Sullivan edges out Coghlin for the Mug!
Last week Bangpakong Riverside, this week Royal Lakeside! Just what makes the hour long drive with tolls so enticing when so many courses are so much closer to home? It just must be that when we make the trek to these courses we do so with confidence that the course will be presented in great condition with well grassed fairways, fair rough, and consistent greens. Top that off with a fair price to walk and you have a day that is hard to beat. So with this being our Monthly Medal, four groups headed out from our home, The BJ Holiday Lodge, to play the game in its purest form; count all the strokes, no picking up, and subtract your handicap in hopes of turning in the best “Net” score of the day.
After arrival, a smooth check-in, a bit of a chip and putt practice and the starter anxious to get us off the first tee, our groups were on the course under fantastic weather and course conditions. A bit of cloud cover and a steady breeze was most welcome and with carts allowed on the fairways it was ‘Play it as it Lies” for the first time is several rounds. So with such ideal conditions, a course that has excellent fairways, well maintained bunkers and greens running at “10” on the Stimpmeter, how would the players perform. It is medal play for the coveted Mug after all.
With no delays during the round, the pace of play was excellent, and for the second week in a row, the cards were all in, and after a drink in the clubhouse, all were on the road back to Pattaya by 3:00 p.m. looking forward to a late lunch and the results of the day.
On this day, it must be said that the players won over the course. Stableford, medal, it doesn’t seem to matter, this group seems to always score well at this venue. On this day that trend continued with 10 out of the 15 players meeting or beating their handicap and 7 of those having scores in the 60’s! Certainly makes for an enjoyable day out. With sponsorship by our host, Bill Jones, it was on to the presentation.
With two players recording net 64’s, the Winner of the July Mug with a net 30.5 on the back 9, was Alan Sullivan (c/h 15) over Mick Coghlan (23) recording net 32.5 on the inward 9. They were followed to the podium by Gordon Clegg (27), net 65; Andre Van Dyk (17), net 66; Colm O’Donovan (21), net 67; and Mashi Kaneta (16), net 68, excellent scoring under excellent conditions by all. Congratulations!