Hillsborough rolls to Somerset County golf crown

Borsuk leads balanced attack

By: John Beisser
   
   When the 2006 golf season kicked off, Hillsborough High seventh-year head coach Paul Parker spoke of this being a special group of golfers who were capable of special things. While there is still a lot of season to play, things could not have gotten off to a better start for the 2006 Raiders.
   Hillsborough opened the season with a 5-0 start and the No. 5 ranking in the state’s top 20 poll, a start that proved the Raiders were knocking on the door of greatness. At Monday’s Somerset County Championships at Neshanic Valley Golf Course in Neshanic, they kicked the door wide open. The Raiders are the 2006 Somerset County Champions.
   The format in the 15-field county championship was simple. Each team had four players competing over 18 holes and the four scores were tabulated. All four scores counted and no scores were thrown out.
   Hillsborough captured the championship with a team score of 316, which out-distanced second place Ridge by 10 strokes as the Red Devils checked in with a 326. The Raiders were 20 strokes better than third-place Montgomery, which shot 336. To suggest that Hillsborough’s performance was dominating would be an understatement as three Raiders finished in the top 10.
   Andrew Borsuk finished in fourth place with a round of 75, just one stroke out of a playoff that featured Pingry’s Robert Cronheim beating Immaculata’s Kevin Foley for the individual championship. Borsuk had it going early in his round and was one-under par through 13 holes before falling victim to a double-bogey and a pair of bogeys to finish at three-over par on the par-72 layout.
   Logan Cecchine fired a 77, which forged him an eighth place finish. Steve Cannon checked in at ninth place with a 79. Aaron Schiffman carded a deceptive 85, a score that became a bit bloated in large measure due to one bad hole where he lost four strokes by carding a nine on a par-five.
   "The guys did a great job and I am very proud of them," Parker said. "They were excited and confident coming in. They know they’re good."
   Parker has noticed the maturation of his players since last year, when the Raiders finished third in the county.
   "They’ve gotten stronger physically in the off-season, they hit the ball longer," Parker said. "But where they really have improved is in the mental part of the game, Their mental approach is much better. Last year, guys would have a bad hole and it then just snowballed. This year, they realize that whatever they shot on one hole, whether it be a birdie or a bogey, that the most important shot is the next one and the most important hole is the next one. They really have improved a lot on that area and it is paying off."
   Borsuk agrees with his coach that the mental part of the game is the key and has led to a high degree of consistency.
   "We’ve been very consistent, and have shot of a lot of low scores," Borsuk said. "Our top eight are pretty good. We knew coming into the counties that we had a good chance to win. There were only a couple of teams that we were worried about. But we all played pretty well and it worked out for us."
   "I told them that 80 or better was the goal for each of them," Parker added. "I figured 320 would win it and we ended up beating that by four shots. I am very pleased with how the guys played."
   Borsuk said that the Raiders are not about to rest on their early-season laurels and will stay motivated by a series of goals for the rest of the season, not the least of which is gunning for an undefeated season.
   "We have the talent to go undefeated, it’s just a matter of whether it happens or not," Borsuk said.
   The Raiders entered the county championship with some serious momentum on their side as they were coming off a scintillating victory over Watchung Hills on Thursday. Hillsborough carded a team score of 186, which computes to a five-man average of 37.2 strokes per golfer.
   Cecchine shot an even-par 36, while Borsuk and Aaron Schiffman each shot 37. The Raiders’ fine play last week was also highlighted by a fantastic three-under par 33 by Cannon at the Hillsborough Country Club the previous day in a victory over Hunterdon Central.