Winterburn shoots 71 off the stick

PSC golf from The Golf Club Sports Bar & Grill

Monday, June 21,
Green Valley – Stableford
1st Jez Lees (18) 40pts
2nd Mark Wood (12) 39pts
3rd Keith Worboys (17) 38pts
4th John Dearden (19) 38pts

Our regular weekly start at Green Valley saw some new faces in the winners’ frame and continued support from our regulars.

Jez Lees celebrated the school years end with a big 40 point win. Mark Wood was second with a fine 39 points and Keith Worboys narrowly beat out John TB Dearden on count back for third. It seems that the one hour stop at the Hole 12 drink stand proved profitable for some.

Welcome back to Phil Page and the colorful Brian Wilkinson.

Wednesday, June 23,
Siam Plantation – Stableford
1st Micheal Winterburn (5) 40pts
2nd Nigel Flanagan (18) 39pts
3rd Collin Greg (12) 39pts

Michael Winterburn was seen knocking down pins on the Tapioca/Pineapple combo, putts were falling and he managed a fabulous gross 71 off the stick to take the competition. Nicely done son!

Nigel Flanagan, fresh off the plane, slashed and scrambled to a fine 39 points, beating Collin Greg on count back 20 to 18. We were all regaled with Nigel’s round at the presentation back at The Golf Club.

Friday, June 25, Khao
Kheow – TWICO (Stableford)
1st Mark Wood (12) 39pts
2nd Brad Sproxton (9) 36pts
3rd Keith Worboys (17) 31pts

Mark Wood shot the best of the day at the 1st Tri Annual TWICO (Terry Wagner Invitational Closed Open) with 39 points on the A & B combination. Brad Sproxton was next on 36 points and Keith Worboys finished with 31 points for third.

Our host for the day, Terry Wagner, sponsored all par threes for near pins. The winners were Brad Sproxton, Kev Moraghan, John Emmerson and the Ash Kicker himself Ian Rippey. Thanks Terry for a fun day on the links!

Note: The Golf Club is located on Soi LK Metro, off Soi Buakhao and Soi Diana junction. We can be reached on 085 434 3377 or [email protected] and our new website is www.golfclubpattaya.com.

Gunnar blasts 44 for best of the day

Diana Seniors and Lady’s June Open

Nigel Canon

Thursday, June 24, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford

There were just 17 playing in this month’s Diana Seniors and Ladies Open, the lowest number for some time; however those that did play found the course in a satisfactory condition and the weather comfortable. All arrived early and most were away before our scheduled time and round in an easy 4 hours.

Diana winners for June (left-right) Chris John, Chant Schwulera and Gunnar Morero.

In the Ladies – just 4 – it was a reversal of last month with Chant Schwulera (Moon) playing off H/cap 12 in top spot with 38 points and Pimusa Tonkhoksoong (13) runner up with 33.

The Seniors had the best of the day from our Swedish friend Gunnar Morero (12) with an excellent 44 points, while the runner up was his friend and regular Seniors player Roger Stromstetd (17) with 37.

In the Super Seniors, winning for the second month running was PCC member Chris John (22) with 37 points, and Barry Chadbourn (18), also a PCC member, was runner up with 34. All scores are submitted to Pattaya Sports Club.

The next Diana Seniors and Ladies open will be on Thursday July 29 at Pattaya Country Club with a tee time of 0900.

Sign up sheets are at the Diana Green Bottle 2nd road and the Diana Driving range.

Ladies
1st Chant Schwulera (12) 38pts
2nd Pimusa Tonkhoksoong (13) 33pts
Seniors
1st Gunnar Morero (12) 44pts
2nd Roger Stromstetd (17) 37pts
Super Seniors
1st Chris John (22) 37pts
2nd Barry Chadbourn (18) 34pts
Near Pins: Roger Stromstetd, Chant Schwulera, Peter Kula, Gunnar Morero
Long Putts: Jan Slotten, Nils Svensson

Warberg on the warpath

PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s

Thomas Cotton

Tuesday, June 22, Greenwood - Stableford

Somewhat amplified in numbers by Omani escapees, particularly a jet-lagged Paul Sharples, the Bert’s crowd headed out to Greenwood, which is a favourite, it seems of our Captain.

Tuesday’s winning trio: Mashi Kaneta, Bill Knight and Dick Warberg.

The weather was overcast, which made it somewhat cooler than the last two months, when we suffered from a heat wave. Most of us struggled with the longish course, but Dick Warberg somehow succeeded in mastering it, beating his handicap by a wide margin.

The Friday June 25 outing was to be displaced by PSC’s monthly medal, also to be held at Greenwood. It will be observed from the photo that Mashi has had considerable success in his growth hormone therapy and now towers over the other players.

