The 2024 Red Hoffman Cup Matches: The Road to Bayonne

(July 1, 2024) The Road to Bayonne in the Finals of the 2024 Red Hoffman Cup was as curvey 2024 as the driveway leading up to the clubhouse at Bayonne Golf Club. Only one team was able to keep it on path. 
 
The 2024 Hoffman Cup Matches champion is Baltusrol Golf Club, with the only under-par showing as a lightning-shortened finals cut short the finish of the day. Baltusrol finished at 10-under par, eclipsing the nearest competitor, defending champion Arcola Country Club, which was even on the day. Third place was taken by Black Oak Golf Club at 4-over, followed by Hollywood Golf Club at +6 and Upper Montclair at +7. Baltusrol captured its fourth Hoffman Cup championship, but its first in almost a decade.  The captains, John Roberts and Roddy McRae, fielded perhaps the strongest squad ever with two nationally-ranked amateurs in Mark Costanza and Barnes Blake, always strong professional Ryan Fountaine, and a decorated group of "plus handicappers."  The quality showed as each Baltusrol side finished under par, with Fountaine and partner Gregg Angelillo tieing teamates Max Bischel and Jeff Werring at -4. The remaining sides of Costanza / McRae and Ben Alcorn / Barnes Blake both came in at -1.

Arcola CC, which has captured seven of the past nine Hoffman Cup championships, was led by the sides of Grant Sturgeon/Jim Craffey and Trevor Randolph/ Lucas Farmer at -1.  Two-time champion Black Oak Golf Club was led by the side of Jon Ciccone/Cody Cox, with a 1-under total. Hollywood, in its second-straight final, was led by its fourth side, Winston Blank and Mike Galeotafiore, at even par. Finals first-timer Upper Montclair captain Todd Wiggins led the way for his squad, teaming with Matt Scozzari to come in at -1.  It is great to see Baltusrol and Black Oak back in the finals.  These two former champs have been eclipsed in recent years by the brilliance of Arcola, but maybe their recent successes will spur them on to provide consistent pressure to take home the Hoffman Cup.

Final Results can be found at 2024 Groups & Schedule.

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This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Hoffman Cup Matches first Finals held in 2005. In a field of four clubs, Fairmount came out on top with an 8-4 win led by Allen Small and Craig Smith, two top amateurs who had just returned from Ireland as members of the MGA's Cary Cup squad. A year later, Montclair extracted revenge by winning the Cup, then winning four more Hoffman Cup seasons in a row.  

While the first Hoffman Cup involved four clubs and a total of ~36 golfers, this year's event features 36 clubs and more than 500 golfers. Seen through the Hoffman Cup prism, twenty years has gone by quickly.

As always, thank you to the captains and professionals!

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2024 Red Hoffman Cup Matches
Key Dates

 Groups Announced  Intragroup Matches Semifinals   Finals
When: March 1, 2024 When: Sat, Apr 27; Sun, Apr 28; Sat, May 4 (all matches must be completed by Sun Jun 2) When: To be played between Sat, Jun 9 to Sun, Jun 23 When: Sun, June 30, 1pm 
Who: Your club and three others will form a single Group. Captains should start setting up matches. Who: Your club vs. one of the other three clubs in your group. Who: All group winners, minus the bye club, which will have a bye directly to the Finals. Who: The four Semifinal match winners, plus the bye team; that is five teams (40 players).
Where: Each day, two four ball matches at home, two away. Where: Two matches home, two away (same as Intragroup Matches). Where: Bayonne Golf Club 
Format: Two man, four ball, match play, Nassau point sytem. Team with the overall highest point total (a.k.a., the bye club) advances directly to Finals. Format: Adjusting for the bye team, seeding will be determined by points earned in the intragroup play; sudden-death tie breaker would be in effect. Format: For each club, four x two-man teams; four ball, medal play; all four scores count; sudden death tie breaker in effect.

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