IPGC golf from The Haven
Monday, 13th February, Eastern Star – Stableford
CSS 75
1st Warren Gallop (11) 38pts
2nd Alwyne Burley (17) 32pts
3rd Phil Groves (9) 30pts
4th Yasuo Suzuki (11) 29pts
5th Rodney Hayes (12) 29pts
Playing his last week before returning to China, Australian Warren Gallop took his second win of this tour with a crushing victory of six shots over a very good field. With the course playing about as long as it gets with almost no run on the fairways and the tee boxes placed near the blocks on most of the teeing areas, it was a class round of golf doubly underscored as the CSS for the day went out three to 75, ensuring that on Warren’s return his handicap will have been pared by another shot.
Another important factor was the condition of the greens which were in pretty poor shape and some being particularly uneven which when added to the length of the grass on them, made putting a bit of a lottery.
Warren Gallop.
Alwyne Burley was the best of the chasing pack at four over handicap which surprisingly earned him second place ahead of Phil Groves, who has just returned from almost a year and a half’s self imposed exile from the Australian golf courses just north of Alwyne’s home course, making it another 1, 2, 3 for Australia and almost a mirror image of the last three one-dayers at home.
Yasuo Suzuki slipped into fourth spot with a better count back over Rodney Hayes of 17 to 14.
In line with the difficulty of the course on the day there were no 2’s in either division.
Before presenting the prizes Stephen Beard welcomed new members Peter Pereira, Terrance Martin Bruno Torquato and Pacy Hurd and also welcomed back Allan Duffy, Max Arlen, Phil Groves and Magne Gunnarsson.
Wednesday 15th February, Mountain Shadow (Blue tees) – Stableford
CSS 73
1st Torild Lossius (36) 39pts
2nd Rodney Hayes (12)37pts
3rd Phil Groves (9) 36pts
4th Alwyne Burley (17) 32pts
5th Ron Rigden (17) 31pts
6th Don Everett (20) 31pts
Torild Lossius took up the challenge for the rest of the world to deny the Aussies yet another 1, 2, 3 as she took the top honour with a splendid three under handicap round; albeit from the slightly shorter red tees and of course from where her handicap emanates, which stopped Rodney Hayes taking his long awaited win.
Toril Lossius.
Rodney, always the gentleman, took it all in good heart but still wondered why someone who hits it a lot further than him off the tees should tee off from areas sometimes eighty yards in front of him. The answer no doubt lies somewhere between the drive and the hole.
Torild’s effort also ensured that Phil Groves’ good round only put him in third, the same position as the previous outing although being six strokes better.
Alwyne Burley swapped his second place for fourth, also with the same score as Monday, as especially the shorter and better conditioned greens helped all the players to a better day’s golf and with the fairways and rough in good shape it all made for a pleasant experience under the cloud filled skies when the rains held off until after the final putt had dropped.
Ron Rigden at last had something he could talk about when he returns home, as he slid into 5th place after a better count back with Don Everett which he won by a margin of 16 to 14.
Once again there were no 2’s in the first division but Hal Hart and Rodney Howett shared the roll over pool in the second division.
Friday, 17th February, Pattaya C.C. – Stableford
CSS 72
Gentlemen
1st Peter Pereira (14) 37pts
2nd Leif Lossius (30) 37pts
3rd Ron Rigden (17) 36pts
4th Bruno Torquato (14) 35pts
5th Don Everett (20) 32pts
Ladies
1st Marianne Kayser (33) 32pts
2nd Torild Lossius (36) 25pts
With sufficient ladies, in numbers at least, to form their own division, Marianne Kayser did enough to win with a solid if unexciting round that easily took the top spot ahead of the strangely out of sorts Torild Lossius.
Peter Pereira.
The Gentlemen’s division was won by yet another Australian, this time from the other side of the continent hailing from the Le Turf Golf Club situated just outside Perth in Western Australia. But Peter Pereira needed to win a close fought count back with Leif Lossius, who was aiming to emulate his wife’s previous efforts and to get some sort of parity in the pecking order around the dinner table when they return home to Norway. Unfortunately for him, Leif had to settle for second place after losing on the last six by 12 to 13 after Peter and he had tied the back nine in 18 a piece.
Ron Rigden added to his week’s booty with a third place, on level handicap, to underline to his travelling partner John Pearce “that the early bird catches the worm”, well at least sometimes even if it is not a very big one.
Bruno Torquato took fourth spot just one further back with Don Everett getting his second honourable mention of the week back in fifth.
Phil Groves’ efforts to increase his calorie intake by purchasing a bag of the Haven home-made oatmeal cookies took a bit of a setback when after tasting the first one on the course, a stray dog noticed him squirrel the packet away in the golf buggy and took the opportunity on the next tee box to finish off the lot as Phil was in his backswing – this no doubt the reason for Phil failing to make the podium for the third time in the week after missing the fairway.
Peter Pereira added to his day’s haul as he slipped in the only 2 in the first division to sweep the triple rollover in the first division while Ron Rigden had the only one in the second division.
Back at The Haven there were welcome backs for Frank Hughes, Ole Stamnes, Marianne and Frithjof Kayser and Andy Pedlar.
There was also a very special welcome back to Shuichi Kodaka following his rehabilitation after the attempt on his life by a demented motorcyclist. The Doc noted that he now wore IPod buds for listening to heavy metal music in the hopes of drowning out the sound of traffic on the pavements (sidewalks ed.), and hoped that his return would be a welcome boost to the bar profits.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact mobile 082 219 0965 or call in to The Haven 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 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 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.
16th Pattaya AmAm golf tournament
The 16th Pattaya AmAm golf tournament will take place at Pattaya Country Club on Friday 2nd March 2012. The format is Teams of 4 players with a stableford scoring system, 75% of playing handicaps per player and 2 team members’ scores to count on each hole.
There will be prizes awarded for 1st 2nd 3rd places plus various technical prizes. Presentations and buffet will take place at The Haven.
Cost of entry is 1500 baht per player and sign-up sheets are available at the following golfing outlets: Donovan’s (Steve Mascari), The Haven (Stephen Beard), Jomtien Golf (Glyn Evans), The Links (Russell Exley), and The Rabbi’s Elephant (Len Jones).
