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Raivo rules at Emerald
The IPGC Monthly Members’ Tournament
The December IPGC Medal
winners: Theresa Connolly, Raivo Velsberg and Mike Lewis.
The IPGC members visited Emerald in Ban Chang on
Wednesday, 7th December, for the December Members’ Tournament. The pleasant
and more comfortable golfing conditions made for a fine day at the popular
venue and the largest field for a few months celebrated the occasion in fine
style.
Each monthly members’ tournament will provide winners in
both divisions who will go forward to the finals to compete for the Gold and
Silver Medals later in the season. In addition the tournaments will also be
used to determine the IPGC Gentleman Player of the Year, with between 1 and
15 points to be won in each division every month, dependant on final
positions, which will then be aggregated for the year to establish the
overall winner.
As usual the first division contests a stroke play format
whilst the second division plays Stableford. With the Sweep vouchers
standing at a guaranteed 5K for both divisions each month and the splendid
“non winners’” draw at the presentation, the event is one of the most
attractive competition days on Pattaya’s heavy golfing agenda.
In the first division Gary Barling, playing off nine,
finished third with net 74, a couple of missed putts behind the second
placed golfer John Batty, off a similar handicap. The flight winner was
Raivo Velsberg with the only sub-par round in the medal flight of net 71.
The second division played the usual stableford format
and things were again very tight for all the major places as last month’s
flight winner, Larry Slattery lost on a three-way count back to finish third
with 39 points. In second with the same score was Rodney Hayes, just making
the second flight with his thirteen handicap, leaving the winner’s smile to
Mike Lewis whose twenty-one points on the back nine just pipped the twenty
and nineteen of the other two.
The Ladies’ flight was won by Theresa Connolly with 37
points, with Rotjana Neal three points behind in second.
There were three birdie ‘2’s, the winners being Chris
Voller, Chris Walsh and Ken Grimes.
After the tournament the golfers enjoyed an excellent
presentation buffet at the comfortable “Links Bar”, in Soi Buakhao, and the
lucky draw for golf gear rounded off the fun of the day.
The presentation and prizes were generously sponsored as
always by the IPGC, and those who had contributed to the success of the day
were warmly thanked. The official prize-winners are listed here but the full
list of results can be seen on the excellent official IPGC website at
http://www.ipgc.org
Division 1
1st Raivo Velsberg (8) net 71
2nd Jon Batty (9) net 72
3rd Gary Barling (9) net 74
Division 2
1st Mike Lewis (21) 39pts
2nd Rodney Hayes (20) 39pts
3rd Larry Slattery (19) 39pts
Ladies
1st Theresa Connolly 37pts
2nd Rotjana Neal 34pts
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Masters sets the standard at Rayong
Pattaya Golf Society (IPGC) at Rabbi’s Elephant Bar
On the King’s Birthday, Dec. 5, the Pattaya Golf Society
celebrated in the only way they know by playing a stableford competition,
this time at friendly Rayong C.C. on a course lightly sprinkled with golfers
and more heavily sprinkled by the irrigation system, which was active on
most holes. Don’t knock it - we’ve been crying out for it for almost two
years!
The large group suffered two dropouts prior to the
departure and therefore was reduced to one group but there was some class
there as well. Brian Talbot returned to the group with 30 points which held
down fourth place, only one behind Sam McLellan’s third place finish. There
seemed a country mile between the minor placings and the runner-up, Alan
Duckett, who completed his third successive sub-par round with the group
with 37 points.
The winner was Pattaya’s most improved golfer this year,
Peter Masters. Peter, restricted to playing golf at school holidays, has
come down from thirteen to just eight in five months and will plunge further
when his winning score of 40 points is fed into the system. It was quality
throughout with seven pars and four birdies giving him the best gross
figures of the day, 76. For good measure he secured a birdie two on the
seventeenth to join Alan Duckett and Tony Thorne who had also managed the
feat on the fifth.
The Booby Bevy went to Mr Len for the biggest split of
the day, 10 - 18, and the boss’s day was complete when he was later attacked
by a soi-dog in North Pattaya, which resulted in another big split...in his
leg! Barking mad with being in the last group, maybe?
Thorne makes
a point
A hectic week ended for the Pattaya Golf Society with a
trip to Pattaya C.C. to play the group’s monthly merit stableford
competition. The course was well turned out again and the field was divided
into two flights at sixteen and under for the day.
In the second flight it was gratifying to see Michael Sim
from Bangkok make the frame with a share of third place on 34 points, Gary
Bolger also making the same score. Larry Slattery’s good form followed him
from the IPGC Monthly Members’ event on Wednesday as his 35 points was good
enough for second this time. The flight winner was old friend Masashi Iizumi
who ended the week in fine style with a level par finish on 36 points.
In the top flight the return of Ray Banks saw him take
third place with 34 points, a couple behind Ken Page, performing well with
36 points. The flight winner, making the point that one cannot write off a
golfer in the doldrums, was Tony Thorne and his 38 points was the best of
the day.
Rick Schramm nailed the only birdie ‘2’ of the
competition, on the twelfth and lady golfer Sue Mawhinney took the Booby
Bevy on her debut for having the distinction of being the only top flight
golfer not to reach thirty points. Welcome to the club Sue and welcome back
to form Tony Thorne.
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Pattaya Sports Club
Bowling League
200 Bowlers:
Wade, Aht & Ralph.
Green Tree moved up from third to first place after
winning all four points from last week’s first place team Bavaria. Aht
Johansson led Green Tree with a 201 game, 569 series, and Noodle Russell
also bowled well with a 538 series.
Indiana moved back into second place (based on total
pins) after winning four points from Caf้ Kronborg. La Montgomery led
Indiana with a 514 series and Yeow was best for Kronborg with a 510.
Canada continued their move up the leader board with a
three to one win over Tea Party. Lek Reaper led Canada with a 530 series
with Tue Pettae adding a 529. Joe Ferral was best for Tea Party with a 526
series. Canada moved up from seventh to fifth place and Tea Party dropped
from second to fourth.
Ralph seems to be on his game lately as he bowled a 211
game and 571 series to lead Brother D to a three point win over VFW Post
9876. Sue Murphy bowled a 534 for Brother D and Ooy Pluemkamon had a 518 for
VFW.
Wade Meyers, who is one of the most dedicated local
bowlers, showed up and bowled as a Spare. He rolled a 207 game and 505
series.
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Record scoring at Pleasant Valley
PSC golf from the Café Kronborg
Kurt Sandgaard, The Admiral & Peter Hammond.
Peter Blackburn
Tuesday, December 6,
Pleasant Valley – Stableford
With Monday being the King’s Birthday Public Holiday, it
was decided to play on Tuesday instead and we had 33 golfers sign up to
tackle the popular Pleasant Valley course.
We were saying farewell to Dick Braimbridge, returning to
Queensland, Australia for a month and Mick O’Connor who was popping over to
the U.K. to work for a few months. Departing the Kronny at 0812 hrs we
arrived at the course just 42 minutes later to find that our booking had
been “misplaced” and there was a competition involving 60 players in the
process of commencing. A disastrous situation was averted as we were allowed
to commence on the tenth and our first group got away at 0930 hrs in
glorious conditions.
Niels Hansen, Peter Blackburn
& Jan Lovgreen.
The course was in great shape with the greens firm and
true and with some of the white tees forward and some back it didn’t pose
too many problems for many of our golfers as the scores will verify.
Despite the busy course there were few hold ups and our
round was completed in four hours and twenty minutes which included a
lengthy drinks break on our second nine.
There were 2 flights with A Flight for handicaps 0 to 19
and B Flight for 20 and over. There were rewards for nearest the pin on all
four par threes and longest first putts on the ninth & eighteenth greens.
Never before have I seen 7 golfers with 40 points or more
in our competition but that was the case today. Peter Hammond took out the A
Flight with a terrific 45 points and Ken Bernek was second two points behind
him. Third spot was taken by Takeshi Hakozaki on 40 points and fourth &
fifth places had to be decided by a count back. With both players on 39
points, Mike Allidi (70 off the stick and 19 points on the back nine) just
beat Andre Van Dyk (15 points on the back nine).
A massive 47 points enabled Kurt Sandgaard to win the B
Flight by 2 points from Graham Buckingham and another count back saw J C
Lhoste (20 point back nine) finish third from Susan Gaarde (19 point back
nine) in fourth spot, both players having 43 points. Yet another count back
decided fifth place with Jan Lovgreen (18 point back nine) victorious over
Frank Donnelly (17 point back nine.
Well played to all golfers on 38, 37 & 36 points who were
unable to claim a spot on either podium on this extraordinary day.
A Flight (0-21)
1st Peter Hammond (19) 45pts
2nd Ken Bernek (16) 43pts
3rd Takeshi Hakozaki (15) 40pts
4th Mike Allidi (1) 39pts
5th Andre Van Dyk (15) 39pts
B Flight (22+)
1st Kurt Sandgaard (36) 47pts
2nd Graham Buckingham (25) 45pts
3rd J C Lhoste (24) 43pts
4th Susan Gaarde (27) 43pts
5th Jan Lovgreen (24) 39pts
Near Pins: 5th Mike Allidi;
8th Peter Hammond; 13th Takeshi
Hakozaki; 17th Susan Gaarde.
