Golf Trophy Thefts Remain Unsolved

Three break-ins during May that included the theft of golf trophies from the USGA Golf Museum in Bernards Township and the the Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville remain unsolved almost two months later, said authorities for the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office as well as the Bernardsville and departments.

"Nothing new with the USGA," Bernards Township Lt. Mike Voorhees said on Thursday. He said the township police are still working on the case with the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, which took the lead in the investigation following the mid-May break-in and thefts of two historic trophies at still working on it with SCPO.

That investigation continues, but no updates are available, said Capt. Jack Bennett, of the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office late on Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Bernardsville Police Chief Kevin Valentine said on Thursday afternoon that there is no new news either on two reported break-ins at the Somerset Hills Country Club break-ins during May which occurred within a week prior to the USGA theft, with a second about a week afterward. during the first forced entry into the private golf club facility on Mine Brook Road, when a motorized golf court may have been used to get away.

However, soon after the break in at the United States Golf Association Museum on Liberty Corner Road in Bernards Township, with all rooms were again open for viewing again just two days after the overnight break-in and theft of two of the museum's golf trophies, said a spokewoman for the museum.

Kim Gianetti, the spokeswoman, said the museum was by then open for its regular hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Sundays.

The USGA will next week again be the location for a

Rewards are offered for both break-ins

Crime Stoppers of Somerset County, a community based not-for-profit agency, is offering rewards for both reported crimes, with $5,000 offered for the museum theft, and a $1,000 reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those involved in the reported thefts in Bernardsville, according to the announcements in May. Crime Stoppers, according to the organization, offers cash rewards and guarantee anonymity to persons who call the TIPS line, 1-888-577-TIPS to provide law enforcement with information leading to an arrest, indictment or the solving of a crime. All callers to the TIPS line remain anonymous, the organization says.

Authorities and the USGA had reported in May that two historic trophies were taken from the museum after an intruder, with a suspect caught on tape, broke into cases with an ax.

Joe Goode, communications director for the USGA, on that day said that one of the trophies, a replica of Ben Hogan’s 1953 Hickok Belt award, had been taken from the museum's Ben Hogan room.

The U.S. Amateur Trophy, which was created in 1926 and retired in 1992, was taken from the museum's Hall of Champions, he said.