Tokyo Golf League - Round 2 - Match Report
For the second round of the Tokyo Golf League, we paid a visit to Kanagawa Country Club. For many, it was their first time to be playing the course. Perhaps not everyone's cup up of tea, it's a very short course with many of the par 5's and some of the par 4's reachable in under regulation. However, despite the short length of the course, many of the holes still protected themselves well as the temptation of chasing eagles and birdies could often lead to OB or 1 penalties for any stray tee shots.
It remained overcast and cool throughout the day but the rained stayed away and thanks to the courses higher altitude, the Sakura were in full bloom which set a beautiful backdrop for the days matches. 6 teams were in action again with Team Glamourous having the week off thanks to 1 team throwing the towel in having never hit a TGL ball. JF and co will be relegated to division 2 if we ever have one in the future!
First up, the Mighty Ichibans were taking on the Sultans of Swing.
The Mighty Ichibans v The Sultans of Swing
After what must have been a disappointing opening round draw, league favourites the Sultans of Swing brought out its big guns for round 2 with matchplay experts Scott, Marcus and Spike all teeing it up. And their first man off, Scott, did not disappoint with a comfortable 4&3 victory over Mighty Ichiban captain Matt. Sultans captain, Marcus, also got off to a TGL winning start with a 3&2 victory over TGL newbie Nameki-san. Spike however had the misfortune of taking on Pascal Le Terminateur Lacroix who meted out another impressive thrashing. And in the final match, Latesh took a narrow victory over Yasunori to square the days match. Both teams are still looking their maiden TGL victories
Scott Graves bt Matt Neilson 4&3 (Win for the Sultans of Swing)
Pascal Lacroix bt Spike Clarke 6&4 (Win for the Mighty Ichibans)
Marcus Kosins bt Nameki-san 3&2 (Win for the Sultans of Swing)
Latesh Gajri bt Yasunori 1up (Win for the Mighty Ichibans)
The Mighty Ichibans 2 : 2 The Sultans of Swing
The OB Boys v The Tan Tan Boys
Things did not augur well for the OB Boys prior to Saturdays matches. Jason "Slapshot" Millward put himself out of action thanks to some ice hockey shenanigans the week before and team ball sponsor Shane was diagnosed with a case of the yips and was last seen in Golf Partner gibbering to himself in Urdu clutching what was purported to be an Egyptian broomstick. And early on Saturday morning, one team member took his new name a little bit too literally and went OB before he got to the course - Nice one Mike! Matters were further compounded when Mark went 1 down early on in his match and decided to try and run himself over with the golf cart. How are the shins mate? lol
In the top match, Steve held a comfortable 3 up lead against OB captain Grant going into lunch thanks to some solid safety off the tee strategy. Grant rallied from being 4 down at one point and had a putt to go 1 up on the 17th which narrowly missed the hole. All square going down the last and a solid bogey (net par) was enough for Steve to clinch victory as Granto worm burned his way to the green. Well done Steve! The 2nd match between Mark and Hilmar was tight for most of the day until an impressive birdie on the 2nd hole after lunch gave Mark the impetus and he eventually closed out the match 3&2. And 2 narrow victories in the 2nd four ball gave the Tan Tan Boys their first 3 pointer this season. Well done guys!
Steve Novosel bt Grant Prentice 1up (Win for the Tan Tan Boys)
Mark Cowe bt Hilmar Thorlindsson 3&2 (Win for the OB Boys)
Toshi Ishizaki bt Mike O'Neale 2&1 (Win for the Tan Tan Boys)
Jeremy Kono bt James Allen 2up (Win for the Tan Tan Boys)
The OB Boys 1 : 3 The Tan Tan Boys
The Fairway Dodgers v Team Piranha
Report from Christian:
(Thanks Christian!)
Rob Sutton finally clinched the first individual victory for the Fairway Dodgers…by shooting his personal best 90!
Precision off the tee proved to be a huge success factor that Warren could not overcome.
Tomoko was 3 down for most of the round but finally overcame her deficit in the very last holes for a draw!
Congrats for a “never give up” attitude! Watch-out Andy!
Marc was already 4 down after 4 holes and found his rhythm a bit too late: 5&4 loss, well done Mike.
Chris missed the only putt for a hole win in his match against a very strategical Hirotaka-san (5&4)
And he learned a new short game trick courtesy of Hitotaka-san: chip from outside the fringe, then throw you club in the air in total frustration while your ball finds its way into the hole….twice…Oops, did I did it again?
"We all loved the pink Sakura greens and I think that everybody agreed that the course is challenging despite being short."
Robert Sutton bt Warren Arbuckle 4&3 (Win for the Fairway Dodgers)
Tomoko Esaka v Andy Tan finished All Square (Draw)
Hirotaka Kowata bt Christian Hurquin 5&4 (Win for Team Piranha)
Mike Hanes bt Marc Rocher 5&4 (Win for Team Piranha)
Team Piranha 2.5 : 1.5 The Fairway Dodgers
Victories for Team Piranha and the Tan Tan Boys means the league is still wide open with 7 rounds to go. Next up…
Round 3: May 20th @ The Marunouchi Club, Chiba