Long Putts: 9th Andre Van
Dyk; 18th Dick Braimbridge
The Compass Cap was well won by Michael Catillon, and
Mike Gosden took Deefa the Dog around for a walk, collecting many donations
from the generous Caf้ Kronborg crew.
Thursday, December 8,
Crystal Bay B & C – Stableford
The Admiral was a late scratching with a sore fetlock
which left yours truly alone in command and there were 23 of us assembled at
Caf้ Kronborg in preparation for our departure to one of our favorite
courses, Crystal Bay.
We welcomed Rob Brown from Scotland, who is back here for
3 months along with his wife Karen, who we will hopefully see playing golf
with us next week. After the shout of “all aboard” we left the Kronny right
on time at 0815 hrs and after driving down Highway 3 through intermittent
drizzle we arrived at the course 45 minutes later.
It did not appear too busy so our first group was able to
tee off 30 minutes ahead of schedule at 0930 hrs but being behind a Thai
five-ball meant it was going to be a fairly slow nine (B) and although the
drizzle persisted for around six holes it cleared up after that and the
weather was perfect. The course was as usual in great shape and although
many of the greens had residual sand on them they were firm, true and at
times super slick.
After a two hour and twenty minute first nine we managed
to squeeze past the Thai group and quickened the pace but soon caught up
with another slow Thai group in front. A couple of enforced drink breaks saw
us complete the full round in just under four and a half hours which was not
bad in the circumstances.
We had 2 flights on the day with A Flight for handicaps 0
to 20 and B Flight for 21 and over. There were rewards for nearest the pin
on all four par threes and longest first putts on the ninth & eighteenth
greens.
It was interesting to note that apart from one person,
none of the golfers who had their handicaps reduced after Tuesday’s round
featured on the podium in this event, in fact with a few exceptions the
scores were fairly ordinary.
The A Flight was well won by Niels Hanson with a fine 40
points and on his “home course” Takeshi Hakozaki finished second just 2
points behind. Michael Catillon shrugged off his Compass Cap woes and
finished third on 36 points with yours truly 1 point further back in fourth
place.
Niels Hanson’s good buddy Jan Lovgreen came out on top in
B Flight with 37 points which was 6 points better than Bo Cardwell who
finished second. Keld Ravn came third with 30 points and Kurt Sandgaard
finished fourth 2 points further back.
A Flight (0-20)
1st Niels Hansen (15) 40pts
2nd Takeshi Hakozaki (15) 38pts
3rd Michael Catillon (20) 36pts
4th Peter Blackburn (11) 35pts
B Flight (21+)
1st Jan Lovgreen (24) 37pts
2nd Bo Cardwell (36) 31pts
3rd Kjeld Ravn (21) 30pts
4th Kurt Sandgaard (34) 28pts
Near Pins: B4 Peter Blackburn; B6 J C Lhoste; C4
Niels Hansen; C7 Rob Brown
Long Putts: B9 Michael Catillon; C9 Elias
Magnusson
The Compass Cap was won by Allan Tranekaer and
unfortunately Deefa the Dog was not present due to a severe bout of
distemper.
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Butler blitz at Green Valley
PSC golf from The Outback Golf Bar
From the left: Murray Hart,
Sugar Ray Handford, Dennis Pelly and Joe Mooneyham, all podium placers on
Friday at Green Valley.
Monday, December 6,
Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
Unusual for the Outback to be at Pattaya Country Club on
a Monday, but due to the holiday today (The King’s Birthday), Khao Kheow was
expected to be busy as well as substantially more expensive, so we decided
to give it a rest.
All 36 players were away on schedule to play in what was
a surprisingly good paced round in pleasant enough weather conditions, but
the course is becoming increasingly harder to play as the greens get quicker
and quicker and the fairways harder and harder.
John Cunningham has taken to playing here of late and
even off his handicap of 5, he managed to produce the best round of the day,
39 points, to win Div A from the runner-up, Dennis Pelly, some seven shots
back on 32.
John Locke shot the second highest score of the day
(38pts) and with it won Div B by one from Ken Smith and Div C went to Ivan
Plunkett on 36.
There were four ‘2’s from John Cunningham (hole 5), Ken
Smith (hole 12) and Ian Heddle & Ivan Plunkett (hole 16).
Div A (0-11)
1st John Cunningham (5/Hi6.5) 39pts
2nd Dennis Pelly (9/Hi10.8) 32pts
3rd Doug Hollingworth (8/Hi10)
31pts
4th Owen Walkley (8./Hi9.6) 31pts
Div B (12-17)
1st John Locke (13/Hi14.5) 38pts
2nd Ken Smith (15/Hi16.2) 37pts
3rd Sel Wegner (12/Hi13.7) 35pts
4th Sugar Ray Handford (17/Hi18)
35pts
Div C (18+)
1st Ivan Plunkett (21/Hi22.2) 36pts
2nd Geoff Moodie (25/Hi25.6) 35pts
3rd Mick Wilks (25/Hi25.9) 33pts
4th Jon Kittilsen (18/Hi18.7) 33pts
Tuesday, Dec. 6, Pattaya
C.C. – Stableford
Coming here two days in a row is probably overdoing it a
bit, but nevertheless there was still a good a good turnout of 20.
The fact that there were no ‘2’s today underlines the
difficulty of these greens which need to be slowed up a bit before they
become totally unplayable. Watering the rough is a new idea which will
hardly catch on but when the sprinkler heads are positioned in such a way
that they can’t reach the fairways, it’s the best we’re going to get!
The last grizzle would have to be about the standard of
raking the bunkers which seems to have taken a turn for the worse,
particularly on the back nine where the sand has been raked up the slopes
out of the bunkers to form a nice little sandy ridge on the adjacent grass.
Anyhow, none of the above got in the way of Orn, our Div
A winner with 36 points, who beat a resurgent Dave Earthrowl on 35; with two
low markers, Lloyd & Raji, three further back.
Doug Chalkley scored the best of the day, 39 points, to
top Div B from John White who heads the early running in the new DeVere
December Eclectic. Nigel Cannon was in third on the same score as John,
beaten only on count back.
Div A (0-19)
1st Orn Kanasaengsri (15/Hi14.7)
36pts
2nd David Earthrowl (19/Hi20.5)
35pts
3rd Lloyd Shuttleworth (4/Hi5.9)
32pts
4th Amarjit Banwaitt (5/Hi6.6)
32pts
Div B (20+)
1st Doug Chalkley (22/Hi22.5) 39pts
2nd John White (27/Hi27.2) 35pts
3rd Nigel Cannon (21/Hi22.4) 35pts
4th Paul Smets (20/Hi21.2) 33pts
Wednesday, Dec. 7, Burapha
– Stableford
Driving into the car park here, it would be hard to
believe it was the high season, as there were many spaces and not a coach or
bus to be seen. Capt’ Bob had the pleasure in being in one of the first
groups out as he handed the controls to the capable hands of Steve Mann, and
when our allotted tee time of 10am was reached, the last group was just
about to hit off.
Hard to pick too many things wrong with the course (C &
D) but if there was something to moan about it would have to be the
reluctance of the caddies to rake the bunkers, which as far as our four-ball
was concerned, were mostly raked by Steve Mann. Looking for a ball was also
best done from the safe confines of a golf cart, why get out to look?
Only sensible scoring for the top boys, as Owen headed
Div A with the day’s best 36 points, followed in by Steve (35) and Sel &
Paulie both on 34.
Div B, not quite so good, was won by Svenn Lund on count
back from his playing partner, Jon Kittilsen both on 35, with Nev Steward
grabbing third on 32.
For the record there were 25 players and only one ‘2’
from Svenn Lund on hole 17.
Div A (0-14)
1st Owen Walkley (10/Hi9.7) 36pts
2nd Steve Mann (10/Hi10.3) 35pts
3rd Sel Wegner (14/Hi13.7) 34pts
4th Paulie O’Mahoney (9/Hi8.9)
34pts
Div B (15+)
1st Svenn Lund (15/Hi14.2) 35pts
2nd Jon Kittilsen (19/Hi18.7) 35pts
3rd Nev Steward (23/Hi21.8) 32pts
4th Greg Hill (19/Hi18.2) 31pts
Friday, Dec. 9, Green
Valley – Stableford
Away ahead of the scheduled tee time, the 30 Outbackers
enjoyed a pleasantly paced round of golf, even though they were following a
regular walking Korean lady four-ball, who predictably stopped for a quick
bite at the 12th allowing only our first group
through.
The weather was cool and overcast and one would have
thought the scoring would have been excellent but with the exception of one
player, Jack Butler, who absolutely trounced the course with 42 points, the
rest of it was only ordinary, as the next best score was 35! That came from
Mr. Consistent, Dennis Pelly to win Div A from Steve Mann in second with 32.
In Div B after Jack Butker’s great score, came a
surprised Joe Mooneyham with 32, beating two others on count back, Murray
Hart and Neil Lavery.
Then we come down to Div C, and these boys must have
found it really tough, as the best they could muster was 33 points from Jon
Kittilsen, with Sugar in second with just 28 and a count back for third
between four all with only 27 points!
Finally, welcome back to James Sheffield who is having
another go for his Asian Tour card next month in Hua Hin, so good luck to
him from all of us here at the Outback.
Surprisingly, there were no ‘2’s; the greens were a
little bumpy, maybe that contributed their absence.
