The monthly PAGS tournament held on December 23 rolled around a little earlier than normal, to facilitate the Christmas/New Year holiday season. There were 103 keen golfers, which included a small group of ladies, ready to take on the Emerald course, in what could only be described as good conditions.
The course was in reasonable order, but with preferred lies on the closely mown surfaces it meant accurate tee shots were rewarded. Firm fairways provided plenty of run, with the greens offering plenty of challenges in their own right. Clear skies greeted the golfers, but it was combined with a 1 to 2 club breeze which seemed to diminish through the day and meant there were still plenty of challenges for the gathered throng.
Bob Watson (centre) – the 2015 PAGS Order of Merit winner.
This being the final event of 2015, with the Order of Merit title very open and still to be decided, there was a bit of extra incentive for the golfers to go along with the usual array of monthly prizes.
While the breeze kept most scores down, the ladies showed the way with some spectacular scoring. None was better than the winner, Orn (H/cap 14) with a day’s best of 43 points, also picking up the approach on Hole-3.
Ladies winner Orn (centre) shot a best of the day 43 points.
The Low Gross winner for the month was Bob Watson (3) who shot a great 71 under the conditions and was able to consolidate his standing in the Order of Merit. Bob also took out the A flight with 40 points to go with his technical prize for the 55–64 Long Drive on Hole-18.
A series of count backs was required to decide the minor places in this flight after 2 players recorded 37 points on the day. Second position went to Pekka Tikkanen (12) with a back nine of 18 while third was secured by Mike Allidi (2) after his 17 on the homeward 9. Both Pekka & Mike secured a technical prize each to go with their podium awards.
Equal top points scorer for the men was the winner of C flight for handicaps 20 +, that being Dave Mateer (28) with a fine 40 points who finished ahead of Graham Shand (21) and Matti Huomo (20) with 38 and 37 points respectively.
Bob Watson & Gerd Riedler on the course at Emerald.
In the B flight, for handicaps 13-19, this month’s winner was Brian Green (15) who signed for 36 points, equal with Gary Saunders (15) with the count back going to the final 6 holes after both had 19 on the back nine; Brian just getting the nod 14/13 over Gary, while Wolfram Krueger (15) got the bronze medal position with 34 points.
Notable technical prize winners were Jack Grinvold and Mike Sanders, who were both able to win the maximum 2 technical prizes each.
Drum roll please, and the final Order of Merit placings were: Bob Watson well clear at the top with 582 points, with Gerd Riedler a deserved second after leading during the year on 559. Wolfram Krueger secured third spot with 555 ahead of Jeff Wylie, a solitary point behind, as was Tom Thompson in fifth a further point adrift of Jeff. John Fenwick was also recognised for competing in all 12 events.
All who attended the final presentation passed on their congratulations to the winners, and gratitude to Shane, Dave and their team for providing another successful Pattaya Amateur Golf Series and look forward to participating again in 2016.
The 2016 series kicks off on the 27th January at Phoenix, so make a note of the date, and contact Shane on 085 945 9689 to ensure your preferred tee time. On a final note for the year, the PAGS team wish all golfers, their families & friends a safe and prosperous New Year.
