt so
the mementos do last as my umbrella would testify, if only it could talk.
Dave as usual was in his element and the presentation was soon underway.
In fourth place came the three-ball of Russell Exley, Mark Campbell and
Harry Riley with a net score of 61.2. In third was the team of Daryl White,
Nual Russell, Kiwi Bill and Craig Davies with a net score of 61.1, tight was
it not! In second was the team of Ray Thornton, Mikael Anderson, Barry
Trainor and Ted Morris with a fine 57.6.
But the winners, and retaining the ‘champion’ title they won last year, was
the team of Clive Robinson, Trevor Loersch, Bob Rasmusson and Tony Dauth
with a fine net 55.1. It was straight after Dave did the presentation that I
heard the splash as Clive and Tony decided to go for a swim. Most of us took
our shower at the course. Until next year - T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Jack Levy, Mark Campbell, Trevor Loersch, Al Griffiths
Long Putt: Daryl White, Russell Exley
‘Count back Burnie’ earns a medal
Jomtien Golf with the IPGC
Monday, May 4, Plutaluang – Stableford
With reduced numbers now from the low season, there were only
28 players out today in our first visit here for two months. A very
gentle breeze was blowing across the course which made it more
pleasurable than the hot and humid days we experienced the previous
week.
The North and East courses were selected today and an amazing 32 points
won Ben Findon the Division 1 prize, closely followed By Russell Benson
one point behind after beating Andy Oz on a back six count back of
13/11.
Esa Savola’s 35 points won Division 2 with Bryan Rought in second place
with 33 and in third place, two points behind, was Andy Crabb.
Mam Morel was smiling as her birdie on the lighthouse hole was the only
‘2’ of the day to take the rollover kitty in the first division and
Russell Benson and Ray Thirtle shared the honours in Division 2.
Near Pins went to Ben Findon (2), Mam Morel, Stan Everingham, Russell
Benson, Andy Crabb, Jean Morel and Esa Savola.
Wednesday, May 6, Crystal Bay - Monthly Medal
A true test of golf today on this course for the monthly
medal, and some very good scores started to filter back to the
clubhouse, even after nine holes.
A gross 41 on the front nine from ‘Count back Burnie’ started the ball
rolling and he came in to win Division 2 with a net 69. Jean Morel beat
Steve Ironside for second on a back nine count back of 39/41 after they
both finished with net 74s.
Dannie Larsen’s net 71 earned him first place in Division 1, with
Russell Benson second on 73 and in third place was Douh Ruhen on 77.
There are no 2’s today in either division and with a holiday on Friday
and our annual trip to Hua Hin the week after, all is rolled over to
Phoenix on May 18.
Near Pins went to Bill Hewitt (2), Dannie Larsen, Doug Ruhen, Tony
Duthie, Jean Morel and Bryan Rought.
Friday, May 8, Eastern Star – Stableford
A public holiday today and only 19 players out so there were
no nearest the pin awards. Yet again it was another very hot and humid
day and also a very dry course.
Thirty five points was good enough in both divisions to win: Terry
Cowell came in first in Division 1 with Tom Sathrum second on 33 points
and Doug Ruhen third on 30 points. Miss Nom took Division 2 honours
playing off the yellows, with Jim Lane second on 32 points and Esa
Savola third with 29.
Mark Campbell wobbles
to first place
IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, May 4, Pattana A & C - Stableford
1st Suichi Kodaka 38pts
2nd Russell Exley 37pts
3rd Tom Atkins 34pts
4th Rick Holmes 33pts
After taking a couple of competitions off celebrating his new found form, Suichi
Kodaka returned to the Haven and took up where he left off by winning over the
well prepared A and C courses. This comprised a mixture of blue, white and
yellow tees that provided a very good test for all levels of players.
Russell Exley was just a single shot back in second having let a few slip away
over the closing holes. Tom Atkins, as is now fairly usual, took a place on the
podium with a tidy round another three shots back in third.
Rick Holmes, now fully recovered from his exertions carrying the colours at last
weeks Anzac Remembrance Day ceremonies up on the River Kwai, rounded out the
podium and celebrated with yet another lobster thermidor in the Haven’s
restaurant.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Tom Atkins had one in the first.
Wednesday, May 6, Crystal Bay – Stableford
1st Mark Campbell 34pts
2nd Peter Sumner 33pts
3rd Alan Pilkington 29pts
The course is starting to show some serious signs of wear on the greens and they
are only a shadow of their former selves, when at one time they were considered
to be some of the best and slickest in the area. But on the other hand there are
also signs of improvement over the rest of the course in general and hopefully
that situation will continue to improve.
Mark Campbell started right out of the gate with a birdie on the first and
strode over the front half imperiously to amass 22 points, shattering the morale
of his playing partners with prodigious length off the tee and playing extremely
tidily to card a one over gross for the first nine. Unfortunately the wheels
slipped off the express a bit on the homeward stretch as he just struggled to
hold it all together, and keep a nominal number of clubs in the bag, with shots
being dropped over the last four holes and him managing to glean just 1 point on
the last three. But he had done just enough going out to hold off the challenge
of Peter Sumner whose three over handicap was not good enough for anything other
than second, but still sufficient to consign Alan Pilkington to third place a
further four strokes behind.
There were no 2’s in either division.