Div A (+2-11)
1st Dennis Pelly (10/Hi10.9) 35pts
2nd Steve Mann (9/Hi10.3) 32pts
3rd Paul Greenaway (9/Hi10.1) 30pts
4th Ron Dickie (5/Hi5.8) 29pts
Div B (12-15)
1st Jack Butler (13/Hi13.1) 42pts
2nd Joe Mooneyham (15/Hi14.9) 32pts
3rd Murray Hart (12/Hi12.5) 32pts
4th Neil Lavery (12/Hi12.5) 32pts
Div C (16+)
1st Jon Kittilsen (19/Hi18.7) 33pts
2nd Sugar Ray Handford (18) 28pts
3rd Greg Hill (18/Hi18.3) 27pts
4th Suzi Lawton (17/Hi19.1) 27pts
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.
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Dixon’s delight at Phoenix
Phoenix Tuesday/Friday Golf Group
Tuesday’s winners pose for a
photo with the staff at the Relax Bar.
Mike Gerrard
After quite a long layoff during the summer months, Denis
Dixon found his form to snatch first place today, Dec. 6, with 36 points and
winning on count back from yours truly, also with 36 points. Third place
went to Bill Hewitt with 34 points, and joint fourth were Graham Ellis and
David Czernie with 32 each.
The best guest score of the day went to Peter Rawling
with a score of 31 points.
Near pin winners were Barry Copestake, Peter Rawling,
Bill Hewitt & John Kelly. John’s near pin was all the more amazing by the
fact that he used his driver on a 160 yard par three and stuck it 6 feet
from the pin - sadly just missing his birdie attempt.
With a strong wind blowing today there were also some
notable shots which included reaching par 5’s in two when the wind was
behind. Mind you, it still had to be two mighty good shots.
Although the greens had been treated with weed killer and
not having been cut, they were not quite as fast as normal, but according to
some they were still too tricky for comfort.
With the weather conditions now settled, the course is in
superb shape and we fear the worst when the greens have been cut for next
week.
Back at the ‘ranch’, as we say, the owners, Ung and
Dieter, plus the staff of the Relax Bar, made us all feel very welcome as
usual. The first drink to all who come back is discounted and paid for out
of the days registration fee, leaving a small amount to be divided up for
the victors of the day.
With two of the near pins not claimed today we had 5
lucky draw winners and we thank our hosts the Relax Bar for donating a free
massage and free drink to two of our winners today.
Next week we play for the KPK Food Services voucher and
the week after the Nemo’s Music Lounge voucher. Both will be Stableford
competitions. The last Tuesday of the month will be for the Trattoria
Italiana voucher and will be stroke play.
If anyone is interested in the golf at Phoenix, you can
enjoy a reduced green fee on Fridays and Tuesdays at 1,000 Baht plus caddy
as a guest of the members. (Please note we do not encourage beginners or
casual or lady golfers in our group. You should have a registered handicap
of no more than 28). Please call me (Mike) on 087 091 7565for more details.
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Barling goes off with a bang
IPGC golf from The Haven
Garry Barling.
Sunday, December 4,
Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
CSS 71
1st J.J. Harney (10) 39pts
2nd John Connolly (19) 36pts
3rd Joe McArdle (12) 36pts
4th Charlie Lapsey (9) 36pts
With sufficient tee times for the numbers requiring to
play at Green Valley becoming extremely difficult to arrange, a change of
venue was organised at Pattaya Country Club where the green fee is the same
and as it is only half the travel distance may well prove to be a permanent
fixture for Sundays.
Certainly there were no complaints with either the
condition or the speed of play which also turned out to be around 45 minutes
quicker than usual.
J.J. Harney took his first win for a while with a very
tidy three under handicap round that left the three chasing players adrift
by three points. They were led in by the inform John Connolly who prevailed
in second place with the best count back of 20 as Joe McArdle, with 19, took
third spot and Charlie Lapsey rounded out the podium with 18 over the back
nine.
Roar Berger had the only ‘2’ of the day to sweep the
pool.
Monday, December 5, The
Emerald - Stableford
CSS 72
1st Garry Barling (9) 43pts
2nd Rodney Hayes (13) 34pts
3rd Yasuo Suzuki (11) 32pts
4th Stephen Lewis (19) 31pts
5th Rodney Nabbe (10) 30pts
Paul Hartley.
After a fairly quiet start and middle of his golfing
holiday in Pattaya, Garry Barling at last showed his real colours and true
form with a stunning seven under return that was easily the best round of
the week. It earned him a two shot reduction in handicap to take back to his
home club in Wollongong south of Sydney, where they are already preparing a
feast in celebration of the event. His close chums and travelling companions
were extremely grateful for the cut as it meant that they might have half a
chance of getting some of the cash back that he lost on this trip when he
returns home.
Rodney Hayes managed to make another podium placing
without troubling the handicapper, as two over proved to be sufficient to
claim second place ahead of Yasuo Suzuki’s four over, with a card that did
not earn him his usual return for his last appearance in Pattaya prior to
his trip home to Tokyo.
Stephen Lewis kept it going fairly well and although he
was not so happy with the final number it was a good result on the day with
so many of the other contestants unable to get to grips with the course.
Rodney Nabbe had another of those days that he will want
to forget but still finished ahead of many others who struggled on the day.
There were no 2’s in the second division but Garry
Barling and Rodney Nabbe shared the first division pot.
Before making the presentations The Doc welcomed new
members Leena and Risto Kopu and also welcomed back Oili and Rainer Helling
together with Jukka Sariola, Mike Hill and Rodney Hayes.
There were also farewells for the day’s winner, Garry
Barling and Rodney Nabbe together with Yasuo Suzuki.
Wednesday saw everyone playing in the IPGC Monthly
medals, where none of them made an impression except The Doc who was scoring
the hard way.
Friday, December 9, Rayong
C.C. – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Paul Hartley (19) 37pts
2nd Dave Howden (12) 33pts
3rd Stephen Lewis (19) 32pts
With many courses deciding that the 9th
together with the 12th of December would be a good
opportunity to up the rates to holiday prices, a move to Rayong Country Club
was in order to mitigate the cost somewhat. Unfortunately many of the usual
faces were missing due to other attractions on the day.
But it still proved to be a good call as the course was
in very good condition with the greens especially proving to be very flat,
true and fast, with the rest of the course (excluding the deep rough) also
in good condition, so it was quite surprising that the scoring was not so
good which caused the CSS for the day to move out to 73.
Paul Hartley managed to keep the drives pretty straight
and took full advantage of his undoubted length to record a very welcome win
by a clear four points from Dave Howden in second.
Stephen Lewis was again surprised to find he was in the
lineup at the pay window with a four over day.
There were no 2’s in either division.
Prior to the prize presentations there were welcomes for
new members Darrell Carlson and Matt Smith and welcome backs for Wilf
Wellman, Dan MacCarthy and George Pittam.
Note: The Haven group now departs Soi 13 at the
earlier time of 9 am until further notice. If you would like to play with
the group you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 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 9.00am on 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.
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Bryans pair up to win
birthday bash scramble
Jomtien Golf with the IPGC
The top three pairings
from the Eastern Star scramble: Bryan Rought, Bryan Priestley, Brian and
Ning Neal, Paul Smith and Kari Kuparinen.
Monday, December 5,
Eastern Star – Stableford
A public holiday today and there were 15 members away
and not playing, so the field was down to nine groups only. The cut in
the 3 men’s divisions was 5-15, 16-19 and 20+ and 36 points was the best
score of the day for the organiser to win division 3. Marty Aronson took
second one point behind and the Cockney boy, Rod Howett was third with
32.
It was a warm welcome back to Martin Grimoldby, still
playing off 5, who won the first division with 20 points on the back
nine and a total of 35. Pete Sumner and Kari Kuparinen both came in with
34 points each but with an 18/16 back nine count back Pete was smiling
most at the presentation.
Charlie Cox meanwhile topped division 2 with 34
points, Mike Lewis was second two points behind and Andy Baber beat
Frank Kelly on the back nine (16/15) after they both returned scores of
31.
Near pins went to Martin Grimoldby, Mike Missler,
Alan Pilkington, Pete Sumner, Andy Galvin, Frank Kelly and Jim Lane.
Pete Sumner was the only one to convert his near pin
into a birdie ‘2’ to take the pot in Div. 1 while a rollover ensued in
the second flight.
Friday, December 9,
Eastern Star – 2- Person Scramble
Today was a 60th birthday bash for a certain person,
no names mentioned as too embarrassed, and there were 86 out, 43 teams
in a two-person scramble here at Eastern Star.
A 40% combined handicap was the allowance for this
stableford competition but you were only allowed 2 shots higher than the
lowest handicap. Each team of two also had to select 7 drives each and
mark the card.
It was a very overcast day as we arrived here and as
the first two teams got off at 8.30 the conditions remained constant
with a very cool but slight breeze, fantastic conditions for golf.
There were 4 divisions for individual nearest the pin
prizes on all par threes irrespective of which ball you chose. The cut
was 2-15, 16-20 and 21+ and of course the ladies.
The results of the competition were as follows:
1st Bryan Rought & Bryan
Priestley 48pts
2nd Bryan & Ning Neal 48pts
3rd Paul Smith & Kari Kuparinen
45pts
4th Tony & Wendy Chetland 45pts
5th Noi Emmerson & Frank Kelly
45pts
6th Brian Blackford & Les Smith
44pts
7th Pete Sumner & Keith Wooley
44pts
8th Paul Chabot and Dennis
Scougal 44pts
Near Pins: Miss Chevrolet, Srithong Tann (2),
Alan Griffiths, Rodney N, Paul Smith, Keith Wooley, Brian Blackford,
Colin James, Bryan Rought, Les Smith and Tony Holehouse.
