The Boxing Day Cup

An annual event for Chiang Mai amateurs

Historical Background

After many rounds of golf together, and several years of making an annual trip to one of the 'more expensive' courses in our area during the Christmas period, it was decided over a beer (or three) that our annual event should be formally known throughout the golfing world as 'The Boxing Day Cup'.

And so it was written, that on Boxing Day each year the founder members (Phil 'Furyk', Ben 'Daly', Chris 'Faldo', and Merin 'Singapore Swing') and guests will gather at a prestigious course in Northern Thailand to do battle for the honour of holding aloft the fantastic (if slightly cheaply crafted) Boxing Day Cup.

The inaugural event officially took place in 2005, with several unsanctioned events having been held in the three previous years.

2005 BDC Round Report - from the Royal Chiangmai Golf Club

On the morning of the 26th of December 2005 anticipation for the forthcoming event was heightened by the unusual sight of dark clouds and rain beginning to fall over the city of Chiang Mai (Thailand).

With only 18 holes between the players and the Cup everyone knew it was important to get off to good start, and keeping it in the fairway was the prudent play.

Chris 'Faldo' got off to nervy start pulling his tee shot left and was left close to the OB markers. A confident Merin 'Singapore Swing' hit a magnificent drive to land middle of the fairway. Phil 'Furyk' and Ben 'Daly' chose long irons and kept the ball in play. Some unfortunate lies and some errant approach shots and putts left Merin and Ben in a tie for the lead walking towards the second tee.

The rest of the front nine saw Ben 'Daly' take a nice points lead into the back nine, with the 'Singapore Swing' and Chris 'Faldo' in touching distance. Phil 'Furyk' was having a tough time with his new swing, but was improving and got unlucky on a couple of holes.

The back nine saw the disintegration of Ben's consistent driving game and saw the re-emergence of the 'Faldo' steady game. The 'Singapore Swing' also started to up the ante with his towering iron play, until faltering on a greenside bunker shot that traveled a full 150 yards to come crashing down on a drinks stand.

The battle for points came down to the last few holes and with Ben 'Daly' still struggling it was steady Chris 'Faldo' who was a clear leader. The time had arrived to thank the caddies for their superb advice and head up to the clubhouse for a shower, a cold green bottle of Heineken, and the announcement of the official final results (in that order).

Seemingly oblivious to the momentous occasion that was about to take place, the excellent staff of the Royal Chiangmai restaurant busily replaced empty green bottles with full ones and served sumptuous plates of Thai and Western foods. The noisy banter died down as Phil 'Furyk' cleared his throat to proclaim the inaugural victor of the Boxing Day Cup.

In reverse order' the words were declared,
'Phil, Merin, Ben' each name punctuated by polite applause and disappointed looks,
'And the deserved title of 2005 Boxing Day Cup champion goes to Chris!' rapturous applause and a delighted winner brought a fabulous day to a close. Until next year...

2006 BDC Round Report - from Mae Jo Golf Club

In what has become a tradition surrounding the Cup, the members and players in the event meet at a Christmas dinner on the 25th. Eccentricities are added to the rule book (often fueled by significant quantities of beer and healthy imaginations) and general banter surrounding the holder and contenders ensue. This years cup did not dissapoint and a positively ridiculous new Modified Stableford Scoring System was decided upon, with the emphasis being that everyone should end in positive numbers.

The morning of the 26th was particularly cold this year and due to one particular contestant, Phil 'Furyk', making a late entrance, the early morning start turned into a mid-morning one (NB: Points were not deducted, but may be in the future).

The line-up for the 2006 Boxing Day Cup:
Chris 'Faldo' (current cup holder)
Ben 'Daly' ('05 contestant)
Phil 'Furyk' ('05 contestant)
Simon 'The Bangkok Refugee' (newcomer to the game and competition)
NB: The 'Singapore Swing' was unavailable this year.

The tee-off order was decided and Ben 'Daly' had the honour pulling the opening shot slightly left of the fairway with a 4 iron. Phil 'Furyk' and Chris 'Faldo' both managed straight tee shots with their woods landing on the fairway with good approach opportunities. Simon 'The Bangkok Refugee' showed his inexperience with a short but very straight 5-wood, in what was to be a day where he battled the game. Daly's 8-iron soared out of the rough to land centre of the green, Furyk and Faldo landing in the fringe. A two-putt saw Daly par the first and Faldo and Furyk made bogey.

Strolling across the road to the second tee Furyk, Daly, and The Refugee acknowledged that they were probably still drunk from the night before and played the first hole a bit dazed and confused. Anyway, the second hole par 3's body of water was waiting for topped Daly and Furyk shots whereas the sober Faldo managed a safe shot to the right of the green. Second blood to Faldo.

The rest of the nine saw Furyk find some good form and Faldo continue to edge ahead of the competition. Stepping onto the back nine saw the contestants a bit more serious as they knew what was needed to secure victory. A late charge from Daly caught Faldo a little by surprise and the pressure forced an interesting concluding hole.

A draw shot from the face of Daly's 4-iron that landed very close to the stream meandering down the left of the fairway and a wayward wood from Faldo caused a dropped shot. The second shot from Daly was played while standing waist high in the dry stream and with a baseball style swing miraculously hit the green and bounced off into the fringe. In slight danger of losing the last hole and possibly the cup Faldo hit a deadly accurate approach from the rough on the right side of the fairway to land 4 foot from the pin which he tapped in. Daly missed a birdie chip which could have made things interesting come score time.

And so concluded the 2006 Boxing Day Cup and the dusty trophy remains firmly on the mantlepiece of Chris 'Faldo's' living room for another year, congratulations!