1st Dick Warberg 42pts
2nd Mashi Kaneta 34pts
3rd Bill Knight 32pts
Near Pins: Brian Gabe, Mike Phillips (2)
Long Putts: Andre Van Dyke, Brian Gabe

Thompson on top

PSC golf with the Three Sisters Golf Group

A smaller group than usual teed off at 6:30 am this past 23rd of June at Pattaya Country Club and there was some interesting play to be seen. A recent returnee after medical “leave” came in with 17 points (name withheld).

Wednesday winner Bill Thompson, left, with runner-up Bob Benda.

The course was fine except a few greens were aerated and sanded causing some strange putts. Other strange putts were strictly the result of the person wielding the putter.

Back at Caddy Shack II, where Herbie had some link pork sausages and snacks available, the usual variety of refreshments were available and a tally of the cards showed Bill Thompson coming in first with 36 points followed by Bob Benda with a 34. Following the leaders were Larry Emerson 31, Dale Murphy 30 and Herbie Ishinage 29.

14-year-old Thai sets tournament qualifying record in US

Staff Reporters

South Bend, Indiana - Fourteen-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand shot a 67 to finish with a 7-under 135 and win medalist honors in the stroke-play qualifying at the US Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship on Tuesday, June 22. Ariya finished two strokes ahead of Argentina’s Martina Gavier, who shot a 68 in round two at the University of Notre Dame’s Warren Golf Course, to advance to the match play round.

14-year old Ariya Jutanugarn, seen here competing in the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand Open, set a qualifying two-round record of 135 at the US Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in Indiana last week.

In the knock out phase Jutanugarn eased past Canada’s Augusta James 7 and 6 on Wednesday and then beat Karen Chung of the US, 3 and 1 in the second round before falling to Curtis Cup player Cydney Clanton in the third round. Coming into the final hole all square with Clanton, Jutanugarn saw her chip for par graze the flag stick and then could only stand back and watch as her opponent 2-putted for the one up victory.

The Thai junior was attempting to become the second youngest winner of the event behind Michelle Wie, who was 13 when she won the tournament in 2003. Jutanugarn already holds the record for the youngest player to ever take part in an LPGA sanctioned event when she appeared at the 2007 Honda LPGA Thailand Open in Pattaya at the age of 11 years, 11 months.

Takano tops on a grey day at Green Valley

IPGC Pattaya Golf Society at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar

As a very grey and miserable day dawned on Tuesday, 22nd June, the Pattaya Golf Society visited Green Valley to play a stableford event in place of a cancelled trip to Crystal Bay, who are hell bent on moving the goalposts this low season regarding group numbers and any previous commitments to fees and field sizes.

Green Valley was a good move as there were very few on course except for the fellow IPGC group playing under the Donovan’s “umbrella”. The day continued to be wintry and a few heavy showers duly arrived to make life a little more uncomfortable for the golfers but a few acquitted themselves well including Len Jones and Mikael Andersson who both managed 34 points for a share of second place. Mikael also secured the day’s only birdie ‘2’ on the second hole.

Virtually unstoppable at the moment is Japanese golfer Masanori Takano and his form continued with an excellent best gross figure of 78, giving him 38 points for the win.

Playing golf on a wet course is not everyone’s choice but at Green Valley allowances are made because the course is on all the “must play” lists in the province.

Thorne turns it on at St. Andrews

The Legacy Golf Company imposes a surcharge on groups of less than eighteen - find me one in Pattaya with regularly more! - so the Pattaya Golf Society did what was natural and re-routed to St. Andrews on Thursday, 24th June and found a promotion which could not be overlooked. It was “Goodbye Crystal Bay” as superb value was being offered by the congenial Ban Chang club and a splendid day on a quality golf course was assured.

The landscaping and hole layouts make for a very challenging course and the format was stableford and as many in the field had little or no experience of the course, it would call to bear all the golfers’ skills.

On a fine dry day, Masa Takano joined big hitting John Robertson in third with 32 points, just one point behind the more subtle skills of Wichai Tananusorn who came in as runner-up with 33. The winner was Tony Thorne whose approach play was accurate all day and his putting was superb on the tricky greens. His 39 points belied the fact that he had played the course only twice before and his score was a credit to the form he is in currently.

There were no birdie ‘2’s and the pot was thus enhanced.

The course at St Andrews may be quirky in places but it’s a fantastic challenge and it more than made up for the cancellation further up congested Sukhumvit.

Thai style at Emerald

The Pattaya Golf Society left Soi Buakhao on Saturday, 26th June, and headed for The Emerald course in Ban Chang for a stableford competition. The low numbers in the field was reflected on the course where there were hardly any golfers and the first group got underway some ten minutes before the scheduled tee time.

