Jomtien Golf with the IPGC
On the podium this past week: Burnie Sinclair, Georges Faber, Pete Sumner, Chris Voller and Cully Monks.
Monday, Oct. 18, Century Chonburi – Stableford
A deluge of rain all weekend here in Jomtien left us unsure as to what to expect when we arrived at Century Chonburi. After many discussions over the best route to take to the course off the 331, we tested it out today: a u-turn on the flyover just past the 2nd Shell garage is 8km to the course while the next exit on the 331 to Century Chonburi and with abysmal road conditions is 15km, so almost a five mile differential through the pineapple plantations.
Buggies were allowed out on the course today and there were a few sodden areas but there was no ‘pick, clean and place’. There were 19 players out and with 20 points on the front nine and now playing off 5, Kari Kuparinen won division 1 with 35 points. Chris Voller, now playing off six after last week’s cut, was second with 33 points and Andy Baber beat Georges Faber on a 14/12 back-nine count-back for third after they both came in with 29 points.
There were a few moans regarding the greens being a bit woolly and the semi-rough playing tough, but after the amount of rain recently you can’t expect the greenkeepers to go out every day.
Twenty-six points gave Ben Findon third place in division 2, beating Mike Lewis 11/7 on a back six count-back after they both finished with 14 on the back nine. After being cut 3 shots last week and playing off 23 now, Tom Novak was still in the reckoning, finishing second with 30 points and Burnie Sinclair won the division today with an amazing 38 points.
There were no ‘2’s in either division today so a carry over to Emerald on Wednesday.
Now with a small influx of single handicappers who have joined us recently, as from Monday, Oct. 25, division 1 is now 1-16 in the ‘2’s and nearest the pins and also the two divisional fun pairs games, and division 2 is 17+. There will still be an equal 50/33 percent cut on the day for the cards in the 2 or 3 divisions in the stableford.
Wednesday, Oct. 20, The Emerald – Stableford
There were a few more players out today than there were on Monday and as we arrived here we were told we could tee off straight away, 40 minutes ahead of schedule. We tried to hold back as long as possible as the groups had already been planned and a few had not yet arrived.
The cut today was 5-16 in division 1 and 17 plus in division 2 and with no roll on the fairways due to the recent rain this would prove a good test for our players.
Joe Kubon crept in with 29 points for third place in division 2, with Burnie Sinclair second on 31 and the winner today with 20 on the back nine was Ben Findon with 34 points.
In division 1 the Rioca boy was in third place with 34 points while Billy Hewitt was expecting to win with 37 points, but playing off 13 and with an amazing back nine of 23 points Georges Faber took top spot with A great round of 41 points.
Georges also birdied the 7th and Pete Sumner the 15th to share two rollovers and today’s pot in the ‘2’s competition. In division two there were three rollovers to Green Valley the following week.
It was nice to see Keith Hector back in the field after a couple of months.
Friday, Oct. 22, Eastern Star – Stableford
The numbers are slowly creeping up on a Friday now and there were six groups out today. With the heavy rain yet again the previous night we expected a sodden course but to the contrary it was better than the previous week, so yet again there was no relief on the fairways.
An even lower cut today of 6-14 in the premier flight and Mikael Andersson and Rick Holmes lost out for third place on a count-back of 21 on the back nine to Rob Good after they all came in with 36 points. Pete Sumner was second with 37 and Chris Voller, back in the frame, won with 38 points.
In division 2 Burnie Sinclair took the victory with 36 points and Mike Lewis beat Cully Monks on an 18/16 count-back for second after they both tied with 33 points.
Once again there were no ‘2’s in division two but Mikael Andersson and Chris Voller shared a rollover in division 1as they birdied the 3rd and 13th respectively.
Near pins went to (Div. 1) Tom Herold, Rick Holmes,Colin James and Ian Speirs, and (Div. 2) Joe Kubon, Jim Lane, Cully Monks and Rob Schwab.
