The last Wednesday of the month on March 25 rolled around, with a good turnout of 94 players for the 3rd PAGS Tournament of 2015 at The Emerald G.C. The course was on the damp side, after the heavy downpour of the previous day, with ‘lift, clean & place’ being implemented. Perhaps the recent rain was the reason for the greens being so slow, but I think the putting surfaces here let the overall course condition down. Hard to get the ball to the hole with any consistency when greens are so slow, but they are the same for everybody.
The outstanding players of the day were Kari Kuparinen and Wolfram Krueger who both picked up the maximum 2 technicals and figured in the prizes in their relative flights. Jason Barnett and Errki Pohja also did well, picking up the 2 technicals. The opportunity for technical prizes is an attraction of the PAGS tournaments, with prizes on each hole and with several holes offering 2 or 3 prizes across flights, genders and age groups.
Kari Kuparinen (centre) picks up one of his two technical awards.
Lars Persson (h/cap 12) was this month’s A flight winner with a day’s high score of 41 points, ahead of Kurt Andersen (12) with 38. Kari Kuparinen (6) finished third after a 19/18 count back on the back 9 holes over Mike Allidi (2). Mike gained some consolation with his Low Gross win after signing for a solid 74.
Larry Simpson (17) won the B flight with 38 points after his back 9 of 21 relegated Wolfram Krueger (16) and Andre Fortis (18) to the minor prizes, they finishing their back 9s off with 19 and 18 respectively.
The C flight (19–28) required no count backs this month with Pierre Bietry (20) the clear winner on 39 points, while Eric Reginuissen (20) got second spot with 38 and 24-handicapper George Gamble took the bronze with 36.
The Ladies flight was clear cut, with only a small contingent turning out this month and the winner was Lat Storey (11) scoring a strong 40 points.
Wolfram Krueger (centre) was another big winner on the day.
The social side of the PAGS tournaments, with the prize presentation at Shenanigans Jomtien, continued its high standard as golfers, family & friends got together to support all the prize winners of the day, while enjoying the abundance of tucker served up by Dave & his crew.
The next tournament will be held at Khao Kheow on 29th April at a cost of 1,600 baht inclusive of green & caddy fee, competition and BBQ at Shenanigans Jomtien. It will again be popular, so early registration with Shane on 085 945 9689 is recommended.
