Travellers Rest Golf Group
Monday, Oct. 2, Treasure Hill – Stableford
1st Al Marumoto (12) 31pts
2nd Derek Thorogood (18) 29pts
3rd Ted Senior (15) 24pts
On Monday the Travellers Rest golfers made their way to Treasure Hill and quickly understood why Thailand is such a green and beautiful land. Several showers resulted in rain breaks and sodden conditions made high scoring virtually impossible.
Support Pattaya Mail – Click Here
Ted Senior found that his 24 points was good enough for third place as numerous white flags were being waved and players were retiring early to the comfort of the 19th hole.
Derek Thorogood’s decision to stick it out paid dividends as his 29 points saw he claim the runners up spot, but the winner of the day came in the shape of Al Marumoto and his 31 point tally.
Tuesday, Oct. 3, Phoenix Gold – Stableford
1st Eddie Townsend (22) 34pts
2nd Al Marumoto (12) 33pts
3rd Gabe Dakwa (15) 33pts
When on song Gabe Dakwa hits a “mean ball” and with wet conditions resulting in the course playing longer than normal, it was handy that Gabe’s long game at its best and his 33 points gave him third place.
For the second time in 2 days, wet course specialist Al Marumoto was on form and a strong back-9 resulted in him taking the second spot, but the day belonged to Eddie Townsend whose beaming smile could be seen as far as Timbuktu as his 34 points enabled him to walk away with the treasure.
Wednesday, Oct. 4, Silky Oak – Stableford
1st Jim Cooper (15) 39pts
2nd Eddie Townsend (22) 39pts
3rd Al Marumoto (12) 36pts
Thursday’s visit to Silky Oak saw a break in the weather that had been haunting the group all week. No one got wet as for once bag covers and umbrellas were left to one side with the sun breaking through to heat up proceedings.
Al Marumoto made it 3 podium places in 3 competitions as his 36 points secured third place. The real battle was occurring between the previous day’s winner Eddie Townshend and Jim Cooper, who had thrown the towel in during Monday’s “battle of the bog”. Eddie started on fire with18 points after 6 holes but as the round progressed his engine started to run out of steam. Both Eddie and Jim finished on 39 points each but “Super Cooper” won the day as a result of his stronger back-9.
Friday, Oct. 6, Burapha – Stableford
Division 1
1st Nori Tanaka (11) 39pts
2nd Gabe Dakwa (15) 38pts
3rd Jim Cooper (15) 38pts
Division 2
1st Taegom Oh (20) 34pts
2nd Derek Thorogood (18) 34pts
3rd Guen Park (20) 32pts
Rain was again the order of the day as the group visited Burapah. The sirens were going as the golfers were dashing for cover, with play suspended at one point.
Some players are inspired by adverse conditions whilst some are not, and one man who loves wallowing in the mire is Jim Cooper and his 38 points earned him the bronze in division 1. Just beating Jim was Gabe Dakwa whose stronger back-9 saw him taking second place, but the round of the day came from Nori Tanaka who shot a fine 39 points off his 11-handicap.
Division 2 was also keenly competed with Geun Park taking third place with 32 points while Taegeom Oh edged Derek Thorogood for top spot on count-back after they both scored 34 points each.
Saturday, Oct. 7, Greenwood – Stableford
1st Gabe Dakwa (15) 44pts
2nd Nori Tanaka (11) 42pts
3rd Guen Park (20) 42pts
On Saturday the group visited Greenwood and due to the damp conditions they decided to shorten the tee boxes. This led to a glorified bun fight as several players saw this as a great opportunity to post a decent score.
One poor soul managed to post 39 points but finished only fifth and still got his handicap cut. Nori Tanaka and Guen Park were once again in great form and both scored 42 points, with Nori taking second place by virtue of a stronger back-9.
Both of these scores could not compete with the round produced by the Gabe Dakwa whose long game made a mockery of the shortened course and his 44 points took the day’s honours.
