IPGC golf from The Links
Sunday, March 25, Green Valley – Stableford
A smaller than usual field this week led to one division with 3 places up for grabs. Again we were able to tee-off on arrival and although thunderstorms were constantly passing nearby throughout the morning, the golfers were spared the downpours and the pace of play was excellent on the unusually quiet course. With the tees well forward on most holes, scoring was fairly easy, with the average points haul for the field being 34.
The scorer was tested to the limit, with a 5-way tie for the places on 36 points. Jon Lay was the first to fall by the wayside, after only managing 17 points on the back 9, which left a 3-way tie on 18 points. Ted Murphy was next to go, his 11 point back 6 being bettered by Paul Hird (14), playing his final round with the Links this visit, and the big hitting Irishman Bryan Dore, who aided by some truly monstrous drives, scored one under gross on the back 6 to secure 15 points and third place.
Double winner
Jon Batty.
Andy Galvin’s 19 point back 9 left him in second place, three shots behind the winner, your scribe, who came back in 1 over gross, despite taking two to get out of the bunker at the last, which cost me a double bogey. To make matters worse, as the self confessed worst bunker player in the world, I had spent over an hour two days before practicing such shots – note to self – open stance, open blade, ball at front of stance, weight on front foot, follow through! Any further tips would be much appreciated.
Again there were no ‘2’s, so a double rollover went to Crystal Bay on the Thursday.
1st Jon Batty (8) 39pts
2nd Andy Galvin (19) 36pts
3rd Bryan Dore (5) 36pts
Thursday, March 29, Crystal Bay – Stableford
Despite taking a day off on Tuesday, a smaller than usual turnout travelled to Crystal Bay to tackle the B&C courses. This was my first visit here for nearly 6 months, and I’m not sure why we’ve waited so long between visits, as the well laid out course was on the whole in excellent condition, with the greens receptive and running true.
The car park was almost empty on arrival and we rushed to tee off a little early in order to get out in front of a 5-ball that had checked in just before, only to watch them tee off on the C course as we started on the B!
The windy conditions led to some unusually low scoring, with 3 players tied in second place despite managing only 29 points. Joe Mcardle missed out on the places, collapsing to 10 points on the back 9 after scoring an excellent 19 on the front. Joe Peters came third with a 15 point back 9, one behind Sean Connolly. The winner was again your scribe, scoring 32 points, aided somewhat by an eagle at the par 5 18th.
Sean Connolly registered the only ‘2’ of the day and was therefore the beneficiary of the double rollover pot.
1st Jon Batty (8) 32pts
2nd Sean Connolly (11) 29pts
3rd Joe Peters (17) 29pts
Note: The Links depart from the hotel on Soi Buakhao at 9.30am on Tuesdays and Thursdays and for Rayong Green Valley every Sunday. Sign up at the hotel or contact Jon on 080 021 1034. A full schedule of courses can be found on the IPGC website www.ipgc.org
