Monday, Jan. 9, Green Valley (white tees) – Stableford
1st Alan Rothwell (7) 43pts
2nd Gary Emmett (19) 41pts
3rd Peter LeNoury (14) 38pts
It was an exciting week of golf here at TGC as 2 of our regular golfers had their best rounds ever in Thailand! First, here’s how the scoring went today at Green Valley. Our Canadian buddy Blake Hanna put his tee shot closer than anyone to win our Caddy Smile near pin, but sorry, could only manage a par for his efforts.
Peter LeNoury probably plays more rounds of golf in Pattaya than any other golfer and to get in 6 rounds is a slow week for Pete. Today Mr. LeNoury tallied up 38 on the card for the third place slot and did not break into a sweat.
Gary Emmett has had a good run lately and makes regular appearances high up the podium. Today Gary had an impressive 41, normally enough to win but not today. That went to Alan Rothwell as the Mayor of New York shot his best ever round in Pattaya. The 7-handicapper ripped up the course today and his 43 is a terrific score out there, so well played sir!
Tuesday, Jan. 10, Treasure Hill (white tees) – Stableford
1st David Johl (17) 35pts
2nd Bahadur Lidder (15) 32pts
Wet, wet, wet was the band of choice in the van as we headed up the (greatly improved) highway 331. Dark clouds were all about and some of the lads did not even bother to tee the ball up, preferring instead to peruse the food and drinks menu here today. The clubhouse loungers were probably right in retrospect. We rarely get rained out over the years, but it certainly does seem weather patterns are changing the world over.
That said, a few hardy souls did indeed get 18 holes in so only 2 places had the awards out here today and somehow Robbie Taylor bravely took the near pin.
Thursday, Jan. 12, Mt. Shadow (white tees) – Stableford
1st Kenny Aihara (6) 34pts
T2nd Alan Rothwell (8) 33pts
T2nd Blake Hanna (17) 33pts
T2nd Wayne McKenna (11) 33pts
The nasty weather finally broke and today was a perfect day for golf at the very lush Mountain Shadow. Three on 33 was the tally at second place as the unusual three-way tie made for a crowded podium.
You haven’t seen much of Kenny Aihara on the course as the NFL fan has been glued to the telly for most mornings. His New England Patriots clinched the AFC East and are still in the running for the Superbowl, so today’s win is a heads up for the rest of you!
Alan Rothwell added to his finish with the Caddy Smile near pin pot to continue his fine week of golf after his win on Monday.
Friday, Jan. 13, Parichat Links (white tees) – Stableford
1st Gary Emmett (19) 46pts
2nd Kenny Aihara (6) 41pts
3rd Alan Rothwell (8) 36pts
I wasn’t sure how the sign-ups would go for Parichat but in the end we had a full sheet of 24 curious golfers out there. Many visitors had not played here before but the yak-yak back at TGC was mainly positive, and condition of the course was superb.
It was a stunningly beautiful day and the living tee markers (in the form of painted coconut shells) put a smile on many faces. Sure, we decided to play from the yellow tees making for a shorter course, but some carries from the whites are silly and in the end only three blokes got to their handicap.
A bit of a mix up ended up all right as the crew had put our near pin marker on the wrong par–3 11th hole. Josef Buchberger hit the best shot there but arrived to find it should have been placed on the next par-3 as we always use the last one for our near pin. Never mind, Josef was very understanding and just as well. He also got the near pin on the 14th so those golfing gods were on his side!
There was Alan Rothwell again making my writing job a lot easier – I might just rename him Mr. copy & paste. Kenny was right in the hunt again and his 41 points was fine shooting.
Now to the second record-breaking round of the week, are you ready? This is the highest stableford score we have had in our near 10 years here on LK Metro and it was Gary Emmett who made every shot and dazzled with his 46 points. Obviously, the golfing gods were looking after him too and giving him good reads. Short course or not, you gotta make the chips and putts. Great round Gary!
