PSC Golf from The Outback Golf Bar
Monday, Oct. 13 – Maejo G.C. – Stableford
The nineteen players from Chiang Rai were joined by nine more who flew up today, giving us a full field of 28 for the first round of the 10th Chiang Mai Challenge beginning at Maejo on Monday.
The weather returned to normal, dry and sunny, as we left the hotel at 8.30am for the 25 minute drive to the Maejo course; the caddies were pleased to see us and the course appeared in excellent condition. Generally it was but the greens were very tricky as nobody played better than handicap.
In Div A Aussie visitor, Tony Harrop shared 36pts with Steve Mann, gaining first place on count back, with Wayne Waywood in third (35) and Keith Etherington (32) in fourth.
From left: Bernie Stafford, Wayne Waywood, Steve Mann & Kim Danboise in Chiang Mai.
Bernie Stafford filled the top spot in Div B, also with 36pts, followed home by the big hitting Brendan Cope, who scored 35pts with 5 wipes, Suzi Lawton, also on 35, and Ron Carter, over from the Philippines with B1, on 34.
There were two ‘2’s from Steve Mann (7th) and Keith Etherington
Div A (0-15)
1st Tony Harrop (10) 36pts
2nd Stephen Mann (11) 36pts
3rd Wayne Waywood (15) 35pts
4th Keith Etherington (07) 32pts
Div B (16+)
1st Bernie Stafford (16) 36pts
2nd Brendan Cope (25) 35pts
3rd Suzi Lawton (25) 35pts
4th Ron Carter (27) 34pts
Tuesday, Oct. 14, Alpine Resort – Stableford
We woke up to brilliant weather again and left for the renowned Alpine Resort. The course is a little over 30 minutes away and was remarkably quiet when we arrived. A beautifully presented track but beware, this course has teeth and believe me, it bites; one of our low-markers commented that this was as tough as he has ever played. Just one month ahead of an Asian Tour event, the rough is diabolical and the greens difficult to read; one foot of the fairway and your ball slips away to unseen depths.
Brendan Cope.
So bad was it, that the course rating for the day was 79! That means that our best score of the day, 33pts, attained by Wayne Waywood in Div A, was in fact 4 under par! Kim played very steadily to take second with 31; Mr Consistent on these tours, Steve Mann was third on 30 whilst Keith Buchanan was fourth with 29.
In Div B, 30pts was enough to earn the win, coming from big hitting Brendan Cope with only 12 holes counting having wiped the other six. Anton Rowbottam got the better of Ron Carter on c/b, both with 28 and Suzi (25) was fourth.
Bernie Stafford (left) with Tony Harrop.
The strangest thing about the set-up here is that all the indexes had been changed since last year with two very long par fives being changed to 17 and 18; somewhat dramatically as the Index 18 used to be Index 1 and 17 used to be 4.
There was only one ‘2’ from Eddy Beilby
Div A (0-5)
1st Wayne Waywood (15) 33pts
2nd Kim Danboise (15) 31pts
3rd Stephen Mann (11) 30pts
4th Keith Buchanan (15) 29pts
Div B (16+)
1st Brendan Cope (25) 30pts
2nd Anton Rowbottam (18) 28pts
3rd Ron Carter (27) 28pts
4th Suzi Lawton (25) 25pts
Thursday, Oct. 16, Chiang Mai Highlands – Stableford
The course at Chiang Mai Highlands was presented in great condition in beautiful golfing weather. The caddies came out in line as usual to greet our bus as it arrived and the check-in at the pro-shop was easy, with only 2 of the 28 players opting to walk.
Steve Mann blew the field away with a stunning 46pts (73 off the bat) playing the sort of golf we all know he is capable of. He’s always a good bet on these tours as he seems to focus so well and very little disturbs him. A distant second was Bob Maloney, who had been crook most of the week but played much nearer his best today with 40pts, ahead of Keith Buchanan (39) and Peter LeNoury, who produced his best round this tour, also with 39.
