Black Oak Looks To Defend In Hoffman Cup Finals

By Kevin Casey

The 2014 Red Hoffman Cup Matches identified its four finalists on Saturday, May 10. Black Oak, Manasquan River, Montclair and Spring Brook secured their positions in the last hurdle to winning the 2014 Hoffman Cup.

Black Oak is poised to defend its 2013 title, but only by the slimmest of margins. 2012 champion club Baltusrol gave Black Oak all it could handle on Saturday, tying their opponents 6 to 6. The tie breaker was the points earned in the earlier Group matches, which gave Black Oak, with 26 points, the nod over Baltusrol, with 24. This match has signs of a growing rivalry between two powerhouses. Since Black Oak started in the HCM in 2012, the two clubs have traded wins by tiny differentials, including Baltusrol’s 2012 win over Black Oak in the finals by a scant two shots.

Montclair beat playoff newcomer Arcola, 7.5 to 4.5, but not without a scare. The five-time HCM champion lost two points in an early match to fall seriously behind, but clawed back to beat the venerable but rapidly improving Bergen County club.

Manasquan River continued its sterling play with a convincing 10-2 victory over Skillman’s Bedens Book, which was also playing in its first playoff match. Manasquan River rode its 6-0 margin of victory at home, adding four points at Bedens Brook. Earning the most points of any of the Group winners with 27.5 out of 36 possible, Manasquan River has to be considered a favorite to win the Hoffman Cup.

Spring Brook, one of the HCM’s original clubs, came to play this year. Handily winning its Group matches, the Morristown club held perennial contender Plainfield to only 3.5 points. With its 8.5-3.5 win, Spring Brook will compete in its second Finals in 10 years.

The 2014 Finals will be played Saturday, May 17 at Donald Ross-designed Knickerbocker C.C. The post-round awards reception will feature the presence of Knickerbocker member and New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning sportswriter Dave Anderson, a colleague and friend of Red Hoffman.

Semifinal Match Play Final Results, Saturday, May 10:

· Black Oak (6)*, Baltusrol (6) (Black Oak won on tiebreaker)

· Manasquan River (10), Bedens Brook (2)

· Montclair (7.5), Arcola (4.5)

· Spring Brook (8.5), Plainfield (3.5)

Semifinals winners and their captains are:

· Black Oak GC (Captains Michael Deo and Brian Komline)

· Manasquan River GC (Captain Chris Housen)

· Montclair CC (Captain Rob Scalzo)

· Spring Brook CC (Captain Jim Fagerstrom)

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The Red Hoffman Cup Matches were created to foster interaction and friendly competition among northern New Jersey golf clubs. With 32 clubs participating, the event features no-handicap, match and medal play, four-ball competition that effectively identifies the strongest cohort of players in one club in Northern New Jersey.

Now in their 10th year, these matches have been named in honor of Arthur K. “Red” Hoffman, the legendary New Jersey golf writer.

In support of local junior golf, the Hoffman Cup Matches started in 2012 the First Tee Initiative, and the players in the Matches have donated over $22,000 in the Initiative’s first two years. 2014 donations are expected to far eclipse the 2013 gift of $14,000.

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For more information, go to www.hoffmancup.org or contact Kevin Casey, the Red Hoffman Cup Matches Director, at 973-886-5705, or at kcasey@LDS.com.

The Red Hoffman Cup Matches,

proud supporters of

The First Tee