Before presenting the prizes, The Doc welcomed back Dale Drader, Matt Millar,
Paul Ovens and Peter Sumner.
Friday, May 8, Green Valley - Stableford
1st Brian Libbey 38
2nd Norman Isherwood 37
3rd Trevor Schirmer 36
4th Saranya Riley 35
Green Valley on a holiday can sometimes be a bit trying as it usually fills up
rapidly, but on this day the course in front of the competition was reasonably
clear and the round progressed without any discernable delays and with the
greens now in tip top shape it provided a very relaxing days golf in wonderful
surroundings .
Brian Libbey is currently unable to play more than once a week as his day job is
taking up more and more of his time and attention, but he must still be
practicing somewhere, as his game shows none of the rustiness normally expected
with playing so little.
Norman Isherwood is also an irregular performer, but he too managed to do well
enough to snatch second place away from Trevor Schirmer by a single shot after
just missing out on a chance of a count back with Brian.
Saranya Riley, playing off the tees in front (which were the reds in any event),
just failed to get on terms with Trevor over the closing holes and had to be
content with fourth.
Once again there were no 2’s in the second division but Norman Isherwood, Rick
Holmes, Brian Libbey and Tom Atkins shared the first division pool.
Back at The Haven Ticky Donovan and Geoff Picken were welcomed back, with the
former now having given up the job of coaching the Great Britain Karate squad
and hoping to spend a little more time on the green mat here in Thailand.
Its so Semple for Lindsay
IPGC golf from Lewiinski’s
Sunday, May 3, Green Valley -
Stableford
A Flight
1st Lindsay Semple (10) 38pts
2nd Steve Mulberry (10) 36pts
3rd Pat Regan (10) 35pts
B Flight
1st Don Lehmer (14) 39pts
2nd Joe Tynan (28) 38pts
3rd Geoff Doddy (20) 38pts
Near Pins: #2 Garry Blackburne, #9 Garry Blackburne, #12 Steve
Smith, #16 Kevin Hamilton
2’s: seven
The Don himself took today’s honours at Green Valley, posting a very
respectable 39 points. Pushing the Don all the way was the Co Wicklow
Navigator ‘steaming’ Joe Tynan, and the pride of Shropshire, Geoff
Doody, both knotted on 38 points: Joe gaining the count back verdict to
take second place.
Sunday’s
A Flight winner, Lindsay Semple.
Lindsey Semple (who else!) won the senior flight with 38 points; Steve
Mulberry claimed second spot with a useful even par round, leaving a
great big pile up for third. Pat Reagan the County Dubliner emerged the
victor, over Nicky two gloves, Colonel Blink Spencer, Seamus Cotter V C,
Mark Happy shoes, Seamless Bob and Steve Smith, all tied on 35 points
Joe’s sorted out the Sat Nav - it is now tuned in to the Irish satellite
system. Good luck Joe.
Monday, May 4, Greenwood – Stableford
A Flight
1st Paul Young (12) 41pts
2nd Eddie Beilby (16) 40pts
3rd Peter Hynard (13) 39pts
A warm welcome at Greenwood was the prelude to a relaxed stableford
tournament for the Lewiinski’s golf society. The day was hot and humid
and the course had recently been cored and sanded, it’s that time of the
year, but do they have to work on all the greens at the same time?
Despite this the scores were still outstanding.
Paul Young won the day with a splendid 41 points. The Captain pushed
Paul all the way coming up a shot short. Peter Hynard filled the podium
with a count back victory over screaming Mark Wood, both locked together
on 39 points
Paul Young made it a day to remember by slotting the only ‘2’ of the day
Wednesday, May 6, Mountain Shadow – Stableford
A Flight
1st Terry Mangan (9) 35pts
2nd Tore Eliassen (14) 34pts
3rd Bob Newell (6) 33pts
The Lewiinski’s mob traveled to the very challenging Mountain Shadow to
play a stableford comp. The course was in excellent condition and the
pins were placed so as not to please.
Co. Wicklow man Terry Mangan posted the best card of the day to take the
first place with 35 points. Tore, the man in form, pushed Terry all the
way to take second a shot adrift and “Seamless” Bob Newell snatched the
third spot via a count back over the President
No 2’s were posted so a rollover on Friday.
“Screaming” Joe is all at sea with his Sat Nav - he has made 16 trips to
the Elephant village. He keeps pressing the last trip button, Ha.
Friday, May 8, Green Valley - Stableford
A Flight
1st Seamus Cotter (11) 39pts
2nd John Haugen (9) 38pts
B Flight
1st Jum Karagit (27) 46pts
2nd Peter Henshaw (16) 42pts
Someone once said that timing is everything. Who would fire an amazing
46 points two days before the Monthly Medal? The answer is Jum Karagit
for what must be the best round of golf in many a month. Peter the
President must have thought his great 42 points was the wining score.
Then the Captain, with a creditable 41 points. Sorry this was Jum’s day.
A Flight had no such drama as Seamus V C took top spot with 39 points.
John Haugen got the verdict on a count back over K O Kerr for second,
both a shot back.
Jum added a couple of 2’s to her day to remember, along with Peter
Hynard (2), Seamless and Jim Elphick.
I heard it on the Wireless
Brian on entering the club house with his usual sad face looked at ‘One
Ball’ and commented another blind caddie.