2’s: Brian Blackford & Les Smith; Tony Cowe &
Malcolm Saunders; Alan Griffiths & Alan Pilkington (2); Toi & Darryl
Blair; Pete Sumner & Keith Wooley.
The worst score of the day was 30 points, no names
mentioned, but well done Dazza Smyth and John Williams.
It was congratulations all round to the two Bryans,
and there was a golf ball draw for all non winners in the top eight
placings. There was live music and food for all at Siam Cats, so a big
thank-you to Jules’s Restaurant in View Talay 1 for supplying the food
and Faa and Olaf the music at Cats. A great day was had by all - many
thanks to all who attended and also many thanks for the birthday
presents.
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Mashi makes hay at Greenwood
PSC golf from Tropical Bert’s
Tuesday’s winners with one of
Bert’s finest.
Derek Brook
Tuesday, December 6,
Greenwood – Stableford
Just a normal day in this paradise for the golfer: lots
of players zipped up to Greenwood and with a strong wind decided to have a
great day out. And despite the strong wind as we played off the front,
yellow tees, most had a great day and scored a lot of points.
Back at Bert’s we saw as expected that the results were
on the high side, but it is nice that sometimes all the players have great
day out and score a lot of points. And why not!
In the A Flight, 0 to 17, the winner, not unexpected, was
Mashi Kaneta with a great 43 points. Mashi never fails to impress. In second
we had a count back on 39 points that saw Steve Hamstad in second and Brian
Parrish in third.
In the B Flight the winner was Don Cameron with 39 points
ahead of Daryl Evans with 37 points in second, and Dick Warberg in third
with 36 points. T.T.F.N.
Near Pins: Mashi (2)
Long Putts: John Haddon, Daryl Evans
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‘Loose Change’
lines his pockets
and top spot
PSC golf from Lewiinski’s Golf Society
Sunday’s winners: Peter
Wallace and Ian Halfpenny.
Sunday, December 4,
Eastern Star - Stableford
A Flight
1st Ian Halfpenny (12) 38pts
2nd Francis Goyons (9) 37pts
3rd Terry Mangan (13) 36pts
B Flight
1st Peter Wallace (21) 35pts
2nd Lew Szigligeti (19) 33pts
3rd Colum Mullen (15) 32pts
Near Pins: No 3 Peter Henshaw, No 6 Thierry
Petrement, No 13 Yui Bietry, No 17 Robert McVey.
With Green Valley, hosting a golf comp in honor of His
Majesty the King’s Birthday, our regular Sunday bash was moved to Eastern
Star. By most estimates it had been about two years that the Lewiinski’s
Golf Society last played at Eastern Star and since that time it has endured
closure and had been remolded.
It was the consensus of the field that the time off had
benefited the course greatly and with unanimity seldom seen in golf circles,
the course has been returned to the A list, consistent with its Trent Jones
Jr. pedigree.
Ian ‘Loose Change’ Halfpenny, a marvelous player off a 12
handicap, showed his class with a best in A Flight 38 points, bettering
Francis Goyons by a single point, as these two players were the only two
that bettered par on the day. Terry ‘red card’ Mangan rounded out the flight
with a solid even par round.
In B Flight, Ireland’s Peter Wallace edged Aussie visitor
Lew Zigzag in a battle marked by consistency seldom seen in high
handicappers, especially on a course as demanding as Eastern Star. Co.
Dublin’s Colum Mullen eased his way to the bronze.
Eddie the Eagle’s highlight shot of the day was his
second on the par fourth tenth, as his tee shot found the rough on the left
side of the fairway and his approach to the green was hindered by the 150
marker post nesting box. Eddy let go a tremendous iron shot that completely
demolished the nesting box. When the dust and feathers settled it was found
thankfully that the occupiers were not at home, but the RSPB have been
informed.
Despite this catastrophe there was a very happy bird on
the course - Yui Beilby - as she sank the only ‘2’ of the day.
Tuesday, December 6, Khao
Kheow A & B - Stableford
A Flight
1st J.P. Maffrey (13) 40 pts
2nd Reg McKay (15) 40pts
3rd Patrick Kelly (+2) 38pts
B Flight
1st Christy Knight (20) 41pts
2nd Lou Szigleti (19) 39pts
3rd Jim Elphick (24) 38 pts
Off to the Fantastic Dye layout of Khao Kheow, the
difficulty of which plagues the society as some of our senior players,
effective at all other venues, prefer a day off.
You could hear no complaints from Christy ‘Good’ Knight
however as he took the man off the match and B Flight honors with a splendid
41 points. Lou ‘the thunder from down under’ came in two shots short for the
silver, followed by Jimmy ‘two shots’ Elphick, never far from the fray and
but a point away with 38 points.
J.P. Maffrey edged Scotland’s very own Bukie boy Reg
McKay on count back for the big loot in A Flight as both posted solid 40
point scores. Patrick ‘plus 2’ Kelly tied up the flight with a super 38
points.
Chris Martin, Clive Mathews and Merle Humphreys shared
the 2’s pot.
Wednesday, December 7,
Greenwood A & C - Stableford
A Flight
1st Patrick Kelly (+2) 36pts
2nd Kurt Russell (11) 36pts
3rd Ed Wyckoff (11) 35pts
B Flight
1st Brad Sproxton (13) 45pts
2nd Robert Mcvey (15) 41pts
3rd Vic Hester (14) 36pts
C Flight
1st Lou Szigligeti (19) 39pts
2nd Per Forsberg (17) 36pts
3rd Warren Holland (25) 35pts
The Golf Club/ Lewinski challenge followed up last
month’s inaugural comp with a splendid turnout. As The Golf Club started
first last month it was the turn of Lewiinski’s to open the event at the
challenging Greenwood course, which was found to be in excellent condition.
Starting at the at the top division it was Lewiinski’s
who drew first blood; Patrick +2 Kelly touring the set up with a superb even
par to gain the verdict in a count back over The Golf Club’s Kurt Russell.
Ed ‘The Senator Green Party’ Wyckoff filled the flight a stroke adrift.
Skipping down to C Flight it was Lewiinski’s again who
took top spot, as Lou ‘the Thunder from down under’ waved the Lewiinski’s
flag with a stunning 39 points. Per Forsberg took the second place spot with
a solid even par round while Warren Holland’s inward nine added up better
than Larry Maxey’s to round out the flight.
It was down to the B Flight to produce the overhaul
winner and much to the dismay of the Lewiinski’s mob the outcome was the
same as last month’s game - a win for The Golf Club. Brad ‘Clip Clop’
Sproxton tore the course apart to card a magnificent 45 point masterpiece.
Brad’s score overshadowed the fine effort of Robert McVey’s 41 points. Colm
I’m here again’ Mullen relegated Vic ‘the inflictor’ Hester to the rest of
the onlookers at the presentation.
Talking of the presentation, it was a pity Kathy Doody
was not present as she would have been 15,000 baht better off.
Patrick Kelly added a couple of ‘2’s to his pay packet as
did nine other single winning players.
The big question is can anyone catch Brad? Well I would
not bet against him not winning although stranger things have happened,
especial at the infamous Crystal Bay.
You can catch the conclusion in the Golf Club’s Friday
reports found else were in this paper.
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 Colin on 089 826 0764.
Transport is provided.
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What fantastic golf
PSC golf from the Fairways Golf Society
Shining stars: Shane Ruddle, Tony Dauth and
Bryan Neal.
Wednesday, Dec. 7, Crystal Bay – Stableford
Only two outings this past week due to the King’s
Birthday, and what a feast of golf we had at Crystal Bay on Wednesday! Four
golfers excelled themselves by playing under par: John Grahem was one under
his 10 handicap, and that man again Bryan Neal came in four under off of his
revised handicap of 17. I don’t know what to say about this handicap system
because he seems to be unbeatable at the moment.
But even outshining Bryan were two players who played
under par gross. Shane Ruddle playing off 2 came in three under and Tony
Dauth of scratch 2 under. What fantastic golf!
Near pins went to Tony Dauth, Ryan McGregor, John Grahem,
Bryan Neal & Timo Simon.
A Flight
1st Shane Ruddle (2) 39pts
2nd Tony Dauth (0) 38pts
3rd John Grahem (10) 37pts
B Flight
1st Bryan Neal (17) 40pts
2nd Ken Meek (23) 34pts
3rd Tony Duthie (20) 31pts
Friday, Dec. 9, The
Emerald - Stableford
A bit of an anti-climax after Wednesday’s round but still
highly competitive. No one managed to break par today which was a bit
surprising as the conditions were ideal with plenty of cloud cover and a
gentle breeze.
John Coetzee, who has steadily improved during the two
and a half months he has been here, notched up his first victory in the B
Flight before he returns home to Australia next week. We will miss you John!
Near pins today went to Mark McGuffin, Tony Dauth, George
Hayes and Timo Simon.
