Christopher Hoffman Named PAC Golf Newcomer of Year
By: Jared Barton
Former North Allegheny golfer Christopher Hoffman has been named the Men’s Golf Newcomer of the Year in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference following Allegheny College’s third consecutive PAC Team Championship.
The Gators took the win at the Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio, over the weekend.
After trading leads with Washington and Jefferson College during the third round and entering Saturday’s action with a one-stroke lead over the Presidents, the Gators put together the best round of the entire tournament with a cumulative 294 (+14). Allegheny outpaced W&J by 21 strokes over the last 18 holes, spurred by a remarkable performance on the back nine. The Gators were a combined 2-over with only four bogeys on the back nine, whereas the Presidents were 14-over with 13 bogeys and one double. That turned a neck-and-neck competition into a 22-shot victory.
Each of Allegheny’s four counting scores was either a 72 (+2) or 75 (+5). Hoffman and teammate Connor Bell both fired 72s, one off the tournament low for the final round.
Hoffman, the individual runner-up, found himself in an unlikely battle for the medalist trophy. Grove City College’s Luke Gronbeck held a 12-stroke lead after 54 holes, but needed a 12-foot putt on No. 18 for par and to avoid a playoff scenario with Hoffman. With a 14-over 84, Gronbeck snuck out of Mill Creek with the title with a four-round score of 292 (+8), just ahead of Hoffman’s 293 (+9).
Allegheny earned the automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships at the Mission Resort + Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. The first round is scheduled for Tuesday, May 12.