Note: Lewiinski’s is situated on Pattaya Land Soi 1, Beach Road
Soi 13/3 near to Walking Street. Anyone wishing to play with us just pop
in and add your name to the list or call Bob on 080 096 8232. Transport
is provided.
Johnson and Fortune both top 40 at Greenwood
PSC golf from P J Pool Bar
Neil Duncan
Monday, May 4, Plutaluang N & W (White tees)
-Stableford
Fifteen of us tootled out to Navy where most kindly donated a
ball to the reservoir at North 3 as usual.
Thursday’s
winner and runner up, David Johnson (left) and Jim Fortune.
John Roddis had the best of the day taking top spot with 39 points and a one
shot reduction to his handicap. David Clamp was runner up followed in by
Allan Cassin, Peter Fitton and Cliff Saveall with 36, 32, 29 and 28 points
respectively with no need for any count-backs.
Allan Cassin had two near pin dividends, Cliff Saveall and yours truly the
other two. Roddo sunk the longest first putt on the 18th green and the
average score for the day was 27.9 points.
Thursday, May 7, Greenwood C & B
- Stableford
Most of the very similar group to that which played on Monday
trundled calmly up the 331 to the venue whilst four flew up there very low
courtesy of flying officer Mike King. It wasn’t until putting out on the
third green that my knuckles reverted from white to their normal color.
Allocated C & B courses we were started early in good order. And what a
scorcher it was. Not only did we swelter in the heat but we also put
together the highest average score that I can recall – 35.3 stableford
points. Granted some of the tees were a little forward but the scoring
should have been marred by the healing maintenance scars on the greens.
David Johnson came in first with 42 points with Jim Fortune being runner up
with 40 points, both players receiving two shot manual cuts to their
handicaps. Rob Gandley made a welcome return to form coming in third with 39
points whilst Peter Fitton took fourth prize with 38 points, knocking the
scribe out of the money on count back.
Jim Fortune, yours truly, Alan Freeman and Roddo claimed the near pin
dividends whilst Thong Pimblitt nabbed the longest first putt on the 18th
green.
Aka O’Reilly has returned to play with us but we now suspect he is a bit of
a redneck because he claims that the recent lightning strike to his house
combined with the subsequent wind storm and 100mm deluge caused 240,000 baht
worth of improvements to it.
Note: Any golfers seeking to play with our group that wish to know
about the group’s format please visit P J Pool Bar & Restaurant on Soi
Watboonsamphan (Soi Kanoi) or phone Neil on 089 511 0575.
Reg bags an eagle at Phoenix
PSC golf from The Bunker Bar
Monday, May 4, Treasure Hill -
Stableford
There’s never many stableford points to be had at Treasure Hill
and today was no exception. PJ Redmond got the lion’s share to win with 34
points, and Mario beat John Graham on a count back to take the runner up
spot. Mashi took fourth place with 31 points.
Reg Smart recorded his second ever eagle last
week at Phoenix.
William Melik, playing off a handicap of 6, provided the
highlight of the day by making an eagle on the signature 16th hole par 5.
1st PJ Redmond (16) 34pts
2nd Mario Benavidez (25) 32pts
3rd John Graham (13) 32pts
4th Mashi Kaneta (10) 31pts
Near Pins: William Melik, Geoff Parker and Mario (2).
Wednesday, May 6, Phoenix - Medal
PJ Remond showed Monday’s win was no fluke by winning the A Flight with a 3
under par round, with Geoff Parker getting in the frame for a change, taking
second place with a 1 under par score and Geoff Cox came third with level
par.
The round of the day belonged to Reg Smart who won the B Flight with a 2
under par score, the highlight being a superb eagle on the 5th hole (par 4)
on the Mountain course which is only his second eagle ever in 60 years of
playing golf. Not bad going for a 73 year old. Reg’s round could have been
even better had he not scored a 9 at the last! Geoff Hart finished runner up
a shot behind and Mario took third place with a net 73.
A Flight
1st PJ Redmond (16) net 69
2nd Geoff Parker (15) net 71
3rd Geoff Cox (12) net 72
B Flight
1st Reg Smart (24) net 70
2nd Geoff Hart (21) net 71
3rd Mario Benavidez (25) net 73
Near Pins: William Melik, William Macey, Reg Smart and Ken Davidson.
Friday, May 8, Pattana - Stableford
Playing stableford at Pattana Golf and Sports Resort, Geoff Hart
found some of last month’s form to go one better than Wednesday by winning
the B Flight with a fine round of 36 points; 2 points ahead of Hugh
O’Donnell. Mario Benavidez, who’s had a good week’s golf, came third with 31
points.
The cut was handicap 14 and John Graham took advantage of his two extra
shots that he got back at the last handicap revision (don’t know how?), John
won the A Flight with the best score of the day, 3 points better off than
second placed Gerry, and John Beattie came third by beating Mashi on a count
back.
Near pin winners were Gerry Cooney, Neil Jones, Rab McDonald and Dave Keats.
A Flight
1st John Graham (13) 38pts
2nd Gerry Cooney (11) 35pts
3rd John Beattie (12) 34pts
B Flight
1st Geoff Hart (19) 36pts
2nd Hugh O’Donnell (23) 34pts
3rd Mario Benavidez (25) 31pts
A ‘chip off the old block’
picks up the baton
PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside
Dark, Landlord Ray, Lala, Justin
& Ooh on the balcony of Mulligans Lakeside.