The course was in fine condition and the weather was dry but excessively humid throughout the day. With many of the white tees back to their furthest extent the day held challenges enough for the field.

The returning Sam McLellan used his first round since January to post 31 points for a share of second place with Masa Takano, whilst Thai golfer Wichai Tananusorn rounded off a good week with another excellently crafted total of 33 points for the win. Wichai also had the sole birdie ‘2’ of the day, on the tough par three thirteenth.

The Booby Bevy was reserved for John Robertson, struggling with tennis elbow and stiff wrists, which caused him to ditch his woods and try to master the course with irons only, unsuccessfully.

Alan Bainbridge of Premier League Golf Tours had generously donated a free round at the floodlit Par three course at the Asia Hotel and this was won by Masa Takano for his best total score on the par threes. The PGS thanks Alan for his generosity and wishes him well in the exciting new venture underway at the Asia Hotel.

Trevor Schirmer’s week

IPGC golf from The Haven

Monday, June 21, Bangpra – Stableford

CSS72
1st Mike Spear (22) 36pts
2nd Yasuo Suzuki (11) 34pts
3rd Alan Pilkington (10) 33pts
4th Daniel Willits (11) 32pts

Bangpra, following the recent alterations and renovations, is getting better and better each time we visit and with the Crystal Bay management now requiring a minimum of 20 players before they will provide their best price for a green fee, even in what is possibly the lowest low season ever in Pattaya, it was no hardship to move the day’s competition just round the corner where the management seemed to be interested in ringing some twenty thousand plus into the till.

It proved to be a very good decision as the course was once again in tip top shape, although it proved to be a little on the tough side for most of the hopefuls as they struggled to contend with the greens, which were almost back to their old lightning speed and with all the old six-foot breaks from a little over the same distance of putt.

Another very steady round from Mike Spear was sufficient to ensure another win to add to his previous week’s successes, with Yasuo Suzuki looking more like the perennial bridesmaid each week as he took yet another second place. Alan Pilkington made sure of a last fond memory of Pattaya to take with him as he just edged out Daniel Willits into fourth place by a single shot.

There were no 2’s in the second division but Daniel Willits had one on his own to sweep the first division.

Before presenting the prizes Stephen Beard had a farewell For Alan Pilkington who was returning to Blighty to watch the Soccer World Cup at a civilized hour.

Wednesday, June 23, Green Valley – Stableford
CSS73
1st Trevor Schirmer (14) 39pts
2nd Stuart Thompson (9) 38pts
3rd Orawan Meeraka (29) 37pts
4th Al Keith (6) 34pts
5th Mike Spear (22) 33pts
6th David Phillips (26) 33pts

Sweltering weather under oppressively heavy skies left many of the day’s contestants completely exhausted and just grateful to be able to finish without dropping from heat stroke, and even for those that had handled the conditions best, it was truly a result just to complete the eighteen holes.

Trevor Schirmer, no doubt used to the same type of conditions when he was herding his flocks in South Australia, seemed to deal with the temperature the best as he swept to an impressive win at three under handicap to deny Stuart Thompson a win that his play almost deserved, just one shot back in second place.

Orawan Meeraka also put in another good round to continue her progress and in the process almost knocked another shot off of her handicap as she ended a further shot back in third.

Al Keith is starting to get back to his old form as he starts to play again more often and it will surely not be long before he is once again gracing the top step of the podium.

Alex Sala slipped in the only ‘2’ in the second division to sweep the pool and Stuart Thompson, Kevin Hamilton and Mike Dabanovich shared the first division.

Back at The Haven prior to the presentations Stephen Beard welcomed new member David Phillips and also welcomed back Alex Sala and Brian Wilkinson. He also responded to a comment that “the prize giving was too boring”, by initiating a short cabaret act in the hope of entertaining the massed throng that had gathered for the big match due to start soon after the completion of the prize giving and celebratory drinks.

Friday, June 25, Phoenix (Blue Tees) - Monthly Medals
CSS 74
Div. 1
1st Trevor Schirmer (14) 70
2nd Marty Rock (12) 72
3rd Al Keith (6) 74
Div. 2
1st Rod Howett (24) 82
2nd Paul Taylor (16) 82
3rd Alex Sala (16) 82

Following up on his previous good form in the last competition, Trevor Schirmer continued with another fine display of controlled golf to take his first medal of the year in the first division and book his place in the play offs for the Gold and Silver Medals to be held at the end of the year. In doing so, Trevor also denied Marty Rock his first medal after he had a solid even par round, which proved only good enough for a very creditable second place. Al Keith managed to match the CSS for the day in taking third place.