A Fight
1st Scott Dobbins (0) 34pts
2nd Karl F (17) 31pts
3rd Tony Dauth (0) 31pts
B Flight
1st John Coetzee (18) 34pts
2nd Brian Maddox (20) 33pts
3rd Roy Dayton (24) 31pts
Note: The Fairways Golf Society & Driving Range is
located at the top of Pattaya Klang on Sukhumvit road and plays every
Mon/Wed & Fri. Anyone wishing to play with us can call in to the club house
and put their names down on the lists provided or call Scott on 084 389
2379. Transport provided if required.
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Smith soars at Green Valley
PSC golf from The Caddyshack
Phonsie McGahan.
Wednesday, Dec. 7, Green
Valley – Stableford
A Flight
1st Phonsie McGahan (7) 35pts
2nd Peter Henderson (14) 34pts
3rd Ian Covill (15) 34pts
B Flight
1st Ramsay Smith (18) 39pts
2nd Tom Breslin (25) 36pts
3rd Bruce Tollitt (18) 34pts
Wednesday’s outing to Green Valley saw enough of a
turnout to warrant two flights and it was the second tier players who
provided the best scores of the day with Ramsay Smith coming in with 39
points to top the division ahead of Tom Breslin’s level par round.
Phonsie McGahan claimed the top step in A Flight with 35
points to edge out Peter Henderson and Ian Covill by a single digit.
Bruce Toillet.
Friday, Dec. 9, Mountain
Shadow – Stableford
A Flight
1st Damian Trant (9) 36pts
2nd Peter Henderson (14) 33pts
3rd Bill Collis (14) 31pts
B Flight
1st Bruce Tollitt (18) 36pts
2nd Ian Covill (15) 30pts
3rd Ian McGovern (30) 29pts
‘2’s: Damian Trant, Bill Collis, Bruce Tollitt, Dave
Hester
Mountain Shadow provided the venue on Friday as two more
flights once again teed it up.
Damian Trant and Bruce Tollitt came to grips best with
this challenging layout as they both topped their respective flights with
even par rounds of 36 points.
Peter Henderson provided the next best score of 33 points
to claim second in the A Flight while Bill Collis, Ian Covill and Ian
McGovern filled the remaining podium places.
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Bradley gladly takes the honours
PSC golf from The Golf Club
Brad Sproxton.
Bob Newell
Monday, December 5, Green
Valley - Stableford
1st Martin Zimmerman (15) 43pts
2nd Peter LeNoury (9) 38pts
Small field, small write up! For whatever reasons,
holiday rates, other arrangements, back to work or injuries it was a very
small field that took to the course on this, the King’s Birthday.
It was, actually, a fine day to play; slightly overcast
to begin with and never too hot at all. The course itself seemed to have
fared well despite hosting a very large tournament over the previous 2 days
but the greens were woefully bad, being bumpy, patchy and inconsistent.
This didn’t bother Martin Zimmerman however, who,
apparently, was knocking putts in from everywhere in compiling a huge 43
point haul, leaving the rest trailing in his wake. Valiantly trying to hang
on to his coat tails was Peter LeNoury who rattled up a none too shabby 38
points for second place.
Friday, December 9,
Crystal Bay - Stableford
A Flight
1st Kurt Lirussi (9) 40pts
2nd Thierry Petremont (11) 38pts
3rd Peter LeNoury (9) 37pts
B Flight
1st Brad Sproxton (13) 42pts
2nd Axel Mittelmann (14) 38pts
3rd Takeshi Hakozaki (15) 38pts
C Flight
1st Jim Elphick (24) 42pts
2nd Brian Prudden (20) 40pts
3rd Tom Balch (26) 38pts
Near Pins: Bob Newell, Lindsay Semple, Brad
Sproxton, Peter Raita
Long Drives: Grant Montgomery, Axel Mittelmann,
Lou ZigZag
Crystal Bay was the venue for day 2 of our second joint
competition with Lewiinski’s Golf Society. As a shared effort for hosting
the event, so it was too for the match report, Day 1 being covered by George
‘I need a title for my book’ Jackson in his weekly write up.
Fifty seven players teed it up today with guys from all
over the planet and every age range covered, making it a truly cosmopolitan
event. Up in the winners’ circle alone we had representatives from the US,
Canada, UK, France, Sweden, Germany, Australia and Japan, emphasising once
again what a global affair golf really is here in Pattaya.
These tournaments are not easy to arrange and take a lot
of effort to pull off successfully, so take a second next time to appreciate
all the work that the guys and staff at both venues do to provide us with,
not only top quality competitions, but excellent food and service at
presentation.
Occasionally, due to the very nature of golf here, things
might not always run entirely smoothly. Imagine, if you will, just 1 or 2
people who have signed up not showing up on the day and how that impacts on
everyone. Groupings that have been arranged previously now, suddenly, need
re-arranging and all minutes before teeing off. That’s another thought to
ponder next time you sign up at any society.
Moving on to the golf, we had 7 technical prizes up for
grabs, near pins and long drives, and these were all nicely shared out
between the two bars. Three flights were in operation today with 3 places in
each.
What can I say about C Flight? It wasn’t compulsory to be
over 70 years old to be in it but it may have looked like it; some of these
guys were around when Moses was a lad. The average age of our 3 winners must
have been nudging 90, throw in Joe ‘sat-nav’ Tynan, who just missed out in
fourth, and we would have definitely topped the ton mark!
‘Young’ Tommy Balch celebrated his move up to the red
tees with a nicely crafted 38 points and third place. Just back in town
again, with the lovely Marlene, his wife of ‘fifty two’ years, is the man
who defies all medical logic, Brian ‘zimmer’ Prudden, rolling back the years
with a cracking 40 points. But easing ahead, at a nice steady pace mind you,
was the spring chicken himself, Jim Elphick. His 42 points matched the best
of the day and got him top place on the podium (with the necessary safety
rails of course).
Thankfully these are all good blokes and friends of mine
so they wont mind a bit of ribbing but, either way, it wont matter because
they will have forgotten about it anyway 5 minutes after reading it!
After the nicely spaced out scoring of C Flight we got
the exact opposite in the hotly contested B flight, where the bulk of
today’s handicaps were situated. Five guys were all locked on 38 points,
vying for 2nd and 3rd placings.
With only 16 on the back 9 it was hard lines to Pat
Regan. Next to fall by the wayside was the ever-vocal Peter Hynard with 18
on the back. Asked for his comments, we all walked away before he could give
them! The last unlucky player was Pat’s fellow countryman Colm Mullen who,
despite 19 on count back, missed out.
This left the scrabble-winning combination of Takeshi
Hakozaki and Axel Mittelmann who could not initially be separated, both with
20 for the back 9 score. With the back 6 score favouring Axel it was he who
won that little battle. Leaving only the man of the moment Brad Sproxton. In
the purplest of purple patches he couldn’t be bothered with count backs and
just blasted his rivals away by 4 clear points for another brilliant 42.
As we get into the A Flight, which also required a count
back for third place, it would be hard not to think a conspiracy was in
place as the continuance of tongue-twisting names showed no signs of
abating.
With 37 points and 19 coming back, Peter LeNoury ousted
Jean-Pierre Gasser for third. In second and 1 point better was the man who
seems to make a habit of taking the money when he plays with us, Thierry
Petremont. This left the relative newcomer Kurt Lirussi to sweep clear at
the top with 40 points.
Only one final thing remained and that was for the
presentation of the engraved lead crystal glassware for the overall 2 day
champion. Many people tried hard today but, even with a mediocre performance
from Wednesday’s winner, he would surely have been tough to beat. That
didn’t happen however as our winner relentlessly pressed home his advantage
for a staggering 2 day total of 87 points. Congratulations then to Brad
Sproxton, a worthy winner and a true gent.
Let’s hope we see you all for the next one in January!
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Joel chips in, Willem wins on count back
PSC golf from Mulligans Lakeside
Mike & Joel back at Mulligans
Lakeside after Thursday’s round at Khao Kheow.
Tuesday, Dec. 6, Rayong
C.C. - Stableford
First to Tuesday when we made the journey out to Rayong
Country Club, where the course was in generally reasonable condition, taking
into consideration the price compared to others in the region. Some came to
terms better than others on the greens, we will leave it at that, but a
4-putt on the 1st is not an ideal start, is it Jeff?
Willem Lasonder (H/cap 20) was able to eke out a win,
defeating Jeff Wylie (6) on count back 16/15, after both signed for 31
points. Near Pins were won by Willem & K with 2, while the Banglamung Boys
Home benefitted by 1 going unclaimed.
Thursday, Dec. 8, Khao
Kheow - Stableford
Thursday was a visit to Khao Kheow, one of the truly good
courses in the area, and it was great to catch up with a couple of golfing
partners from days past. Steve Hamstad brought along visiting friend from
USA, Eric, for a look at this magnificent course, while Mike Gaussa a keen
KK fan, also joined the crew for the day.
As the headline suggests it was Joel Flor (21) chipping
in on the last for birdie, to clinch a good round on the B & A combination,
with 37 points. Next best was the consistent Jeff Wylie (6) with 35 points,
after also coming good with 10 points over the last 3 holes.
Near Pins were spread around between Jeff, Mike & Willem,
with 1 to BBH.
Note: Mulligans Lakeside plays golf on Tuesday &
Thursday, with Mulligans Lakeside hosting prompt presentations on both days.
Call 089 094 1841 for scheduling or enquiries. Hope to see you there, cheers
& good golfing!
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Murphy has the edge
PSC golf from The Three Sisters Bar
Wednesday winner Rich Murphy
(right) with runner-up Janthorn Kuanha.