Monday, May 4, Green Valley - Stableford
Firstly off to Green Valley on Monday (Tuesday was a Holiday) to
play off the white tees. The course was in good condition and busy, with
several other groups teeing off in advance of us, so a little bit slow, but
acceptable, with so many players about.
The weather looked after us, so with a little patience, all enjoyed their
round.
The technical prizes were shared by Dave, Jeff, Graham & Steve, with the
prize rundown being topped by Mulligans Lakeside landlord Ray Ryan (22) with
39 points. The minor placings were won by Ken Hole (16) with 37 pts, while
Jeff Wylie (8) got third with 36.
Thursday, May 7, Pattana - Stableford
Now to Thursday & off we travelled to Pattana Golf & Sports Club,
a truly fine facility, to play the A & C layout off the white tees. The
course was in generally good condition and provided a good test on the day.
I am sorry to say that the course got the better of nearly all the field
today, the greens were very testing with some slopes & undulations that were
treacherous if you found yourself on the wrong side of the flag.
Technical prizes were picked up by Doug, Jeff (2) & Justin Hiskett, who also
streeted the field off his 11 handicap scoring 38 points, hence the
headline. The minor placings were both secured with a meagre 31 points, John
Chapman out-pointing Graham Hiskett 19 to 13 on the back 9.
Note: Mulligans Lakeside plays golf generally on Tuesday & Thursday
(we sometimes change to accommodate a Thai Holiday). Presentations are made
at the course on Tuesday, with Mulligans Lakeside hosting the Thursday
presentation.
For more details on scheduling etc, please call Jeff 089 094 1841 or Ray 081
935 8088. Hope to see you there, Cheers & Good Golfing!
Ditz signs out with fine win
IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
The Pattaya Golf Society visited Pattana Golf Club on
Coronation Day, Tuesday, May 5, to play a stableford competition. Having
played there at the weekend when the yellow tees were well forward, this
time they took on the daunting prospect of the A & C combination off the
white tees. The course was in excellent condition and was relatively empty
and the two flights were cut at the usual eighteen and under.
Starting on the hitherto unplayed “A” nine, golfers were faced with long par
fours and a par six and a few found the test too much. The par six A6 posed
no real problems except to organiser Mr. Len who managed to damage knee
ligaments in a hazard but surprisingly most of the golfers came through the
test relatively successfully.
In the second flight Peter Biggs, Ronnie Tan and Kazu Agune all posted
scores of 30 points to share second place whilst the winner was Emiel van
der Wiele, whose current form helped him to a winning score of 32 points.
In the top flight steady Stuart Thompson and a resurgent Mikael Andersson
tied for second with 33 points whilst Austrian golfer Peter Ditz celebrated
his final round before returning to Europe with a fine 37 points, his gross
of eighty being the best of the day.
Stuart Thompson and Masa Takano shared the top flight 2’s pot for their
efforts on A3 whilst Peter Biggs emulated their feat on the same hole to
give him the healthy rolled over pot in the second flight.
Jack Shegobin is the first golfer from Mauritius to play in a PGS
competition and his welcome was emphasised after his first nine score of
twenty points was besmirched by only nine on the back, giving him the
largest split of 20 - 9. He had nevertheless enjoyed the experience, as had
all the PGS golfers on Coronation Day.
Voller savages Lakeside
The Pattaya Golf Society travelled to the attractive Royal
Lakeside course at the mouth of the Bangpakong river on Thursday, May 7, to
play a stableford competition on the generally forgiving track. The course
was well set up as usual and the only inconvenience were the occasional
mosquitoes, a feature of the riverside setting.
The single flight saw some excellent golf with four players sharing third
place on 37 points each; Tony Thorne, Tore Eliassen, and the Japanese duo of
Kazu Agune and Shuichi Kodaka. Runner-up, and playing his first competitive
round with the PGS, was Bob Watson, and his 40 point score gave warning of
what may be to come from the Englishman.
The winner was Chris Voller who came up with another amazing round. His 42
points was the second round in three where he trounced the field with a
six-under score. Remarkable stuff this from the competent Englishman. His
iron play at times can be phenomenal with a full range of shots peppering
the pins and his gross 74 was an outstanding return. Amazingly, also, he
failed to register a birdie ‘2’, unlike Stan Kure and Masanori Takano who
cheekily landed an eagle on the par four eleventh for a share of the 2’s
pot.
Earlier in the day the sharp-eyed organiser Mr. Chris had spotted a blot on
the navigational record of Tony Thorne and he was duly rewarded with the
Booby Bevy for his error. And next, no doubt, Mr. Chris will be targeting
Green Valley at the weekend for another sub par performance.
Oriental Special
The Pattaya Golf Society returned to Green Valley on Saturday,
May 9, for a stableford event over the well prepared course, under skies
brooding with intent. An earlier than normal start saw no hold-ups behind
touring groups and a good day was in prospect as scores were to show.
