NJSGA Wins Stoddard Trophy For 40th Time; Allan Small Honored
The team representing the New Jersey State Golf Association claimed 16-1/2 of a possible 24 points in afternoon singles matches and won for an unprecedented 40th time in the 91st Stoddard Trophy matches.
The event ,hosted by the Westchester Golf Association, took place Century County Club in Purchase, N.Y., on Thursday, August 11.
NJSGA, which leads the series with the 40 victories to 24 for Westchester and 23 for Long Island with four ties, totaled 22-1/2 points on the day. Westchester was runner-up with 16-1/2 points and Long Island Golf Association had 15 points.
Former team captain Allan Small of Fairmount, who was a member of 30 NJSGA team – a record 16 of them winning ones – was singled out for his contributions to the team.
STODDARD RESULTS 2016 PHOTO GALLERY
“It’s a very nice feeling, especially since last year we only lost by a half point. We were right there, and unfortunately, we didn’t get it done at home,” said Brian Komline of Black Oak, team captain for a second straight year.
“A lot of the guys from then were on the team this year. We were down 1-1/2 points heading into the afternoon, and from then on, we just played amazing. We didn’t leave anything to chance.”
Seven golfers swept both of their afternoon singles matches including rookies Dylan Stein of Copper Hill, Dawson Jones of Jumping Brook and State Amateur champion Thomas La Morte of Haworth.. Others who swept were Bill Charpek of Navesink, Max Greyserman of Crestmont, Mike Deo of Black Oak and Nick Desai of Baltusrol.
Kieran Purcell of Essex County and Komline added one afternoon victory apiece and Mike Graboyes of Twin Brooks added a half-point in singles.
Doubles points came from the teams of Stein and Graboyes, who earned two points, Desai and Komline and Chaprek and Deo, who earned 1-1/2 points each, and the team of Matt Finger of Darlington and Jay Blumenfeld of Mountain Ridge, who added one point.
“Everybody impressed me. It was really a tough day to play, very hot and very humid, it’s really hard when it’s that humid to concentrate and play that many golf holes,” Komline said. “Our young kids were fantastic. We had a nice team. We jelled well and played well. The younger guys really carried us in the afternoon.”
Small, 64, captained five winning NJSGA teams. He played on his first NJSGA Stoddard Trophy team in 1986 and missed only one match over the ensuing years. He is moving is Georgia at the end of the year.
“In my mind, the Stoddard Trophy match is always one of my favorite days of the year,“ said Small, a former Metropolitan Golf Association president. “It’s about seeing guys you know and making new friendships and always and competing at a great place. It’s just such a special day.
“One of the things I’m going to miss the most is the friendships that you create in that time. As I looked around the room last night, I realized I have a memory and a friendship with almost every person there. It’s good to get our names on that bowl again.
“One thing I wanted to say to our young men was to give back to golf. If the young guys could stop and help out at their local First Tee, they would set a good example for young kids. That’s a way of giving back. I think been an example of that.”
Komline said Small would be missed.
“Allan has been such a great influence on so many people, not only in New Jersey, but the entire Met section. He is a really great guy, somebody I have looked up to for so many years. I hope in the future, he comes back. He’s still got lot of game left in him,” Komline stated.
