Bison alum proud to play for veteran

Friday, January 11, 2019

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. — The impact of a Blackhawk helicopter crash 11 years ago was something Noah Hofman will never forget.

Suddenly, McCook’s two-time state champion golfer looked beyond the game that drives his professional career goals.

He even looked closer at one of America’s greatest Air Force bases.

“I drive by it (Luke Air Force Base) every day,” Noah revealed as he plays for Ottawa University near Phoenix, Ariz. “But I’d never really thought about what was inside the gates.”

All that changed when Hofman was recently named to play in the Patriot All-American Invitational.

Sure, it’s a prestigious honor as only 84 collegiate players from around the world are selected.

Noah spent Dec. 29-31 on the golf course with many NCAA Division I top players representing teams like the Oklahoma Sooners, Alabama Crimson Tide, UCLA Bruins and Iowa Hawkeyes among others.

Yet none of this great talent compared to Floyd Lake.

Who’s that again?

U.S. First Class Sargeant Floyd Lake.

Hofman carried Lake’s name on his bag throughout the 54 holes.

Lake was one of 12 U.S. National Guard soldiers killed during the Jan. 20, 2007 Blackhawk helicopter crash in Iraq.

It was described as “the highest number of National Guard fatalities in a single combat incident during the five-year U.S. War against terrorism” on the nationalguard.mil website.

Noah learned far more about Lake than that final tragedy. He read about the officer’s family, character and career highlights.

The “frosty” Patriot Invitational certainly didn’t go as Noah hoped on his Ottawa University home course.

“I don’t think it’s ever played tougher,” he said as weather delays occurred during the tourney. “It wasn’t cold enough to freeze, but it was down in the low 40s.”

Far different than the 65 degrees Noah was expecting on Wednesday.

He still shot par-70 on Patriot Invitational day two, but slipped to 77 the final round to place 48th overall (221 total) among those 84 top players.

Yet Noah had never been prouder thanks mainly to the late great Floyd Lake.

He even got a chance to notice something so amazing and so much more important than even his great favorite game.

“We (all the golfers) got a chance to tour Luke Air Force Base,” he said. “One I noticed most was going up to the control tower and seeing how the entire base is just so massive. Many of the top Air Force pilots come from Luke Air Force Base. It was quite an honor to be there.”

Noah’s now refocused on what should make every McCook Bison fan proud.

He finished a terrific two-year career at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, where Noah placed second among all National Junior College Athletic Association golfers.

Noah actually delivered two top three national places since finished third his freshman season.

His first fall with the Ottawa University featured Noah achieving a “real good win” in his final tournament.

Noah’s practicing every day to prepare for the first 2019 Ottawa tournament on Jan. 28.

The season will take him on to tournaments in Las Vegas, California and other locales.

His ultimate plans are to move into a professional golfing career.

“The key is to keep working every day,” he said.

Yet Noah won’t forget Floyd Lake nor all those golfing days around McCook. He even took a little break to visit the home town and — of course — played 18 holes at Heritage Hills.

“It was great to be back. It’s a special place for sure,” he concluded.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: