IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, Dec. 28, Crystal Bay A & C – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Walter O’Keefe (14) 42pts
2nd Mark Williams (7) 38pts
3rd Mark Cooper (13) 35pts
4th Mike Hill (20) 33pts
5th Brendan Dunne (30) 33pts
6th Peter Skinner (10) 31pts
Walter O’Keefe ,Peter Buckley & Walter Panichi.
The high season appeared to have arrived with a vengeance after a five and a half hour round started off the week and a few of the hopefuls had almost lost the will to live by the time they had reached the eighteenth green. One group, one of whom had thoughtfully brought a pack of cards, managed to play several rounds of bridge during the layovers on the par threes where an assembly of four groups was the norm. But at least the weather was good, being slightly overcast, and the fairways were exceptionally wide and the greens flat.
Walter O’Keefe started off what was to be an exceptionally successful week of golf by returning his best score ever in Thailand since first travelling here, during the North American winters, at beginning of January 2013. His previous best, three higher, was also scored at Crystal Bay, so it is obviously a course that he relishes, and on this day he swept aside the rest of the field by a fair margin to take the win.
Mark Williams got the closest to him, taking second spot four shots adrift after he had returned his best result of this trip, scoring level nineteens on each half.
Mark Cooper made it a happy return with his third place, two ahead of the count back for fourth. Mike Hill won that with a better 20 to 18 to consign Brendan Dunne into fifth as Peter Skinner struggled through the marathon back nine to take the last step of the podium in sixth.
Peter Buckley took the second division 2’s pot while Walter O’Keefe and Mark Williams shared the first division’s spoils.
Wednesday, Dec. 30, Pattana A & B (yellow tees) – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Walter O’Keefe (14) 37pts
2nd Peter Buckley (20) 36pts
3rd Walter Panichi (4) 34pts
4th Peter Skinner (10) 33pts
5th Adrian Cook (13) 33pts
6th Hal Hart (21) 32pts
Another day, another course, and one in tip top condition as usual, but the same winner.
Walter O’Keefe put in another solid performance that was notable, even though the slightly forward tees were in play, as the course still measured almost 6,500 yards and anything short of the green stopped short due to the heavy watering that had obviously taken place earlier in the day.
An eighteen front and nineteen back was just enough to see him home again as second placed Peter Buckley almost caught up over the last two, but Walter’s stunning birdie on the par five last did the trick.
Walter Panichi may well have thought that he would be pressing for the top spot as the going was particularly difficult around the greens, but two over handicap was only sufficient to garner third place on a day that saw some quality golf from the leaders.
Peter Skinner won a count back for fourth over Adrian Cook, scoring a better 19 to 18 on the back nine holes to leave Hal Hart in sixth after he had come out top in a multi-count back by a single point.
There were no 2s in the second division but Walter O’Keefe had another one in the first division but had to share again, this time with Alan Pilkington who had two.
Friday, Jan 1, Greenwood A & B – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Walter O’Keefe (14) 36pts
2nd Walter Panichi (4) 35pts
3rd Peter Buckley (20) 34pts
4th Mark Williams (7) 29pts
5th David Dines (7) 28pts
The New Year began with quite a few missing faces, the previous day’s activities obviously having taken their toll, and those that appeared were split between those wanting to just go home and those looking for a “hair of the dog”. But after the organiser replenished their spirits with his cheery “Happy New Year” greeting, the day just got better and better, well at least for a couple of them.
It was certainly another cheerful day for Walter O’Keefe, who equaled the group’s record with his third win in the same week, and resulted in a referral to the Ethics Committee to consider if his play during the week was unfair, and possibly even illegal, with regard to the rest of the hopefuls, many of whom had not figured even once during his week of dominance. But in the end the plaint was returned as they were too far busy with many other matters of much greater importance.
But at least the day’s rounds were completed much quicker as the course was unsurprisingly under utilised with many other groups not playing on the holiday.
Walter’s round was his worst of the week, but even with the course in good condition, with a strong breeze scoring was perhaps the most difficult of the week and he needed a strong finish to stay just ahead of the nearest challengers.
Once again it was the other Walter, Panichi, who pressed the hardest, just failing to keep up the momentum over the eighteen closing with an uncharacteristic two over for the inward half, three worse than his opening nine and so had to settle for second place.
Peter Buckley again showed well in third, finishing strongly after both Mark Williams, who slipped up slightly through the back nine, and David Dines, still struggling to get back into form, could not make up the leeway.
With the course playing so hard, and the factoring in the previous night, it was not surprising that there were no 2s in either of the divisions as many of the players had great difficulty in focusing on anything other than the refreshment bottles.
Note: If you would like to play with The Haven group, you can contact 038 710 988 or call in to The Haven Hotel, 185 Soi 13, situated 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 8.15 on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on the days that you wish to play. If you would like to leave your golf clubs at The Haven, there are usually lockers available at a nominal charge. A schedule of courses to be played can be found on our web site at www.thehaven-hotel.com.