The second division threw up a surprise winner in Rod Howett, who, having thought he had had an awful result, strode into the bar and ordered “drinks all round” and before they were finished found himself blowing the horn after discovering that he had in fact won. At eight over par in was certainly a surprise to find that his count back of three over was the important factor after a fairly quite outward half. Paul Taylor was also very happy to take second spot with a pair of 41’s over each half which was just enough to consign Alex Sala into third place after the latter had a very good opening nine.

There were no 2’s in the second division but Al Keith had one in the first division.

Before the prize giving Shabir Nazak was welcomed as a new member and Tom Parks and Benny Hansen were welcomed back, and following the limited success of the previous cabaret Stephen Beard had a few apologies for the England team, that had been the butt of much of the humour on the previous occasion, after they had thundered to an overwhelming success, roared on by a rapturous crowd of supporters and The Haven’s own version of the vuvuzela known simply as the Horn.

Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group you can contact Russell on mobile 084 782 4582 or call in to the hotel at 185 Soi 13 between Beach Road and 2nd Road. All transportation to the course is arranged and you do not need to sign up prior to the day, but you should be there by 8.30 on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays on the days you wish to play. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.

The 10th IPGC Golf Championship

The 10th IPGC Championship will take place on Wednesday 14th and Friday 16th July at Khao Kheow Country Club. The event is a two-day stroke play competition with a cut (top 50% of field make cut) after first day (1-day stableford for those missing cut). Players who make the cut may elect to drop down to the 1-day stableford. There will also be a two day stableford competition for the ladies.

The entry fee of 2,500 baht fee covers 2 days golf including green fee and caddy fee, 2 buffets, trophies, championship giveaways including; IPGC umbrella, IPGC golf shirt, IPGC golf towel, and multiple Lucky Draw prizes to be drawn after the prize presentations. Entry is limited to members of the IPGC and players must have at least 10 competitive scores on record to be eligible for a trophy.

Entry forms with entry fee should be handed in at either of, The Rabbi’s Elephant (Mr. Len), The Haven (Russell Exley), Jomtien Golf (Glyn Evans), and Donovan’s (Steve Mascari). Entries close, Monday, 12th of July, 7:00 pm.

Andy M. cleans up at Emerald

The Ban Chang Golf Society

Friday, June 25, The Emerald - Stableford

Yet another scorcher of a day for golf compared to the overcast weather during the week. It just seems that every Friday on our way to Emerald Golf Course the temperature rises and the wind stops.

Only 8 people this week due to the PSC competition but side bets and big hitters made for an interesting game. This became clear on the second hole when John Mc hit his drive onto the green alleging he could not see the Koreans who were putting out. No problem, our Asian friends were amicable enough - they just would not let anyone past for the rest of the round!

As seen in the headlines Andy M. won the game, nearest the pin and 8 skins. John Mc was second yet again, and the rest of the skins winners were as follows: Danny L (4), Bernie (3), with Dan and John Mc getting 1 each.

Prior commitments meant that less people went down to Mama’s Bar than normal but the fun was no less as we all made sure we gave Andy Oz a good send off as he is off to Australia next week. Have a good trip mate and we will be starting a book on when you are coming back once you have got on the plane!

Reg gets smart at Lakeside

PSC golf from the Bunker Bar

Monday, June 21, Royal Lakeside - Medal

It’s always a pleasure to play at Royal Lakeside and nobody enjoyed it more than Reg Smart today! Reg won with a superb five under par round to take him closer to Peter Habgood in the race to be ‘golfer of the month’. Bruce Gladden edged out Alan Sullivan on a count back to take the runner up spot.

‘Skinny’ Newton was in the frame for a change at Eastern Star.

Eddie Martin didn’t get in the winners circle but he made up for it by winning three near pin prizes, the other one went to William Macey.

1st Reg Smart (24) net 67
2nd Bruce Gladden (18) net 71
3rd Alan Sullivan (11) net 71

Wednesday, June 23, Eastern Star - Stableford

Peter Habgood fought back against Reg Smart to claim what he thought was maximum points in the ‘golfer of the month’ table but had to settle for second place, losing out on a count back to Gerry Cooney. ‘Skinny’ took third place a couple of points behind. This win has put Gerry in contention for the ‘golfer of the month’ title making a three horse race with only a few games to go.

Only three greens hit in the near pins with prizes going to Gerry, Mashi and Peter Habgood.

1st Gerry Cooney (12) 35pts
2nd Peter Habgood (17) 35pts
3rd ‘Skinny” Newton (27) 33pts

Friday, June 25, Mountain Shadow - Stableford

Not many players today as most of the Bunker Boy’s were playing in the Pattaya Sports Club Monthly Medal comp at Greenwood, and those who showed up to play at Mountain Shadow made hard work of it! JJ Harney came out on top with a modest 31 points, Eddie Martin was a point behind him and PJ took third place with a paltry 26 points.