For the first time in its history the group saw an all-Asian leaderboard as
Hong Kong Aussie Sammy Chang took third place with 39 points in his first
IPGC competition. He was one point behind the steady Japanese golfer Masa
Takano whose round of 40 points was his best performance in the Kingdom. It
deserved more but he was thwarted by the excellence of Thai golfer Wichai
Tananusorn who returned a score of 42 points for his second successive win
at Green Valley.
Mauritanian Jack Shegobin shared the 2’s pot with Wichai and Sammy, the
latter also sharing the day’s best gross of 78 with Masa Takano. The only
European name mentioned at the presentation was that of Richard Hurley,
another of the PGS newest members, who looks more than the part on the range
but stutters on the course and his first competition round brought him the
Booby Bevy for his low points total.
The day had been marshalled well by Chris Voller and thoroughly enjoyed by
all at Green Valley.
Aussie’s rule at Green Valley
Golf from the Travellers Rest
Barry Hooper
I mentioned last week that we are currently having a lot of new
faces join us at TRGG. This week was no different with a large contingent of
players from Australia joining us at the end of the week. Many for the first
time and some returning back after visiting with us last year.
Saturday winners: Ian Sceats,
Paul Roscoe, Kevin Tomkins and Ted Senior.
(Inset Picture - Monday winners: Gunnar Vangsnes and Jon Dean).
The result was that in our outing to Green Valley on May 9
we saw both divisions and the second and third places in division two all
won by Australians.
Monday, May 4, Pattana A & C – Stableford
1st Gunnar Vangsnes (20) 40pts
2nd Jon Dean (10) 35pts
3rd Ito Akitoshi (9) 35pts
4th Mike Sanders (9) 32pts
A trip to Pattana GC was the order if the day and a course that the TRGG
have not visited in some time, but the price deal on offer was one not to be
turned down.
I personally had never previously played at this venue but found the course
to be in good condition and the service excellent. I was also advised that
it was not so easy to find but had no difficulties, seeing as it was well
signposted off the 331.
The weather held good with a light breeze at times taking away the heat of
the day. In general the scores were high twenties to mid thirties but one
stood out and that was the winning score of forty points from Gunnar
Vangnes, one of our regulars who only started playing a little over a year
ago.
I spoke with him after the day’s play and he admitted to me that he really
wanted to get his handicap down below twenty before returning back home.
Well he got his wish as this result took him down to eighteen.
Congratulations Gunnar!
Tuesday, May 5, Green Valley - Stableford
1st Trevor Downing (0) 37pts
2nd Gunnar Vangsnes (18) 32pts
3rd Eddie Townsend (15) 32pts
4th Martin Richards (23) 32pts
Tuesday saw a weekday visit to Green Valley and just the one division with
the player participation being quite low.
Trevor Downing (note his handicap in the results) was the clear winner by
five points with a thirty seven pointer and Gunnar Vangsnes, the winner from
the previous day, was pegged back to second place at thirty two, this time
albeit after a count back over a returning Eddie Townsend and Martin
Richards, who also recorded the only ‘2’ of the day.
Thursday, May 7, Phoenix Mountain & Ocean - Stableford
1st Mike Sanders (9) 38pts
2nd Ito Akitoshi (9) 38pts
3rd Eddie Townsend (15) 38pts
4th Ted Senior (16) 36pts
Yet another of our regular outings to Phoenix Mountain and Ocean and as
always the course was in excellent condition. It was a fairly low turnout so
just one division.
The top three positions were all decided on count back all at thirty-eight:
Mike Sanders topped the list, Ito Akitoshi was second and Eddie Townsend
came in third.
There were two 2’s on the day from Ted Senior at the eighth and Mike Sanders
at the sixteenth
Saturday, May 9, Green Valley - Stableford
Division 1
1st Ted Senior (16) 38pts
2nd Fergus Brennan (11) 37pts
3rd Mike Sanders (9) 37pts
4th Jim Sykes (10) 36pts
Division 2
1st Ian Sceats (20) 36pts
2nd Paul Roscoe (27) 33pts
3rd Kevin Tomkins (23) 33pts
4th Lars Strom (19) 33pts
Saturday was our second May outing to our now regular weekend venue at Green
Valley, and at a cost that cannot to bettered. We had a good turnout
bolstered as I mentioned in my opening paragraph by a large Australian
contingency. I spoke with a lot of them on their return and the consensus
was that they had all had a great day at a quality club. This showed in the
scores.
Ian Sceats won the second division with thirty-six points followed by Paul
Roscoe at the top of a count back over Kevin Tomkins and Lars Strom.
Division 1 went to one of our regular players, Ted Senior with thirty-eight
points, three places better than his outing on Thursday. Fergus Brennan and
Mike Sanders fought out a count back on thirty-seven for second and third
places.
There were just the two 2’s, going to Ted Senior and Ian Sceats.
Greenaway doubles up on Birthday Cups
PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Joey’s column
Monday, May 4, Burapha - Stableford
Sponsoring a ‘Birthday Cup’ has become a popular way of
celebrating an Outbacker’s Birthday, with six so far this year and two more
scheduled in the near future; Geoff Doody’s on Thurs May 14 at Green Valley
and Bob Lindborg’s (better ball pairs) on May 18 at Burapha.
Paul,
the Outbacker B’day cup winner (left) poses with Jack (center) & Div B
winner, Kathy.