A good turnout of 17 players arrived early at the Pattaya
C.C. on Wednesday the 7th of December, also known as “Pearl Harbor Day”, and
today Don Goins managed to return to the fold.
The Fairways and many holes were very soggy after
excessive watering prior to sunrise and Joe St. got to take an early shower
while trying to hit out of the bunker on the 14th hole when the automatic
sprinkler was turned on. Play was also delayed due to filming of a local
“star” doing his putting. One group was held up for 10 minutes while the
filming equipment was being removed.
Back at Caddy Shack II the cards were turned in and
checked. Rich Murphy and Janthorn Kuanha tied for first with 38 points each
but Rich won on the count back. Coming in third was Jim Hern with 36 points.
The Millar family battle continued with both father and son coming in with
33 points apiece but dad beat his son on the count back.
Herbie provided another delicious feed of pork sandwiches
and hotdogs. Snacks were also on the tables along with a selection of cold
liquids.
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Regent’s hosts first ever PICC
Cup charity football tournament
Fairway take on Regent’s
Pattaya in the PICC Charity Cup Football Tournament.
Paul Crouch
The first of this event; the PICC Charity Cup Football
Tournament was held this on Sunday 27th November. The day was bright and
sunny, great conditions for an all day football tournament.
The day started with the first kick-off at 10.00 a.m. and
ended 40 games later at 5.00 p.m. With the Regent’s Student Guild, parents
and the Thai staff supplying refreshments and food throughout the day,
players and spectators where well looked after.
The tournament consisted of two pitches, four pools and
16 teams with each team playing five games all between 15 and 30 minutes
long. The teams were very competitive and fought hard for their wins but the
main focus of good spirit and sportsmanship was adhered to by all.
The Cup winners of the day were Centara, followed in
second place by Planet Football after an intense penalty shootout. The Plate
winners were Horseshoe Point and the runners-up the Blind School.
The Bowl winners were Makovetskiy who narrowly beat First
Step Construction in the final. The Shield competition was won by Fairway
and the runners up were Regent’s Bangkok Staff team.
The day ended with well earned refreshments and an
informal celebration to hand out rewarding trophies and participation
certificates.
A grand total of 180,000 Thai Baht was raised through
this event, all of which has been donated to The Phi Phi International
Community Centre (PICC). This is a ‘not for profit’ facility used for
academic, extra-curricular and volunteer programmes that promote learning
through service and community partnership in conjunction with the Laem Tong
sea gypsy village and local Thai school. For more information please visit:
www.piccthailand.org .
The Regent’s School, Pattaya would like to acknowledge
and thank Pan Pan Restaurant for the sponsorship of the Blind School team
and enabling them to participate in the tournament, along with the generous
sponsorship from The Makovetskiy Group, Amigo Pattaya Ltd 2011, First Step
Construction and MAS An Ausgroup Company.
Thank you to all the teams who participated and the
supporting families and spectators for such a wonderful day, we hope to see
you all again next year for another fun football, community day!
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Ole, Ole, Ole, St Andrews are the champions
The St Andrews School girls
football team were recently crowned ESAC champions.
Jason Holloway
Recently the senior girls football team took part in the
annual ESAC tournament, which St Andrews School hosted. It was a great
atmosphere and every school played with sportsmanship and spirit.
In the group stages the girls beat REPS 2-0 with two
goals from Yok. Her second goal was a free kick which would have made
Ronaldo happy. They then drew with ISE and went through to meet Garden in
the final.
The girls were all fired up, showing great enthusiasm,
team work and commitment. In a final which St Andrews dominated, Twanya
opened the scoring and then Mook made it 2-0 with a screamer from inside her
own half!
Every member of the squad played a key role in this
victory. But special mention has to go to the keeper Erica for not conceding
a single goal, the defensive partnership of Sean and Fiona were invincible,
where Sean gave a performance which Bobby Moore would have been proud of.
Twanya and Yok were outstanding in midfield. Nina chased everything and was
unlucky not to score in her striker’s role.
The player of the tournament however was Mook, who gave
three outstanding performances, chasing everything, showing great vision
with her passing and scoring the goal of the tournament that had the crowd
thinking they were watching Lionel Messi.
Well done and congratulations to all of you. You made the
school extremely proud and deserve to be the ESAC champions.
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PSC fishing trips gaining
in popularity
The PSC fishing party prepare
to set sail.
Captain Rich
December 3 was a glorious day in Sattahip. The group
consisted of the usual suspects Jeff and Khammoon Doutch, John and Marney
Haddon, Phil and Nat Langley, Peter Hyland and me.
I arrived at 7:05 and was immediately dragged over the
coals for being late, but never mind we were leaving from the Sattahip pier
for a day fishing the gulf. We made it out to the boat that in itself is a
miracle considering the condition of the pier. Everyone made it without
falling through the decking or tripping on one of the lose boards, so I
figured Buddha was smiling on us, probably to celebrate the King’s Birthday.
We left the pier for the fishing grounds, about an hour
and a half trip. Phil and Peter put out the large rods and trolled for the
big ones. Halfway out Phil’s rod took off so we cut the power and went back
to watch the action. He fought the fish for a while, but snap and it was
gone along with a $30 Rapala lure. When he pulled in the line we found the
steel leader had parted at the lure. That’s the third lure we have lost with
the same problem, thanks Rapala. So if you have one of these overpriced
puppies, replace that leader.
The group was expecting a banner day because of the
impressive catches they had on the last trip to that area, but the fish
don’t give a hoot about last week, or maybe they were getting ready to
celebrate the King’s Birthday.
We started the first drift and were into fish right away.
Most of the fish were smallish grays, snapper and grouper and then the
biting was off. We would reposition, get a few than stop. That’s the way the
day went. We did get a couple of nice ones, I caught a nice coral trout and
Nat got a couple of nice grouper, nothing I could capture on film, even with
my superior digital zoom.
Even with the slow fishing conditions we all ended up
with bags of about 6 to 10 kilos and most of us felt we had a good day. If
nothing else, we had a great boat ride on flat seas, cool temperatures and
light winds, what could have been better.
We have had a lot of interest from PSC members who would
like to fish, so Dene is talking about adding another trip or two a month.
We are looking into this to see if the added trips can be scheduled cost
effectively to our agenda. We will probably have something together next
month when the holidays are over. The next scheduled trip will be 7 January
2012 - look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!
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Pattaya City held
to a point by Vikings
Paul Frain
Pattaya City played at home last weekend against Scans
Vikings, looking for a confidence booster after the previous week’s beating,
but with their leading top scorer out through injury the odds were against
City.
Pattaya did start strongly and a shot by Francis Tamouya
brought a good diving save from the Vikings’ goalkeeper and he also had to
save from a Craig Banks blockbuster. The Vikings’ keeper then produced the
save of the match from a shot on the turn by Paul Derbyshire and instantly
saving at the feet off Zachee to stop the City forward from scoring.
The Vikings mounted their first attack soon after and a
couple of one-two passing movements opened the City defense and the
forward’s shot beat the City keeper to put the Vikings 1-0 up. City soon
equalized however when Zachee put the ball into the Vikings’ net after a
usual City build-up involving a five player movement, which made the score
1-1.
Vikings could have gone ahead once more but their forward
missed an open goal when he side footed the ball wide instead of putting it
into an empty net and not long after a superb through ball down the middle
by City’s Tshuma found Supachai who made no mistake to make it 2-1 to City.
The Vikings then gained a free-kick just outside the City
penalty area from which the ball hit the City wall and looped into the net
to equalize for the Vikings, leaving the score 2-2 at half time.
After the break both defenses remained tight and what few
chances there were, again City were guilty of not putting away. With the
Vikings defense dug in, they decided that a point was a good result, with
the final result being 2-2.
Reserves gain their first
win
The Pattaya City Reserves played the Japanese team
Bangkok United last weekend, who are known for their fast flowing football,
and with this being the Reserve’s only second match of the season the game
was viewed with interest as the Japanese started very quickly to put the
City defense under early pressure, but City were holding out as the
finishing by Bangkok United was poor.
Slowly City started to make inroads through the Japanese
defense but the chances were few and far between and it was the Bangkok team
who opened the scoring with a scrambled goal on a crowded goal line, as the
ball was poked home to make it 1-0.
City fought back but the finishing should have been
better and the score stood 1-0 at half time to the Japanese team.
City came out strongly after the break and took the game
to the Bangkok United, passing the ball around and the openings started to
appear for the City forwards, which led to an equalizer when the ball was
not cleared and Einar Sigurdsson prodded it into the net to make it 1-1.
The Reserves’ tails were now up and they pounded the
Japanese goal until finally Panjasab scored a brace of goals after good work
from Nirut to make the final score 3-1 to Pattaya.
This was only the Reserves second game and slowly they
are getting to grips, not only with each other, but with the big pitch and
the high standard of the teams that they are playing. A lot more needs doing
with this young side and they will be tested as they play the league leaders
after the Christmas break.
May I take this opportunity to everyone wish a very Happy
Christmas and a great New Year!
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Raelert triumphs in record time at rain-hit Ironman 70.3
2011 Ironman 70.3
Asia-Pacific Championship winner Michael Raelert of Germany on the podium at
Laguna Phuket with runner-up Richie Cunningham (left) and third-placed Paul
Matthews (right), both of Australia.
