Sixty-one golfers assembled at Emerald Golf Club on the morning of Friday, Oct. 19 to take part in the 19th TQ Masters golf tournament, a tradition in Pattaya golfing circles, and battle for the honour of donning the now famous and coveted green jacket.
The format for the day was singles stableford with the field split into three divisions and players going out off the white tees in 4-ball groupings, as far as numbers permitted.
Ross Schiffre wears the champion’s green jacket as he receives the winner’s trophy from Mamasan Ead.
The Emerald course was presented in fine condition for the tournament although the ground was a little damp following some heavy overnight rain and the greens were consequently rolling a little slow.
After receiving their 2012 TQ Masters golf shirts and partaking of the free Bloody Mary’s on arrival at the course, the players were also able to quench their thirst on this hot day on almost every hole, thanks to the complimentary beer and soft drinks being so liberally and ably dispensed by Ann, Winnie, Pik and Apple from the TQ, and assisted in this task by the not insignificant efforts of Erle and Wild Bill.
The pace of play was good and steady but the scores were nothing to write home about as the heat of the day and the tough course conditions took their toll on the field. The best of the day was the 37 points returned by Ross Schiffre, which was enough for him to be declared as this year’s Masters champion.
Phil Smedley topped the A flight ahead of Brad McDonald in second place and Tom Thompson in third, while the B Flight honours went to the aforementioned Ross Schiffre, being followed in by Keith Worboys and Moe Deverdene respectively. C Flight was won by Rodney Williams ahead of the fascinatingly named Bob ‘Scar’ Taylor in second and Dave Dziabo in third.
Long drive prizes were contested in each division and were won by Brad McDonald (A Flight), Moe Deverdene (B Flight) and Matthew Earnshaw (C Flight).
Near pin awards were also up for grabs and went to Brad McDonald, Moe Deverdene, Tom Thompson and Ken Price.
Finally the Lucky Draw winners were announced with a bottle of spirits going to each of Russell White, Barry Copestake and Matthew Earnshaw.
Following the golf, the players retired to the Tahitian Queen on Pattaya Beach Road for the presentation ceremony and to enjoy the 3-hour ‘Happy Hour’ and the delicious leg of ox barbecue provided by Bjarne from Café Kronborg.
Finally, Woody and the staff of Tahitian Queen expressed their appreciation to all participants and also to the tournament sponsors, and especially this year’s main supporter Alan Bolton Property Consultants, all of whom contributed to making this another successful and hugely enjoyable day. Roll on 2013!
Matt Miller on the Tee box at Emerald.
Dan Dorothy chips out from a greenside bunker.
Ann and Winnie (left & right) helped supply drinks around the course to keep all the golfers refreshed.
