Monday, March 3, Khao Kheow – Stableford
Results:
1st Keith Evans (6), Russell Exley (7), Clive Hall (11), Terry Hutchings (14) – 79
2nd Chris Smith (2), Wichai Tanasusorn (5), Alan Flynn (8), Vic Woolton (10) – 77
3rd Andrew Purdie (8), Steve Jones (8), Garry Hookey (12), Brian Shaw (14) – 76
4th Neville Duncan (8), Russell Gilroy (14), Ray Beavis (16), Frank Dunstan (18) – 74
5th Alan Hanlon (10), Shuichi Kodaka (14), Mike Armstrong (14), Mike Hill (17) – 73
The 17th Pattaya Am-Am, held over the testing and beautifully prepared A and B courses at Khao Kheow, turned out to be less well supported than usual but was a much appreciated event by those that did take part.
The winning team: Keith Evans, Russell Exley, Clive Hall and Terry Hutchings with Lumyai.
The format as usual was Stableford scoring with handicaps rounded to the nearest whole number after making a deduction of 25 % and allowing for two team member’s scores to count on each hole, without any restriction on the number of times a player’s score could be counted.
The conditions for the day were fairly difficult with a strong wind that greatly affected club selection and punished anything with any deviation from straight off the club face. It also appeared to be in the player’s faces on most of the holes no matter which direction they faced and this affected the end results, placing them well below the expected levels.
It did however make for a very tight contest between the final top five teams with just six shots separating them all, with the winners just edging in front over the last few holes to win by two points. In fact the winning team of Keith, Russell, Clive and Terry started very well with 18 points from the first four holes but then slipped a bit to finish the nine on 35 points, but a stunning back nine gave them the best of any nine on the day of 44 points, with 17 of them coming on the last three holes.
Runners up: Chris Smith, Wichai Tanasusorn, Alan Flynn and Vic Woolton.
The second placed team was led by the lowest handicap player in the field, Chris Smith, who was ably supported by Wichai, Alan and Vic. They had started favourites on the lowest total handicaps but a poor finish that saw them garner just six points from the last two holes put paid to their chances of the top spot for this year, having to settle for an honourable second place.
Third place went to the team comprising Andrew, Steve, Garry and Brian who ran very close behind just one point back. They had started out very slowly, with a two over front nine, but improved over the inward half with a six under total.
The fourth place team were representing the Wakefield Club in Sydney and remembering the old stalwart Rodney Hayes, who had been a regular in this event up until his still mourned demise last year. They turned in a card that was two back from third with a better back nine of 39 after starting out with five dropped shots on the front half.
Last on the podium was the team made up of Alan, Shuichi, Mike and Mike, the sole representatives of The Haven amongst the winners, as they also suffered from too many dropped shots over both nines.
Third placed team: Andrew Purdie, Steve Jones, Garry Hookey and Brian Shaw.
The prize giving ceremony was as usual performed at The Haven with Emcee Stephen Beard ably assisted by his wife Lamyai who presented the winners trophies.
There were thanks for all those that had made the day such a success which included the players, the organizers, especially Len Jones and Russell Exley, and the catering staff who had provided such a superb buffet that included many home made cakes and pastries which left all the attendees totally sated.
The evening really got started following the traditional blowing of the horn by the host in honour of Lamyai’s birthday and the more serious matters were discussed at length together with the obligatory “if only” stories, assisted by a few wet ones and continued late into the night.