JJ and PJ both won two near pins apiece.
1st JJ Harney (10) 31pts
2nd Eddie Martin (18) 30pts
3rd PJ Redmond (18) 26pts

Bridge in Paradise: by Neil Robinson

This hand from the Brighton Pairs in England was reported by Andrew Robson.  It illustrates his Bols Bridge Tip: “Play a preemptor who leads his suit for a singleton trump”.

The rationale behind the tip is that a preemptor probably has a singleton somewhere.  This singleton will be the likely choice of lead, unless it is a trump.  Bernard Telscher was sitting South and made full use of this knowledge.  Neither side were vulnerable and West dealt. 

                        S: AQJ10

                        H: A6

                        D: 10

                        C: KJ10854 

S: 3                                         S: K64

H: Q109743                         H: KJ5

D: K532                                D: J976

C: 96                                      C: Q72

                        S: 98752

                        H: 82

                        D: AQ84

                        C: A3              

West    North     East        South

3H        4C           P              4S

P           6S           All pass 

The (very aggressive) bidding is shown below left.  West led the ten of hearts to the six spade contract.  Declarer won the ace on board and cashed the ace of trumps, thereby pulling West’s trump.  Since he was bound to lose a trick to the trump king, he had to avoid a heart loser.  Consequently he played clubs, crossing to the ace, back to the king and then ruffing a third club, in the process bringing down East’s queen.  He cashed the ace of diamonds and ruffed a diamond on board.

Now, a good club from board put East in a dilemma.  Ruff with the king and declarer throws his losing heart.  Consequently, he ruffed low.  Declarer over ruffed and trumped another diamond on board, then led another club.

East ruffed with the king, but now declarer threw his losing heart.  East led the king of hearts, which declarer trumped and then crossruffed the hand to make the contract.  He won five trump tricks, the ace of hearts, the ace of diamonds, three diamond ruffs on board and two clubs.  The only loser was the king of trumps - and all because he played for that singleton trump in West’s hand.

If you have bridge questions, or to send me your interesting hands, please contact me at: [email protected].

Yamada & Hansen top the scoring

PSC Golf from the Café Kronborg

Peter Blackburn

Monday, June 21, Pattana A & B – Stableford

It’s been a while since we’ve played at Pattana and all 16 golfers that were signed up were certainly looking forward to tackling this fine course. We welcomed back Brian (B.G.) Gabe from Detroit Michigan, veteran Hugh O’Donnell from his hacienda in Spain and it was great to see long time Laem Chabang resident Bernie Segrave from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia playing with Café Kronborg for the first time. On a sadder note we were saying farewell to Mike Winfield who was returning to the States for a month or so and Volker Buley returning to Germany after his bi-annual holiday in Pattaya.

The Admiral, center, with Thursday’s top two, Niels Hansen and Les Hall.

We departed Café Kronborg five minutes later that scheduled as we all wanted to see the finish of the U.S. Open and after 50 minutes arrived at Pattana to observe that we just about had the course to ourselves. After the usual painfully slow checking in process (apparently the photocopying of all our PSC Membership Cards is a requirement of their accountants – T.I.T.) our first group was able to hit off 20 minutes ahead of our scheduled 1000 time.

It was hot and humid with a bit of wind and the course was in great shape as ever, although the greens were a bit tricky with sand on most of them making long downhill putts a scary experience. After stopping three times for much required drink breaks our first group completed the round in the good time of four and a half hours.

The winner of A Flight was Koji Yamada with the only score on the day to be better than handicap; in second place was Ted Morris, and a count back for third and fourth places saw Walter Baechli finish just in front of Brian Gabe.

Daryl Evans took out the B Flight, 2 points ahead of Colin Swann in second place, and another count back resulted in Hugh O’Donnell finishing third with Mike Winfield fourth.

Volker Buley finished his trip in style by winning the “not so” coveted Compass Cap – Bon Voyage to him and Mike.

A Flight (0-18)
1st Koji Yamada (14) 38pts
2nd Ted Morris (13) 35pts
3rd Walter Baechli (17) 34pts
4th Brian Gabe (15) 34pts
B Flight (19+)
1st Daryl Evans (22) 35pts
2nd Colin Swann (23) 33pts
3rd Hugh O’Donnell (23) 32pts
4th Mike Winfield (20) 32pts

Thursday, June 24, Plutaluang N&W – Stableford

Once again a very good low season field of 19 golfers signed up for the day’s event at Plutaluang and after welcoming back Paul Avery from Cairns, Australia, we left Café Kronborg right on time at 0815. It was also good to see the cunning linguist from Tropical Bert’s, Thomas Cotton breaking D.B.’s shackles and joining us at Derek’s “favourite” course.

