Traveller’s Rest Golf Group
Monday, July 2,
Khao Kheow – Stableford
1st Karl Eidevik (9) 36pts
2nd Jacob Cummings (6) 36pts
3rd Greg Bates (15) 30pts
With Sweden making it to the quarter finals of the World Cup, their golfing counterparts emulated their success at the Royal and Ancient game of golf. This week we had four out of six first place finishes going to the Scandinavians.
We commenced the week at Khao Kheow where Karl Eidevik got the ball rolling with a splendid round of 36 points, narrowly beating his fellow Swede on a count-back and scoring his first TRGG victory.
Tuesday, July 3,
Green Valley – Stableford
1st Christian Boysen (9) 38pts
2nd Freddy Starbeck (12) 38pts
3rd Neil Wilkinson (12) 37pts
Green Valley was the venue for Tuesday’s match and the Scandinavian dominance continued. This time it was Christian Boysen who stepped up to the penalty spot and went goal for goal with Freddy Starbeck. At half time it was Freddy 21, Christian 20 but the pressure got to the Old War Horse and by the end of play it was all tied at 38 and once again a count-back was required to determine the winner.
Wednesday, July 4, Bangpra – Stableford
1st Robert Bjorkvist (14) 34pts
2nd Ito Akitoshi (11) 33pts
3rd Karl Eidevik (9) 33pts
Bangpra saw the Scandinavians score their first hat-trick since beating Cuba 8-0 in the 1938 World Cup quarter finals in France. Robert Bjorkvist did the treble with 34 points and will almost certainly receive a hero’s welcome when he returns home to Sweden. He will probably be on the same plane as the rest of the squad as England were poised to eliminate any hope of them advancing in this year’s World Cup!
Thursday, July 5,
Phoenix Gold – Stableford
1st Robert Bjorkvist (14) 36pts
2nd Michael Prideaux (11) 35pts
3rd Michael McCluskey (15) 33pts
Phoenix hosted the Ladies European-Thailand Championship on the 21st of June and the course is still in magnificent condition. The only complaint on this day was that the pin positions where about a meter in from the side of every green which didn’t allow you to appreciate the hidden undulations and contours. Undeterred though, Robert Bjorkvist made it back to back wins for him and four in a row for the Scandinavians, improving by two shots on Wednesday’s round.
Friday, July 6,
Burapha – Stableford
1st Shane Te-Lee (16) 44pts
2nd Bob Cannon (23) 41pts
3rd Eddie Townsend (20) 40pts
Friday at Burapha and the Scandinavians expectations were high for five wins in a row. It was Sweden versus the rest of the world, and as many great sporting nations know, staying number one isn’t easy.
With two thirds of the field scoring thirty three points or better and thirty nine points not even making it into the top three, it was going to take an exceptional score to win the day. The Scandinavian mythical “Narcken”, who is said to have lived in the sea, must have drowned as a couple of Aussies and Shane Te-Lee from the land of the rising sun obliterated the Swedes and carved out some amazing scores. Bob Cannon, only one shot of his personal best with 41 points thought he’d done enough to take first place but only managed second as Shane’s 44 took the day.
Saturday, July 7,
Pattavia – Stableford
1st Richard Talbot (18) 43pts
2nd Robert Bjorkvist (13) 37pts
3rd Colin Smith (12) 33pts
On Saturday there was more rewriting of the history books as England beat Sweden 2-0 and reached the semi finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1990. Amazingly, today, Sweden’s Robert Bjorkvist also lost to England’s Richard Talbot at Pattavia. Richard, returning from an injury was like poetry in motion as he netted 43 points.