But today was Jack’s Day – falling on a Monday where Outbackers have a
regular slot – and a good rate at Burapha – no extra to pay for the
additional prizes or food, as all is provided by the day’s sponsor.
The day started early as many gathered at The Outback for breakfast with
Jack before setting off to Burapha, where a total of 44 had signed up to
play in Jack’s Day.
On arrival we found once again a deserted course and were allocated the
unusual combination of Belfry and Dunes playing off the blue tees, rated at
73.9 with a slope of 140; but with the customary two tee start, everybody
was quickly away. The weather was perfect and the course once again was in
excellent condition.
As the results came in it was obvious that no one had beaten the course with
just two players beating their handicap – that being the overall winner Paul
Greenaway (11) with 38 points and by doing so, becoming the first Outbacker
to win a Birthday Cup for the second time. Well done Paul!
The other player to beat their handicap was ‘Our Kathy’, Kathy Doody (18)
with a fine 37 points to win B Flight by one point from Alan Bishop (17).
In ‘C’ Flight it was ‘keep it in the family’ with Annie Law (28) – Kathy’s
sister here on holiday - with 35 points beating the ‘bookies friend’ Charles
Sheppard by two.
‘A’ Flight was that steady B1, aka Bruce Milner (11) with 36 points with the
ever ready, Ray Dell (13) runner-up on 33.
Later on at the Outback bar it was time for the food - as usual it was the
Outback’s cottage pie but today supplemented with onion bhajis, samosas and
some Thai dishes. After which, Capt’ Bob announced the results and of course
to wish Jack, Happy Birthday. This was followed by fireworks and by Jack
ringing the bell! Thanks Jack for a great day.
The Near Pins were won by Graham Holmes (B2), Stuart McKenzie(B8), Jack
Moseley (D2), however, the prize was put back into a draw and won by Suzi
Lawton and D8 was Kathy Doody.
There were five ‘2’s from Graham Holmes, Stuart McKenzie, Pottsy, Chris
Davisson and Capt’ Bob.
Overall
1st Paul Greenaway (11) 38pts
Div A (0-14)
1st Bruce Milner (11) 36pts
2nd Ray Dell (13) 33pts
3rd Bob Philp (6) 33pts
4th Graham Holmes (6) 33pts
Div B (15-19)
1st Kathy Doody (18) 37pts
2nd Alan Bishop (17) 36pts
3rd Ivan Plunkett (18) 35pts
4th Chris Dopp (19) 35pts
Div C (20+)
1st Annie Law (28) 35
2nd Charles Sheppard (20) 33
3rd Barry Lewis (31) 31pts
4th Peter Gibson (23) 30pts
Tuesday, May 5, Pattaya C.C., Stableford
Following Labour Day on Friday, May 1; eleven Outbackers played
today on Coronation Day, the second of four holidays this month.
Bob Pearce celebrated with an excellent 38 points to win on count back from
Geoff Moodie, who should look at his handicap from time to time! Third was
John Cogan, after a short lay off, with 37 and fourth was young Nigel on 36.
There were no ‘2’s, so, as is customary, the pot was added to the prize
fund.
1st Bob Pearce (14) 38pts
2nd Geoff Moodie (26) 38pts
3rd John Cogan (20) 37pts
4th Nigel Cannon (22) 36pts
Wednesday, May 6, Phoenix - Stableford
An empty course, Mountain & Ocean, enabling an excellent pace of
under four hours, played host to 19 Outbackers on a very hot and humid day.
Even though the greens on Mountain were disappointingly bobbly, Phoenix is a
well presented mature parkland track that deservedly remains high in
popularity with many a farang and locals alike.
Amongst jovial jibes from Capt’ Bob, accusing General Jack of dropping his
hands over the last two holes, scoring only three points, the 38 points he
returned were just enough to win Div A with the top score of the day. Mark
Allen was second with 37 from Barry McIntosh in third with 35.
Jum (37pts), now off a h’cap of 23, continued her improving golf to win Div
B, signalling that she’s not too far away from that next milestone of
breaking into the teens. Second was Phoenix member, Alan Bishop with 36.
There were only two ‘2’s from Dave Arrowsmith and Bruce McAdam.
Div A (0-16)
1st Jack Moseley (12) 38pts
2nd Mark Allen (14) 37pts
3rd Barry McIntosh (15) 35pts
Div B (17+)
1st Jum Karagit (23) 37pts
2nd Alan Bishop (17) 36pts
3rd Henry O’Brien (20) 35pts
Thursday, May 7, Green Valley - Stableford
After breaking 90 for the first time a couple of weeks ago, John
(stunning) Lawton has done it again, winning Div A on count back with the
joint top score of the day of 37 points; the Sugarman handing him the
victory after three-putting the last.
Twenty Outbackers played and the course was reported to be in good condition
but Div B could have done better, as unbelievably the 31 points from Henry
O’Brien was enough to win and the 29 from Geoff Doody still earned him a
place on the podium.