We arrived at the course 40 minutes later and prepared to take on the North & West nines as the other two nines were being used for a tournament. It was good to play the West nine for a change as we very rarely get to play it and although some of us don’t particularly relish it, I think most of us enjoyed the challenge and looking at the scores for the day it was a challenge for many of us.

Our first group was able to tee off North 1 well ahead of schedule at 0925 in perfect weather conditions with a slight breeze. The course, although a little soggy in parts due to heavy recent rain was in excellent “nick” and in particular the superbly maintained greens which were in better shape than any course we have played recently. It got a bit hot during the second half of the round which resulted in regular stops for drinks and our round was completed in the reasonable time of four and three quarter hours.

As mentioned earlier, the going was tough for a lot of us and in fact only 1 player managed to score better than his handicap. A few of the golfers, particularly in B Flight were quite surprised to find themselves being rewarded for their efforts on the day.

The winner of A Flight with an excellent score of 38 points was Niels Hansen, 3 points clear of the consistent Koji Yamada in second place. Yours truly managed to gain third spot and my old Aussie mate Stu Rifkin beat one of our other Aussie mates Paul Avery in a count back for fourth place.

Les Hall won the B Flight, 5 points ahead of Ken Bernek in second place. Veteran Hugh O’Donnell finished third and Colin Swann beat Graham Buckingham on a count back for fourth.

A Flight (0-17)
1st Niels Hansen (16) 38pts
2nd Koji Yamada (14) 35pts
3rd Peter Blackburn (17) 33pts
4th Stu Rifkin (16) 32pts
B Flight (18+)
1st Les Hall (18) 33pts
2nd Ken Bernek (26) 28pts
3rd Hugh O’Donnell (23) 26pts
4th Colin Swann (23) 21pts

Today’s the Day

PSC golf from Lewiinski’s

Sunday 20th June Green Valley
A Flight
1st Seamus Cotter (11) 39pts
2nd Don Lehmer (14) 37pts
B Flight
1st Jimmy Day (16) 38pts
2nd Mike Craighead (16) 35pts

Near Pins: No 2 Gareth Gill, No 9 Bobby Driggs, No12 Peter Henshaw, No16 Jimmy Day.

Jimmy Day - two time winner last week.

Normally the headline is reserved for the winner of the medal or Sunday comp, but since the Captain, Seamus Cotter, is no stranger to the headlines or the podium it has been appropriated for other use. This Sunday Seamus fashioned a match winning 39 points to win the day and the senior flight. Don Lehmer, Michael Winterburn and Gareth ‘Rigsby’ Gill all posted 37 point hauls. The Don gained the second place in the resulting count back.

Well, here is the reason for the headline; Jimmy ‘The Ladies man’ Day has been playing or has at least owned a set of golf clubs for around fifteen years to my knowledge, but since residing in the ‘Land of Smiles’ he has had little reward for his efforts. This was put right today as gentleman Jim posted a rock solid 38 points to stand atop of the junior flight podium.

Jimmy also had a ‘2’ and a near pin to round of the day in style. The ‘Bionic man’ Mike Craighead came in three shots adrift for second.

Tuesday, June 22, Khao Kheow - Stableford
1st Jim Elphick (26) 33pts
2nd Charles Bennett (18) 31pts

‘Jersey’ Jim Elphick, found himself a little short of cash this Tuesday morning and was torn between visiting the ATM or playing a little golf. The line was too long at the ATM so he decided to play golf at the challenging A and B layout’s of Khao Kheow.

Jim managed to top the podium with a 33 point return, despite a concerted effort by Charles Bennett on 31 points.

Peter ‘The Right Honorable’ Hynard cleaned up in the ‘2’s pot.

Wednesday,
June 23, Treasure Hill - Stableford
1st Jimmy Day (16) 40pts
2nd Seamus Cotter (11) 32pts

My goodness, he’s done it again! In a display that saved the day from being a non-counting round, Co. Wicklow’s Jimmy Day returned a brilliant 40 points that cleared the field by a massive eight points. ‘Captain’ Seamus Cotter, who by the way hails from Co. Cork in Ireland, took the silver in second place, thus reversing Sunday’s placing at Green Valley.

John Haddon had the only ‘2’ and stopped it being an all-Irish affair.

Friday, June 4,
St. Andrews - Stableford
1st Jim Elphick (25) 42pts
2nd Mike Jefferies (19) 37pts

Realizing that his birthday party was just around the corner, ‘Jersey’ Jim Elphick decided that a visit to the pay desk was in order. Jim put together a flawless 42 points that related to a net 68, six shots under his old handicap. Happy birthday Jim!

There was a three-way fight for the second spot with Mike Jefferies, Jimmy ‘The ladies man’ Day and Jim Houdini Bell all carding 37 well earned points. Mike emerged the winner in the resulting count back.

