Sun, Aug 16, 2026 · Event Recap
SCRAMBLED TO VICTORY!
Kumia & Kim Conquer New Jersey’s Toughest Test in a Dramatic Tiebreaker Crystal Springs lived up to its reputation. Chris Kumia and Jae Kim survived one of the most unforgiving courses in New Jersey, caught Frank Garcia and Rich George down the stretch, and claimed the Two-Man Scramble title on a back-nine tiebreaker. For Kim, it was another win in an already strong season. For Kumia, it came with something even bigger: a ticket to the Players Championship.
Feature
KUMIA & KIM SURVIVE CRYSTAL SPRINGS
The Setup
There are golf courses that punish bad shots.
Then there is Crystal Springs, which occasionally seems offended that you brought golf clubs at all.
The Weekenders arrived in Hamburg for the annual Two-Man Scramble facing a Robert von Hagge layout that has earned a reputation as one of New Jersey’s toughest public tests. It isn’t overwhelming because of sheer length. It’s the narrow landing areas, sculpted mounds, elevation changes, forced carries, small targets and hazards that make a golfer feel as though every shot requires a negotiation.
The signature 11th tumbles dramatically toward a narrow green beside the waters of an old limestone quarry. And anyone hoping for a peaceful finish quickly discovers that Crystal Springs has saved some of its teeth for the end.
That’s where this year’s tournament was decided.
The Winning Round
Chris Kumia and Jae Kim and Frank Garcia and Rich George finished deadlocked after 18 holes, sending the championship to the Weekenders’ back-nine tiebreaker using 50% of the team’s handicap.
For much of the afternoon, Garcia and George appeared to have done enough. But Crystal Springs has a habit of turning comfortable scorecards into crime scenes.
Bogey at 16.
Bogey at 17.
Bogey at 18.
- 1Kim & Kumia70
- 2Garcia & George70
- 3Schiavo & Pasamba73
- 4Kuznetsov & Siegel74
The Chase
Three straight to finish, and suddenly the door was open.
Kumia and Kim had spent the back nine doing exactly what Crystal Springs makes so difficult: keeping mistakes off the card. While the pressure mounted and the course tightened around them, the pair played the final nine in gross even par.
That steady back nine proved decisive.
When the tiebreaker was calculated, Kumia and Kim were the 2026 Two-Man Scramble champions.
For Jae Kim, the victory adds another accomplishment to a season in which he had already secured his place in the year-end Players Championship.
What It Means
For Chris Kumia, Sunday’s result changed the complexion of his season entirely.
The win earns Kumia his spot in the Players Championship.
One afternoon at New Jersey’s toughest test. One back-nine performance without giving a shot away. One place in the club’s year-end major.
Not a bad Sunday.
The scene at Crystal Springs Golf Club
Photos from around the round at Crystal Springs Golf Club.
From the President
Weekenders,
Crystal Springs has a reputation that precedes it, and after our Two-Man Scramble, I suspect a few Weekenders would be perfectly happy if their golf balls never saw the place again.
There’s a reason the course is routinely mentioned among New Jersey’s most difficult public layouts. Robert von Hagge didn’t need 7,500 yards to make it difficult. Crystal Springs does its damage with narrow targets, elevation changes, mounding, water, forced carries and greens that rarely seem interested in helping.
And then you reach the closing holes.
That made what Chris Kumia and Jae Kim did even more impressive.
Their battle with Frank Garcia and Rich George went all the way to our back-nine tiebreaker. Garcia and George were right there, but three consecutive bogeys on 16, 17 and 18 proved costly. Chris and Jae, meanwhile, played the back nine in gross even par and ultimately took the title.
Congratulations to both teams on a great tournament, and especially to Chris and Jae on the win. Jae had already punched his ticket to the Players Championship, and now Chris will join him after earning his spot with Sunday’s victory.
That’s exactly what these events are supposed to produce. A difficult golf course, a tournament that comes down to the final few holes, and something meaningful riding on every shot.
Now we turn our attention to the final regular-season match play event of the year, and we’re going somewhere new.
Next stop: Pebble Creek Golf Club in Colts Neck.
Pebble Creek should provide a very different test. At roughly 6,400 yards from the back tees, it isn’t particularly long, but that doesn’t mean everyone should arrive planning to fire at every flag. The front nine winds through mature woods before the course opens into meadows, ponds and creeks on the back. Water can come into play on much of that closing nine, and several of the shorter par 4s offer exactly the sort of risk-reward decisions that can turn a match in a single swing.
The 575-yard eighth is a double-dogleg par 5 and the course’s No. 1 handicap hole. Later, the short 13th measures under 300 yards from the back tees but asks players to negotiate multiple water hazards. In other words, Pebble Creek appears perfectly capable of making someone say, “I should have just hit an iron,” approximately four seconds after hitting driver.
More importantly, this is the last regular-season match play event.
There are still teams and individual players alive for the final playoff spots. For some, the math is simple: play well and take care of business. For others, there may be a little scoreboard watching involved.
Either way, we’ve reached the point in the season where every hole matters.
Good luck to everyone still in the hunt. Enjoy Pebble Creek, play smart when the course gives you a choice, and finish the regular season strong.
See you in Colts Neck,
— The PresidentWeekenders Golf Club
Next on the schedule
Pebble Creek Golf Club - Pebble Creek · Sun, Aug 30, 2026
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