Kidd’s Play at Burapha

Burapha was the venue for the Pattaya Links Golf Society on Monday,28th January and, more especially, the delightful A/B combination was the assigned course. After dropouts and “no shows” a field of thirty-two golfers were ready for the day with two flights divided at eighteen and under.

As usual the course was in excellent order and greens were true and running at a fast medium pace. Cooler conditions at the start made for a comfortable day with some good scoring on show.

In the top flight Colm Lawlor and Rana Gurnam both scored 39 points with countback relegating Colm to third place, Rana taking another high placed finish. The flight winner was Andy Kelleher, who defied his own prospects – “I can never win” – with a fine 40 point finish giving him his first win this trip.

The second flight saw Derek Phillips take third with 33 points whilst Dane Soren Hansen took second with 35 points after a frenetic start. More later… The flight winner was Stuart Kidd and his 41 points gave him a runaway victory and the Green Jacket.

Near pins went to Stuart Kidd (A3), Tommy Marshall (A6), Paul Smith (B3) and Paul Durkan with more than a little luck on B8 where his tee shot rolled against the existing near pin marker and just crept inside it.

Barry Oats had suffered a sleepless night before his round and his continuing shoulder problems were not eased by the winning of the “wig.”

Soren Hansen had placed his ball on the first tee to lead the group off when his caddy informed him that he had not paid his green fee. Chaos followed as he rushed, embarrassed, back to the check-in, leaving Maurice to re-jig the playing order on the tee.

In fairness one can understand Soren’s oversight because the layout of the clubhouse means check-in comes after the locker-room “action”. However, the “silly” hat was thus decided before a ball had been struck.

The day will be remembered for Andy Kelleher’s and Stuart Kidd’s efforts however, long after Soren’s blushes have evaporated.

A-Flight (0 –18)

1^st Place -Andy Kelleher (10) – 40 pts

2^nd Place -Rana Gurnam (11) – 39 pts c/back

3^rd Place -Colm Lawlor (14) – 39 pts

B-Flight (19 +)

1^st Place -Stuart Kidd (21) – 41 pts

2^nd Place -Soren Hansen (19) – 35 pts

3^rd Place -Derek Phillips (19) – 33 pts

Best Front Nine ( non winners) – Phil Davies – 21 pts

Best Back Nine ( non winners) – Tony Browne – 20 pts