Monday, December 18th
Eastern Star.
1st Robby Watts (10) 34 points
2nd Alan Sullivan (13) 31 points
3rd Mike Milland (17) 29 points
Near pins Mike Milland X 2.
An unseasonally hot day for the first game of the week at Eastern Star. A smaller-than-expected group was on hand today as we had not one but two breakaway groups, one of eight going to Kanchanaburi, and the other smaller going to Crystal Bay as they find Eastern Star too difficult and also overpriced.
A painfully slow round today didn’t help scores coupled with a stiff breeze normally present at this course. Another distraction was found with the R T A F pilot training in full swing with planes flying overhead all day. The course was in the best order we have seen it possibly ever, very neat and tidy and well looked after.
Robby Watts top scored again today with a modest score of thirty-four, still three strokes ahead of his nearest rival Alan Sullivan on thirty-one points. Mike Milland is finding his feet at the Bunker and took third place with twenty-nine points, remarkably he also took the only two near pins of the day, it’s been a while since only two near pins were taken.
Wednesday, December 20th
Greenwood A & B.
1st Paul Smith (6) 40 points.
2nd Jimmy Carr (18) 38 points.
3rd Rob Folland (18) 38 points.
4th Kob Glover (14) 38 points.
Near pins Robby Watts, & Phil Mashiter.
We were scheduled to play Treasure Hill today but when we arrived we found once again we could not check in till 11.00 am, why that is the case is anybody’s guess? To add insult to injury we found out in the interim that we could only play fifteen holes, for some reason three holes were out of play so we decided to cancel the game, and after a quick phone call, we were fortunate to be accommodated at Greenwood where we were allocated the A & B nines, and were able to start our round without any delay, remarkable in high season. It currently seems that the expectations of many courses for big numbers in high season are not being realised.
We had a new experience at Greenwood when on the tenth tee we found a bunch of Koreans trying to push in between our first and second groups until they were politely told where to go. Subsequently, they joined a bunch of other Koreans on the A1 tee where they formed a fifteen-ball creating a new record for the most players in a single group, even our caddies were in complete disbelief.
Given we haven’t had rain for some time the course was surprisingly damp in places The greens were good, but the fairways were cut tight and coupled with the dampness presented a challenge. The wind was quite strong today and constantly changed direction adding to the challenge.
Scoring was of a high standard with Paul Smith taking first place with forty points off a six handicap. Three as listed were placed second, third, and fourth on countback. For the second game in a row, only two near pins were taken going to Phil Mashiter and Robby Watts.
Following an extended delay due to diplomatic and other considerations, the body of Geoff Cox was cremated in Bangkok today and his ashes spread on the Chao Phraya River.
Friday, December 21st.
Pattavia.
1st Paul Smith (5) 39 points
2nd John Hughes (23) 37 points
3rd Kevin LeBar (12) 35 points
4th Bil Richardson (17) 33 points
Near pins Lewis Greig, Patrick Kelly, & Paul Smith X 2.
Another hot but windy day for the last game of the week at Pattavia. The course has continued to get browner and harder with a lot of run on the fairways, the greens whilst fast were not as fast as expected.
Scoring was reasonable, for the second day in a row, Paul Smith took the honours with thirty-nine points, this time off a five handicap. John Hughes made his first visit to the winner’s circle taking second place with thirty-seven points. After a long sabbatical in the USA Kevin LeBar is back and in form again taking third place with thirty-five points with Bil Richardson rounding out the winner’s list in fourth with thirty-three points Playing their first games of this tour Patrick Kelly and Lewis Greig helped themselves to a near pin with Paul Smith taking two, nice to see all the near pins taken. The Christmas Day game is scheduled for Bangpra with an all-in fee of seventeen hundred baht, walking is not an option.
Winner at Eastern Star, Robby Watts.
Paul Smith, winner at Greenwood and Pattavia.