Jim Bell and that managan Terry Mangan split the ‘2’s pot.

Note: Lewinski’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 Colin on 089 826 0764. Transport is provided.

It’s a doddle for Doody at Green Valley

PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar

Joey’s column

Monday, June 21, Burapha - Stableford

Even with not so many golfers around, Burapha still remains a popular course for the Outbackers. Twenty three of them were out there today, split into two divisions playing Augusta from the blues and Dunes from the whites.

George Bishop, top scorer of the day on Friday with his good friend Paul Greenaway, Div A runner up.

Capt’ Bob, whose handicap has slipped to nine (ten last week), is booming out the best part of 300 yard drives but is being let down once again by his short game, particularly his chipping round the greens. When he gets that sorted, he should return to being about a five or a six handicapper, where he really belongs. Nevertheless, he did enough to win Div A with 37 points from Tony Garnett (36pts), who continues to play well and Bruce Milner (35pts) playing his first game for a couple of weeks.

Tony’s good lady Sakorn is also going through a good spell, with the day’s top score of 40 points to win Div B by six from Murray Hart (34pts) and that man again, Brian Maddox on 33.

There was a ‘jackpot 2’ here as well as Green Valley, this one coming from Mike Gosden.

Div A (0-13)
1st Bob Philp (9) 37pts
2nd Tony Garnett (10) 36pts
3rd Bruce Milner (13) 35pts
Div B (14+)
1st Sakorn Pramoolchart (23) 40pts
2nd Murray Hart (15) 34pts
3rd Brian Maddox (20) 33pts

Monday, June 21, Green Valley - Stableford

Today the alternate Monday for the Outback Golf Bar was Green Valley where twelve golfers chose to play.

The woman of the day, Kathy Doody, showed the men how to play golf as the only person to shoot better than their handicap, shooting a fantastic 41 points. She was also the only person to have a ‘2’ and win the ‘2’s pot.

The course was in good condition but the greens had not been cut for some time and as a result were rather slower than usual.

Note: The day was run by Joe Mooneyham, for which we thank him and also take this opportunity to congratulate him on being elected the Pattaya Sports Club Golf Chairman.

1st Kathy Doody (20) 41pts
2nd Steve Mann (9) 33pts
3rd Steve Kilner (20) 32pts
4th Bernie Stafford (14) 31pts

Tuesday, June 22, Pattaya C.C. - Stableford

Thirteen players today at Pattaya Country Club, unlucky for some but not for the day’s organiser Barry Chadbourn, who went on the rampage on the back nine amassing 22 points to win with an 18-hole total of 39. Second was his regular playing partner Geoff Moodie (35pts) who has already lost two shots off his h’cap in the last week, now down to 25. Laong took third with her 34 points, just enough to see her down to h’cap 27 this week, from a h’cap of 45 just seven months ago.

There were no ‘2’s, probably as a result of the greens being a little bumpy, but the rain stayed away and all in all it was a comfortable day out with very few other players to be seen.

1st Barry Chadbourn (18) 39pts
2nd Geoff Moodie (25) 35pts
3rd Laong (28) 34pts
4th Jack Moseley (11) 33pts
5th Nigel Cannon (23) 32pts

Wednesday, June 23, Eastern Star - Stableford

On one of the Outback’s rare visits to Eastern Star, it turned out to be a tough day in some windy conditions on sanded greens, although by all reports the greens ran reasonably true.

This has always been one of the more difficult courses in the area and over the years has been subject to many criticisms about the state of the greens, which at one time were all going to be dug up and replaced. Although some work was carried out and a number of temporary greens constructed, the plans were never seriously implemented. However, it’s good to report that the 18 Outbackers generally enjoyed their day, even if the course did make them fight for every point.

Murray Hart continued his winning ways with an excellent 36 points followed in by Bernie Stafford (34pts) and a three way count back for third, fourth and fifth; filled by Joe, Paul and Andre all with 33.

There was another ‘jackpot 2’, this time from George Bishop.

1st Murray Hart (15) 36pts
2nd Bernie Stafford (14) 34pts
3rd Joe Mooneyham (15) 33pts
4th Paul Greenaway (10) 33pts
5th Andre Coetzee (7) 33pts

Friday, June 25, Khao Kheow - Stableford

Thirty-four Outbackers at the Friday venue and for once somebody played better than handicap. As most of you know, that is a bit of a rarity round this track, particularly the A & B nines. The course was in good nick and everybody was away on time, if not a little early.

So who was it that did the biz? Bob Finley got close to it, scoring 35 points to win Div A from Paul Greenaway (34pts), who is still striking the ball well and Dave Buchanan in third who scored an excellent 76 gross for 33 points off his h’cap of just one.