Welcome back to John Scarlett (left) and the boys.
Bernie Stafford like many suffered in the rough at Alpine but bounced back today to score 37pts, enough to win Div B from Ron Carter on count back. Third was Anton Rowbottam (36) and Ed Turner played his best round of the tour to scramble into fourth with 35.
So the overall winner of the 10th Chiang Mai Challenge was Steve Mann (112 pts) from Wayne Waywood (100pts) with Kim Danboise & Ron Carter sharing third place, both with 99.
We shall of course return here again next year when the new nine holes here is expected to be finished as construction is already well underway, as is the much needed extension to the changing rooms and the expansion of the outside restaurant area.
There were six more ‘2’s from Keith Buchanan, Peter LeNoury & Stephen Mann (2nd), Bob Maloney & Barney Clarkson (7th) and Tony Harrop (14th).
Div A (0-15)
1st Stephen Mann (11) 46pts
2nd Bob Maloney (13) 40pts
3rd Keith Buchanan (15) 39pts
4th Peter LeNoury (10) 39pts
Div B (16+)
1st Bernie Stafford (16) 37pts
2nd Ron Carter (27) 37pts
3rd Anton Rowbottam (18) 36pts
4th Ed Turner (21) 35pts
Overall Result
1st Stephen Mann 112pts
2nd Wayne Waywood 100pts
T3rd Kim Danboise 99pts
T3rd Ron Carter 99pts
5th Keith Buchanan 98pts
Monday, Oct. 13, Burapha – Stableford
15 scorecards were returned from the whites on the C & D course at Burapha and welcome back to Noel Taylor.
John Cunningham won Div A with 35pts from Lance Robinson (33) and Bob Finley (32). Div B went to playing partner Peter Stonebridge on the lowly 30pt mark, with one of Lance’s mates, Gordon Etheridge, losing out on c/b and Ivan Plunkett took third on 27.
Gordon Etheridge got the only ‘2’.
Div A (0-14)
1st John Cunningham (06) 35pts
2nd Lance Robinson (13) 33pts
3rd Bob Finley (13) 32pts
Div B (15+)
1st Pete Stonebridge (18) 30 pts
2nd Gordon Etheridge (15) 30 pts
3rd Ivan Plunkett (20) 27 pts
Wednesday, Oct. 15, Laem Chabang – Stableford
We played the C & A loops today and out of the 13 players, 10 cards were returned. Welcome to Mike Stennett and brother Paul and also to Dad.
Lance followed up his second on Monday, going one better with a win here on 36pts from another in the same group, Martin Burbidge with 33. Welcome back to Joachi and Michael Wittmaak, Mike getting into third place with his 31.
There was only one ‘2’ from Lance Robinson.
1st Lance Robinson (13) 36pts
2nd Martin Burbidge (09) 33pts
3rd Michael Wittmaak (22) 31pts
Friday, Oct. 17, Green Valley – Stableford
A good turnout of 28 players or was it 29 played and there was some excellent scoring, particularly from some new faces. Phil Davies won Div A with 39pts off 16, beating Jamie Ross on count back with Tom Gorey and JP Maffray both one adrift on 38.
Gerry Roche won Div B, beating Sugar Ray, also on c/b, both with 38 and Reijo took third with 37pts playing off 20, with Pete Stonebridge (36pts) in fourth.
There were three ‘2’s from Tom Gorey, Sugar Ray Handford (12th) and Phil Davies (16th).
Div A (0-16)
1st Phil Davies (16) 39pts
2nd Jamie Ross (12) 39pts
3rd Tom Gorey (12) 38pts
4th JP Maffray (11) 38pts
Div B (16+)
1st Gerry Roche (20) 38pts
2nd Sugar Ray Handford (18) 38pts
3rd Reijo Heiskanen (20) 37pts
4th Pete Stonebridge (18) 36pts
Note: The Outback Golf Bar is situated about 6km from Sukhumvit Road along Soi Siam Country. Call Jack on 081 578 1956.