Two-time Ironman 70.3 world champion Michael Raelert lit
up a rain-hit Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship in Phuket with a
blazing performance that slashed eight minutes off the course record and saw
him finish five minutes ahead of nearest rivals, Australians Richie
Cunningham and Paul Matthews, to claim the US$12,000 top pro prize.
He made his record time of 03:51:36 despite the downpours
on an unseasonable overcast day on the holiday island that played havoc on
the bike course and brought heartbreak for hotly-tipped Ironman bike
specialist Chris Lieto of the USA, who was forced to retire after crashing
just 20k into the tough 90k ride.
Raelert, making his first appearance in Phuket, was keen
to end his season on a high note after injuries earlier this year forced him
to abandon the defence of his Ironman 70.3 World Championship title at Las
Vegas in September.
Reigning Ironman 70.3 World
Champion Melissa Rollison of Australia celebrates her victory at Laguna
Phuket in the Ironman 70.3 Asia- Pacific Championship.
He was among a field of 34 male and female international
pro athletes and more than 1,000 age groupers competing the 1.9k swim, 90k
bike and 21.1k run course for a slice of a US$75,000 pro purse and
championship points, as well as coveted age group slots for the 2012 Ironman
70.3 and Ironman World Championships.
Raelert won with a swim time of 00:23:24; bike of
02:14:17 and run of 01:11:15. Cunningham, Laguna Phuket Triathlon champion
in 2008, was runner-up on 03:57:16 with a swim time of 00:23:55, bike of
02:14:07 and run of 01:16:44; and Matthews finished on 03:58:24 with a swim
time of 00:23:39, bike of 02:14:14 and run of 01:18:02.
In the women’s pro field, Melissa Rollison of Australia,
reigning Ironman 70.3 world champion and last year’s Ironman 70.3
Asia-Pacific Championship runner-up, cruised to an emphatic victory and
claimed the US$12,000 top prize in 04:17:01, a massive 13 minutes ahead of
Switzerland’s Natascha Badmann on 04:30:42.
They were joined in third place by the previous week’s
Laguna Phuket Triathlon women’s champion Radka Vodickova of the Czech
Republic, who shrugged off a knee injury sustained a few days earlier in a
bike accident with a gutsy run in her first-ever Ironman 70.3 that saw her
surge through the field to finish on 04:34:50, dashing the podium hopes of
rising UK star Emma-Kate Lidbury.
Rollison won with a swim time of 00:27:32; bike of
02:36:29 and run of 01:19:44; Badmann was runner-up with a swim time of
00:30:00; bike of 02:26:01 and run of 01:30:57; and Vodickova finished with
a swim time of 00:26:13, bike of 02:39:04 and run of 01:26:26.
Raelert was a commanding presence early in the race,
overtaking swim leader Daniel Halksworth of the UK on the water exit to join
the leading bike pack of Lieto, Cunningham, Matthews, Matt Reed of the USA
and Jason McHugh of Australia.
After Lieto crashed out he was content to stay among the
pack as the skies darkened and rain poured down, but at the run transition –
with weather conditions more favourable for runners - he took the lead,
stretching it to more than two minutes at the half-way point of the two-loop
course.
“The conditions out on the bike course were incredible,
it was dark with torrential rain,” Raelert said. “We had to slow down, but
that meant I could relax a bit and prepare for the run.
“This is just a fantastic event. Even when the rain was
coming down the people were still lining the roads cheering us on. It really
encouraged all of us.
“After the setbacks of this season it’s great to end on a
high note with a good win and I’m sure this will be a springboard for my
next season.”
It was a disappointing day for three-time Laguna Phuket
Triathlon champion and crowd favourite Massimo Cigana. The Italian, who won
his third LPT title the previous weekend and was bidding to follow-up his
runner-up place in last year’s Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship,
finished sixth in 04:01:54.
But it was a good day for Australia, with five
Australians among the top eight men’s prize positions and three in the
women’s top eight, including winner Melissa Rollison.
Top Thai male finisher was the country’s fast-rising
triathlete star Jaray Jearanai of Phuket, in a personal best of 04:38:38 on
his home course, with a swim time of 00:32:57, bike of 02:30:36 and run of
01:31:13. Top Thai female was Nampetch Porntharukcharoen in 06:22:28, with a
swim time of 00:45:09, bike of 03:18:24 and run of 02:09:55.
The day was also a triumph for the oldest competitor, 79
years-old Hiromu Inada of Japan, who finished in 06:42:01 with a swim time
of 00:45:41, bike of 03:30:30 and run of 02:15:26.
(Laguna-Phuket PR)
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Record fleets race to the wire
at 25th Anniversary King’s Cup Regatta
‘Team Premier’ (left)
attempts to make up ground on ‘Freefire’ (center) and ‘Hi Fi’ (right) during
the final day of racing at the 25th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.
Report & Photos by
Martin Bilsborrow
It was fitting that the final day of the landmark 25th
Phuket King’s Cup Regatta on Saturday, December 10, was blessed with bright
blue skies and racing conditions that some considered to be the best for
many a year. And with everything to be decided in several race categories,
the 1,000 plus sailors from around the world, crewing the largest fleet in
the event’s illustrious history, ensured that some fierce competition would
unfold as the Regatta reached its exciting conclusion.
With the northeasterly trade winds gusting at up to 25
knots, it was sure to signify some dramatic action out on the ocean and it
could have been almost prophetic words from regatta media stalwart Captain
Marty who, upon witnessing the blustery morning conditions, said, “When it
(the wind) gets up like this, things can start to break.”
Sure enough, calls started to come through not long after
on race radio that first Joep Kleine Staarman’s X-342 ‘Minx’ had reportedly
dismasted and was shipping water, Jon Wardill’s Cassidy 55 ‘Australian
Maid’s absence from the start line was explained by a broken boom, and
finally Sam Chan’s TP52 ‘Freefire’ sustained damage to a mainsail.
Japanese entry ‘Karasu’ heels
hard to port with victory already in the bag.
For the boats that were able to thrive in these
conditions, ‘Team Premier’, skippered by Hannes Waimer, maintained its local
dominance over the IRC Zero Class that has already seen it claim line
honours at the 2011 TOG Regatta and Phuket Raceweek to take first place
ahead of Neil Pryde’s ‘Hi Fi.’
An overnight protest by both ‘Hi Fi’ and third placed
‘Freefire’ (caused by a drifting marker buoy) had eventually been overturned
by the race officials, leaving ‘Team Premier’ with a decisive 4 point
advantage going into the final two races. Despite ‘Hi Fi’s gallant fight
back to win race 9, they were unable to shake off ‘Team Premier’ which
finished a close second and later took the final race 10 after ‘Hi Fi’
retired from competition.
Winning skipper Hannes said later, “We’ve raced in 10
King’s Cups now, but this is the first time we competed as our own team
under the name of ‘Team Premier’ (so) it’s extremely satisfying to win after
trying many times before.”
‘Royal Thai Navy 1’ were
popular winners in the IRC 2 Class.
In IRC 1 racing, Japan’s Yasuo Nanamori’s Summit King 40
‘Karasu’ was crowned champion boat after putting together an amazingly
consistent series of results with nine podium finishes out of a possible
ten. With the title already wrapped up on the final day, it just remained
for the chasing pack to battle it out for the minor places and Steve
Manning’s Sydney GTS 43 ‘Walawala 2’ eventually got the nod for second place
over and David Ross’ Ker 40 ‘Kukukerchu’ after some of the closest racing of
the week in any class.
The winning crew on ‘Karasu’ is incidentally the first
all-Japanese team to claim a victory at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.
Flying the flag high for the home nation, and in special
honour of His Majesty the King during the month of his 84th
birthday, was ‘Royal Thai Navy 1’ helmed by Chief Petty Officer First Class
Wiwat Poonpat and his team of Thai sailors who defied the odds to score
first place in IRC 2 Class. Against a fleet of much more strongly fancied
contenders the Thai crew was able to fend off all challengers, with Bill
Bremner’s Ker 32 ‘Foxy Lady 5’ finishing in second and Arbuzov Andrey’s
Russian team on ‘Ruby Tuesday’ third.
“We are very proud to be able to take overall victory for
His Majesty the King’s birthday. I’m sure all Thai people will be very
appreciative of this result, and hopefully we can encourage more people into
the sport of sailing,” said a naturally ebullient Wiwat.
In the Premier Class, Richard Dobbs’ British team on
‘Titania of Cowes,’ performed strongly all week to edge out ‘Baby Tonga
Strongbow’ skippered by Peter Sorrenson, while third place went to the
biggest boat in the fleet, the 82-foot Swan from China, ‘Chao Ren Plus One’.
Roger Kingdon’s ‘Moto Inzi’ and Hans Rahmann’s ‘Voodoo’
had a titanic battle to the finish line in the final passage race of the
Firefly 850 Sports Class, with ‘Voodoo’ crossing the line first but still
failing by a whisker to take the title from ‘Moto Inzi’, which had carried
forward an overnight 1 point lead and secured top place in the morning race.
Neil Ayre’s ‘The Frog’ finished third overall.
In the Multihull Class, Alan Carwadine’s ‘Sidewinder’
proved to be unmatchable throughout the week and was a runaway winner ahead
of David Roberts Andaman Cabriolet ‘Da Vinci’, skippered by Mick Coleman in
second, with David Liddell’s ‘Miss Saigon’ taking third.