A heart warming little tale came to light as Andrew & Kovak, who have joined
the Outback all week, teed off on the fifth. Andrew, who plays one handed,
as a result of accident when he was a teenager, removed his golf glove as he
was having trouble gripping the club due to the sweat. He takes his swing
and hits the ball clear over the lake but unfortunately was still unable to
hang onto the club, which also went hurtling, to the middle of the lake. His
ever present attentive caddie spied a couple of young Thai boys not far away
and whistled them up, explaining to them what had happened. They stripped
down to the waste, jumped in and proceeded to dive, in an effort to retrieve
Andrew’s sunken club. After a few attempts and directions from the caddie as
to where it exactly entered the water, one of them emerged triumphant,
beaming from ear to ear and returning the offending club to the safety of
Andrew’s golf bag. Only in Thailand!
There were two ‘2’s coming from John Lawton and Geoff Doody.
Div A (0-19)
1st John Lawton (17) 37pts
2nd Sugar Ray Handford (18) 37pts
3rd Barry Chadbourn (19) 33pts
Div B (20+)
1st Henry O’Brien (20) 31pts
2nd Suzi Lawton (20) 30pts
3rd Geoff Doody (20) 29pts
Friday, May 8,
Emerald - Stableford
It is a sure sign of the downturn in tourism and maybe even the
local economy, when a golf course like the Emerald is virtually empty on a
Public Holiday. Teeing off ahead of schedule with only a two-ball in front
and the Beaver Bar on their back nine way ahead, the 11 Outbackers enjoyed a
seemingly slow round of under four hours in the oppressive humidity, yet
avoided the onslaught of a storm that was rumbling around in the distance.
The course appeared tired and in need of a little TLC and the greens were
particularly furry on the front nine, making it easy to leave a putt short
of the hole.
The scores were generally disappointing with the big hitting Tom Clark
scoring 20 on the way out but managing only 12 on the back, whilst another
big hitter, Ron Dickie, rallied on the back nine after a wobble at the turn,
to muster 34 points to win the day. Second was Pete Gibson with 33 and Jack
scrambled into third on count back after his ball disappeared after clouting
a tree on the eighteenth.
There was just one ‘2’ coming from Rick Evans.
1st Ron Dickie (18) 34pts
2nd Peter Gibson (23) 33pts
3rd Jack Moseley (12) 32pts
NOTE: If you played this course, the Outback would like you to
comment on our forum, outbackchat – topic, “course reviews”, which can be
found on our website, www.outbackgolfbar.com. This would help others as to
the current condition of the courses in the area. For example - value for
money (green fee & cart etc), pace of play, condition of the fairways,
condition of the greens, caddies, and drink stops & restaurant. Even if you
played a different course, please send in your review for all to read. The
more the merrier.
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.
Sizzling bats and a hot ball leads to record run score
PSC Sunday Softball
Spot about to smack the ball to
left field.
Diego Wells
It was a wild and windy, action packed performance at Pattaya
softball this Sunday. The bats were sizzling, while the wind howled out
toward left field.
Commissioner John Chicken F. decided it was time to use the new 47 core,
softball, which took off like a rocket from the bats all afternoon. The
wind, the ball, the bats and the boys, combined to break the record for most
runs scored in a day of softball, as an amazing 89 runs were scored in just
13 innings.
MVP
of the day, Steve at first base.
Three games were played on the day, but the final two were shortened due to
the ten run mercy rule being put into effect (if a team is down by 10 or
more runs, they get another at bat, and if they are still down by 10 or
more, automatically lose the game).
Many a softballer padded his batting average statistics on this day, and it
was a fun to watch so many homeruns and hits in such a short time.
Game 1
The first game was a hitter’s paradise, as the brand new ball bounced
mightily off of the bats, and the out blowing wind also added distance to
everyone’s hits.
Rocky’s team scored four in the first off hard hits by Nick, John CF, Peter,
Diego and John Stockton, but that was topped by Shawn’s team’s six runs in
the bottom of the inning. Rocky’s team then struggled defensively and
offensively, as new player Dave couldn’t find his hitting stroke (his swing
seems better suited for the driving range at the moment) and our captain of
the seas Odvar was doing his best impression of a statue for most of his
time in right field. Credit team Shawn for exploiting the defensive
weaknesses, and blasting the balls to both fields.
Mark Reynolds had yet another strong hitting performance, after coming off
of MVP honors last week. Rick was also smacking the ball through holes, as
was his infield compatriot John E. Beck, in his last week of action (see,
some of us have jobs) put the softball through considerable pain, with
several long pokes to left field. But, it was our French Canadian (Frog)
friend Steve, who seemed to have either eaten his wheeties or had torn into
a can of spinach just before the match. Swinging from the left side, Steve
continually crushed the ball, and hit back to back, to back homeruns. He hit
5 homeruns on the day, and earned the MVP honors, that I am sure he will
treasure as he returns to Pakistan for a short hiatus (he too has a job).
Rocky’s team did put it all together in the fourth inning, scoring 11 runs
and batting through the order twice. But those runs weren’t enough, as
Shawn’s team continued to pound the ball, winning by the final score of
24-15.
Game 2
In game 2 Rocky’s team added a late arriving Spot to their lineup in the
hopes that it would change their luck with their bats. They managed to score
two runs in the first, with Spot leading the way with a double, but Shawn’s
team struck back for two of their own in the bottom of the inning.
Rocky’s team couldn’t manage a run in the second, with Dave, Rocky and
Odvar, all grounding or striking out, and it proved their undoing. Shawn’s
team continued their hitting parade, with homers from Steve and Rick,
triples and doubles from Jason, Mark, Beck, and John E. and the whole team
batting through the order twice. When the third out was finally recorded,
the damage done was severe enough for Shawn’s team to earn the 13-2 mercy
rule victory.
