IPGC Golf from The Haven
Monday, Nov. 7, Greenwood A & B – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Peter Brown (24) 39pts
2nd Darryl Burkett (12) 38pts
3rd Alastair Rowton (20) 37pts
4th John Sutcliff (17) 36pts
5th Yasuo Suzuki (14) 36pts
6th Neil Skilton (3) 35pts
Generally the courses in the area remain wet making them longer, especially for the higher handicappers as the fairways do not offer much after the ball pitches. Usually the CSS for the day is found to increase, but on this day even though the course was wet enough to preclude carts from the fairways the scoring was fairly good, with around 45% of the players making their standard when compared to the SS of the course.
Peter Brown not only won the day but had the distinction of also recoding the best score of the week at three under handicap. However his victory was by the narrow margin of one stroke as Darryl Burkett closed in over the last few holes.
Alastair Rowton took the first of his three podium placements in third place as he learnt how to deal with the local conditions from his first week with the group.
John Sutcliff won a count back over Yasuo Suzuki for fourth place with a better 19 to 16, with Neil Skilton taking the last placement in sixth one more stroke adrift.
There were no 2s in either of the divisions.
Wednesday, Nov. 9, Khao Kheow A & B – Stableford
CSS 72
1st Jon Batty (7) 36pts
2nd Shuichi Kodaka (18) 34pts
3rd Mark Cooper (12) 34pts
4th Alastair Rowton (20) 33pts
5th Mike Korney (18) 31pts
6th Paul Hubbard (10) 31pts
Once again Khao Kheow was found to be in A-One condition although still very damp in places and quite difficult to manage when tee shots wandered into the rough. The CSS for the day remained at 72 with 25% making their standard against the SS of the course.
Jon Batty needed just to play to his handicap to take first place and win by the comfortable margin of two strokes ahead of a count back for second and third places, which Shuichi Kodaka won with a better 20 to 15 after Mark Cooper tired badly through the closing five holes when he had earlier looked the more likely prospect.
Alastair Rowton took his second podium place in fourth spot just one behind and two in front of a count back for fifth and sixth which Mike Korney won with a better 15 to 11, leaving Paul Hubbard ruing a missed opportunity to capitalize on a two under handicap front nine.
The par threes proved a little too difficult to extract any birdies resulting in no 2s in either division.
Friday, Nov. 11, Phoenix (Lakes & Ocean) – Stableford
CSS 74
1st Howard Jeglum (15) 36pts
2nd Alastair Rowton (20) 36pts
3rd Patrick Scullion (20) 33pts
4th Neil Skilton (3) 31pts
5th Frank Hughes (20) 31pts
6th Darryl Burkett (12) 31pts
The once a fortnightly trip to Phoenix Gold is set to end after the November Medal competitions as the proposed green fee for the high season is quite a bit higher than those on offer at similar quality courses in the area. The course today was in a reasonable condition but a long way short of the best that the group play regularly, and just that criteria alone makes the increased rates unacceptable.
Howard Jeglum won his first event during this visit after winning a count back over the week’s serial contender, Alastair Rowton, returning a better20 to 18 over the Ocean course with the stronger finish for the last three holes.
Patrick Scullion doesn’t usually figure in the count-ups until he has been around for a few games but on this occasion he claimed third place with a solid three over handicap return, two ahead of a three-way count back for fourth place. Neil Skilton won that count back with a best 17 over the back nine.
Frank Hughes took fifth as he finished with a better 12 to 10 on the last six to leave Darryl Burkett in sixth after they had tied the back nine on 15 each.
For the third time in the week there were no 2s in either division leaving a pile of loot in the pots for the following week’s competitions.