With 5 wins out of 7, Mike Crisp’s Hanse 400e ‘Venture’
was a clear winner in the Bareboat Charter Class ahead of Oliver Heer’s
‘Sail Plane’, but the real interest was in the struggle for third place
between four Russian boats that eventually saw Mikhail Beloborodov and his
team on ‘Tonicola 2’ claim the final step on the podium.
Modern Classic Class was won by Bo Standergaard’s
‘Patrice III’ by two points from Peter Wood’s ‘Windstar’ in second and
Nicholas Smith’s ‘Free Wind’, in third.
In the Cruising Class, ‘Odin’, manned by Aquacraft Asia,
finished with a win on the final day to claim top honours overall while
second place went to William Sax’s ‘Astraeus’ with Jack Cristensen’s ‘Linda’
in third.
Finally, there was a demonstration event this year with
the kiteboarders putting on an exciting display on the two days that
conditions allowed them to compete. Frenchman Olivier Dansin won four out of
five races to finish well clear of two-time Asian Champion, Thailand’s
Narapichit Pudla, with Turkey’s Salih Alexander taking third.
Speaking at the closing awards ceremony, once again
graced by the presence of His Majesty the King’s personal representative,
Admiral Mon Luang Usni Pramoj, the President of the Phuket King’s Cup
Organising Committee, Kevin Whitcraft said, “This anniversary year has been
an event of particular poignancy and has been one of the most exciting
Regattas in years. Our sponsors have also supported us strongly each and
every day, and everybody has had an enjoyable week.
“The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is renowned throughout
Asia, and with good wind and beautiful conditions, the racing has not
disappointed and we will continue to push, to innovate and to improve it.”
Going hand in hand with the offshore action was the usual
smorgasbord of fantastic social events laid on by the sponsors throughout
the week that was capped off in fine style with the grand closing party and
firework display held at the Kata Beach Resort, that brought a colourful and
fitting conclusion to this quarter century Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.
Generous sponsors of this year’s event included Kata Group Resorts
Thailand, PTT Group, Siam Winery, Singha Corporation, AIA Thailand, PTT
Global Chemical, PTTEP, Thaioil, Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket,
Boathouse and Sunsail.
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Dolphins and Sharks share the spoils in 2-2 draw
Thai Premier Football League 2011/12
Pattaya United’s O.J. Obatola
(10) is surrounded by Chonburi FC defenders during the second half of their
Thai Premier League match in Chonburi, Sunday, Dec. 11. (Photo/Ariyawat
Nuamsawat)
Pattaya United secured a well deserved point at Chonburi
FC last Sunday to deny their local rivals a chance to go second in the
league standings.
Indeed, United were unlucky not to come away from
Chonburi’s home stadium with all three points after Ludovick Takam
missed a golden opportunity to side-foot the ball home and put the
Dolphins two goals up inside the opening half hour.
Pattaya had earlier taken the lead in spectacular
fashion when O.J. Obatola ran onto a cross from Paul Ekollo in the 11th
minute to rasp home a fierce left foot shot from fully 25 yards out that
hit the roof of the net before the keeper could move.
Chonburi were gifted an opening back into the game
just before half time when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of
the Pattaya penalty area for what appeared like an innocuous challenge,
however the Sharks weren’t about to complain and up stepped Therdsak
Chaiman to chip a superb shot over the wall and into the net to
equalize.
Just as Chonburi were congratulating themselves on
getting back into the match, Pattaya took the lead once more in first
half injury time when the Sharks failed to clear a corner kick and
Seeket Maputeh’s long range shot appeared to be deflected on its way
into the Chonburi net.
In the second had The Sharks pushed hard for an
equalizer and they were rewarded for their efforts when Kazuto Kushida
took advantage of some confusion in the United defence to smash the ball
home.
Neither team was able to mount a serious threat on
goal for the remainder of the half and the game finished with honours
even.
With the point, United moved up to fifth place in the
standings, their highest position since the beginning of the season.
Their remaining three fixtures are all home matches against Chiangrai
United on Dec. 17, Army United on Dec. 24 and finally against Muang
Thong United on Jan. 7. Kick-off for all three fixtures is 6 p.m.
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Pattaya Cricket Club’s tail wags in King’s Birthday thriller
Pattaya Cricket Club entertained a strong Bangkok Cricket
Club at Horseshoe Point on Monday in a 35 over game as part of the King’s
birthday celebrations.
BCC elected to bat first with skies slightly overcast and
Tauseef and Rohit soon found the conditions testing as the pace of Jack and
swing of Usman kept them often playing and missing. Eventually the pressure
paid off as first Rohit (6) was comprehensively bowled by Usman and Tauseef
(8) edged to the keeper off a rising delivery from Jack.
Mazhar and Shaikh set about repairing the innings with a
61 run partnership before Yasir snared Shaikh (25). Wickets then fell at
regular intervals as Shan (4/18) and Sodhi (1/29) restricted the run rate.
Mazhar remained defiant until he was finally out top edging a hook shot
through to the keeper for a fine 83.
Fine fielding and again some excellent catching
eventually saw BCC all out for 155 with Shan and his left arm seamers being
the pick of the bowlers.
In reply PCC’s openers Sunny and Debdas survived the
early new ball attack of Linesh and Farhan but Sunny (14) soon edged one to
the wicket keeper and Debdas (21) was caught in the covers with 51 on the
board.
Hansie, promoted to number three, played a cameo innings
of 25 until he was clean bowled by the excellent Farhan. Jack (16) followed
in similar fashion and when the captain Simon (5) had his right index finger
fractured from a ball that bounced more than expected and was forced to
retire PCC were in serious trouble at 102 for 7.
Linesh (4/40) and Farhan (4/26) had bowled magnificently
and appeared to have won the game for BCC but Mithu and Shan had other
ideas. Nudging ones and twos the score slowly ticked along and the PCC tail
could be seen starting to wag. The holiday crowd, enjoying the tense finale
with amber libations, began to find their voices and each run was celebrated
with increasing gusto.
Mithu assumed the lead role in the partnership as Shan
refused to be tempted into knocking the ball off the wicket let alone the
square and the PCC tail was now wagging furiously. The game changer came
with 10 runs still needed when Mithu was dropped on the boundary. It was a
huge slice of luck that enabled the pair to continue scrambling the final
few runs and secure a highly improbable 2 wicket victory with 12 balls
remaining.
It was a fitting end to a very entertaining day of
cricket and PCC continue to march onwards and upwards. Man of the match went
to Mithu for his accomplished 42 not out and vital 2 wickets in the BCC
middle order.
For more information on Pattaya Cricket Club please visit
our website at www. pattayacricketclub.com.
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Aspiring superbike star sharpens his skills at Kaeng Krachan
Ben Fortt at the Kaeng Krachan
racetrack near Hua Hin.
With Thailand’s racing calendar badly disrupted by the
flooding disaster, Pattaya’s Ben Fortt, one of the country’s most exciting
up-and-coming superbike riders, has been keeping himself sharp by taking
opportunities to stretch his track skills in testing sessions.
After working on some set-up problems at Bira with the
help of top international roads racer, Gary Johnson, the two of them, along
with a small group of fellow superbike exponents, made the trip to Kaeng
Krachan, near Hua Hin, for a two-day test last week.
Regarded by racing insiders as a hidden jewel, the
undulating 2.9km circuit, originally a small airfield, is set in the
otherwise peaceful Kaeng Krachan National Park, just north and east of the
beach resort towns of Cha’am and Hua Hin. It is the longest race track in
Thailand, the only one that runs anti-clockwise and was built mainly for
private use by the owner. Indeed, with stone walls in places where bike
racers would normally prefer gravel traps, it is perhaps best enjoyed
without the pressure of competition.
Fortt is seen in action at
Bira Circuit earlier in the season.
Ben had only made one brief visit to the track previously
and with the surface covered by a treacherous layer of fine dust, he spent
the first few sessions learning his way around. However, as the first
afternoon wore on and his confidence grew, the young racer pushed his CEA
Suzuki GSX-R1000 harder and his lap times began to tumble, lapping
comfortably in the one minute 30s towards the end and looking forward to
improving further during the following day.
It was clear from the first session on the day two that
everyone was going to go a lot faster. The dust had been blown away by the
bikes, rubber had been left on the track and grip was noticeably better. Ben
made the biggest improvement of the group, carving another 3.5 seconds off
his best time from the previous day to finish with a superb one minute 26.5
second personal best lap.
His efforts had left him with badly blistered palms from
the braking and cornering forces, but the team went away with big smiles,
happy that they had mastered a new circuit and happy that they had been able
to make further improvements to the bike’s set-up.
“I was confused at first,” said Ben, “Just trying to
figure out where I was on the circuit was difficult at first, but I began to
relax and enjoy it after the first morning. I really like the track layout
and the gradient changes make it really exciting to ride. If you had told me
I would be doing one twenty-sixes before we started I wouldn’t have believed
it, so I am really pleased with what we achieved.
“I want to thank CEA and the team for making it possible
to get this extra track time and also Gary Johnson for his advice on set-up
and helping me to find the right lines around such a technical circuit.”
To make up for the postponement of the last scheduled meeting, the final
two rounds of the Motorcycle Mag Championships will be held on the 24th and
25th December at Bira, where Ben will be looking for a strong finish to what
has been a highly successful first season as a superbike racer.
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