Game 3
Game 3 saw a previously rattled Rocky’s team finally fight back. They
traded newcomer Dave, who was struggling with his bat and foot speed, for
the swift, southern American Jason, to try and even out the teams. Jason,
who struggled to hit the ball solidly, but always found a way to get on
base, was the catalyst for Rocky’s team.
Both teams continued to bash the ball, scoring four in the first, but
Rocky’s team scored 9 in the second and 10 in the third to put the game out
of reach. Final score was Rocky’s team 23, Shawn’s team 12.
Overall, it was a fun day to be wielding a bat in Pattaya softball. The 89
runs in 13 innings is a record that will probably stand until a tornado
comes to town. The boys stayed to quaff some ale after the game, and relaxed
in the late afternoon sun.
Again, all able bodied Pattaya people with even an ounce of athletic ability
are invited to join us. We play every Sunday, at 1 p.m., on the field in
Jomtien (for more information, contact John CF or Perry McNeely at the
Pattaya Sports Club). So why not get off your barstool, and give Pattaya
Softball a try this Sunday?
Three way tie for first place after week eleven
Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League
200 Bowlers: Dung, Samrit, Mai
and Nok.
Dung Downs bowled a 206 game and 549 series to lead Green
Chilli to a four point sweep of Bavaria and Green Chilli moved into a tie
for first. Sala Thai Restaurant won four points from Swethai behind Jan
Johansson’s 512 series and Aht Johansson had a 518 series for Swethai.
Brother D won three points from VFW Post 9876 in lanes 11 and 12 which are
always hard to score well on. Kran Nielsen bowled a 552 series to lead her
Café Kronborg team to a four point win over Canada and Kronborg jumped up
from tenth place to a tie for fifth. Ooy Pluemkamon had a 518 series for
Canada.
Sabai Sabai Friday is starting to make a move up the ladder as they took all
four points from Jack Tar. Nok Kennedy led Sabai with games of 215, 190, 202
for a 607 series and Samrit had a 535 series. Mai Munsitha bowled a 205
game, 537 series for Jack Tar.
Café Ole took three points from Indiana with no good scores recorded in the
difficult lanes 13 and 14.
Bridge in Paradise: by Neil Robinson
An ugly bid in a beautiful place
Hello and welcome to the new bridge column. Each week I
plan to present a hand which is both interesting and, I hope, informative.
I would love to hear from readers about their favourite hands - please do
contact me at: [email protected].
Chiang Dao, about 80 km
north of Chiang Mai, is a land of beautiful, narrow valleys between steep,
forest covered mountains. It is well worth visiting if you are in northern
Thailand. Periodically, I get together with a group of bridge-playing
friends from Chiang Mai, to stay at the Chiang Dao Nest Resort for a weekend
of bridge. This hand was dealt on such a trip. Our bridge table was in a
charming valley, shaded by tall trees and with a mountain rising up so
sharply that it almost looked within touching distance. Lulled by the
surrounding beauty, I made a bid I was to regret.
Once upon a time, in a
simpler age, when a player bidding Standard American opened 3N, they meant
it. It showed a powerful balanced hand with 25-27 high card points. Those
days of honest bidding are long gone, to be replaced by gambling 3N
openers. My Acol bidding friends tell me it is the same in Acol.
The gambling 3N shows a long
(7 or more cards) running minor suit. Depending on agreements, the bidder
may or may not have an outside entry. The bidder hopes that partner has a
couple of tricks, can stop the suit led, and has at least one card in the
long minor to lead to declarer’s hand. Then, presto, nine tricks and game
made.
The biggest advantages of
the gambling 3N are its preemptive value - it can be very difficult for the
opponents to find their best contract - and that 3N sometimes makes.
Probably its greatest disadvantage is that it gives the opposition a roadmap
to the hands. I was sitting East when this deal came up, with neither side
vulnerable and North dealing:
S: AK862
H: K852
D: 7
C: 865
S: Q4 S:
-
H: Q104 H: 763
D: KJ1098 D: Q63
C: 1097 C:
AKQJ432
S: J109753
H: AJ9
D: A542
C: -
This was the bidding:
North East South West
P 3N
4S 5C
5S 6C
P P
6S All pass
I opened 3N after North’s
pass. South made an aggressive 4S overcall. My partner raised my presumed
suit to the five level (if my suit were in fact diamonds, I could always
correct). North was happy to raise his partner, in view of his very
adequate support for the bid suit. I bid 6C, to raise the ante and North,
with the reasonable hope that his partner was void in clubs, made the wise
decision to raise to slam.
South ruffed the club lead,
pulled trumps in two rounds, played the ace of diamonds and eventually
trumped three diamonds on board. He led towards the jack of hearts, to try
and make an overtrick, hoping that I held the heart queen. When the finesse
failed, he made twelve tricks (6 spades, 2 hearts, the ace of diamonds and
three diamond ruffs), and had nearly taken all thirteen.
I was left regretting my
ill-judged decision to bid 6C, thereby pushing the opponents into a cold
small slam made with only 20 high card points between the two hands. Such
is bridge in paradise!
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