It was the Div B winner, Gentleman George who got 37 points, which is a fantastic score and lets the course know that he is the boss round here; second place went to a guy who has been hanging around various leader boards for sometime now, Brian Maddox with a very good 36 points.

There were six ‘2’s coming from, Chaten Patel, Steve Mann, Jimmy Little, Andre Coetzee, Bruce McAdam, Neil Lavery

Div A (0-14)
1st Robert Finley (14) 35pts
2nd Paul Greenaway (10) 34pts
3rd Dave Buchanan (1) 33pts
4th Andre Coetzee (7) 33pts
5th Bob Philp (9) 31pts
Div B (15+)
1st George Bishop (15) 37pts
2nd Brian Maddox (20) 36pts
3rd Murray Hart (15) 34pts
4th Sugar Ray Handford (18) 31pts
5th Billy Fitzgerald (16) 30pts

Note: 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.

Pattaya Backgammon League 2010

The PBL is proud to announce the commencement of 2010’s tournament season

Gabriel Davis

The tournament is hosted weekly every Friday at Somboons’ restaurant on DongTarn Beach in Jomtien, right next to Rabbit Resort and Spa. Registration closes at 2:00 with the first round starting at 2:20. First round matches are to 7 points, entry fee is 700b.

We would also like to announce the 16th Thailand Open, Jan 10-12-2011, has been moved to the 5 star resort and spa, Aisawan in Naklua. We expect the largest turn out ever with a packed Championship division as well Advanced and Beginner divisions. For more details, visit www. patta yabackgammonleague.com

The 2010 World Championship held yearly in Monte Carlo at the Fairmont Hotel starts July 11th, ending July 18th. Last year, Masayuki Mochizuki (aka, Mochy) became the 43rd World Champion and Mohcy (as his friends call him) played in our own Thailand Open last year.

The World Championship Backgammon finds it roots in 1967, as the first big backgammon tournament was being held in Las Vegas. The tournament would stay there until 1975, when the championship moved to the Bahamas. From 1979 until now, the tournament is located in Monte Carlo at the prestigious The Fairmont Monte Carlo. The tournament is officially called ‘The World Championship’ since 1976.

Allan bedazzles Emerald, Dave masters Khao Kheow

PSC Golf from Mulligans Lakeside

Tuesday, June 22, The Emerald - Stableford

Tuesday saw rainy skies over Pattaya and surrounds, so it was with some trepidation that we set off for Emerald. We were correct in our forecasts and although not raining on commencement, we did encounter a few showers, varying in strength on who you spoke to. However, with lift, clean & place implemented, it at least gave the opportunity of some good scores.

Weekly winners, Allan Cassin, left, Dave Edwards, center, with Phillip, a visiting golfer from Bristol.

It was Allan Cassin (12) who hit some form to romp home with 37 points, five clear of next best, Jeff Wylie (5). The technical prizes were picked up by Allan & Keith, while Dave secured the other ‘2’.

Thursday, June 24, Khao Kheow - Stableford

Thursday morning saw clear skies, with no hint of rain, and we were off up the highway towards Bangkok, looking forward to an encounter with Khao Kheow. On arrival we were directed to the A & B layouts (the best, in my opinion) where it was Dave Edwards (17) playing some fine golf in patches, to record a creditable 36 points. Allan, our winner from Tuesday was able to maintain some semblance of form to take second spot with 33 points.

The Near Pins today were shared amongst Jeff, Dave & Derek, who incidentally recorded a 2, but not on his Near Pin prize hole.

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 on 089 094 1841 or Ray 081 935 8088. Hope to see you there, Cheers & Good Golfing!

We have lost another bowler

Pattaya Sports Club Bowling League

200 Bowlers: Joe, Dang, Mai, Ooy, Mio & Yeow.

Jim Montgomery

Sven Erikgrahn from Sweden and a long time bowler with the PSC passed away last week at the Bangkok Hospital. He will be missed by all. Rich Montana, our best bowler, is also suffering from terminal cancer in the U.S.A. and we wish him the best.

Last Friday Canada won three points from Caf้ Kronborg and remain in first place. Meanwhile Yeow bowled a 211 game, 559 series and Ooy Pluemkamon also had a 211, 548 series, to lead Jack Tar to a four point win over Green Tree. Tue Pettae bowled a 517 series for Green Tree.

Dang Downs also had a 211 game and 557 series to power Brother D to a four point win over Sabai Friday. House of the Golden Coin won three points from VFW Post 9876 behind Mio Aamlid’s 210 game and 554 series and Joe Ferral bowled a 230 game, 545 series and Mai Munsitha had a 209 game, 548 series, to lead USMC to a three point win over Bavaria.