Team USA’s Justin Thomas didn’t downplay the hype.
“I think it’ll hands down be the biggest golf event ever,” Thomas wrote on social media.
Long Island’s Bethpage Black has been home to numerous historic golf events this century, but arguably none bigger than the upcoming Ryder Cup, beginning on Friday at the New York State-owned park. Bethpage won the bid to host the 2024 Ryder Cup back in 2013, but the COVID pandemic pushed the Ryder Cup calendar back a year.
Bethpage’s storied history in the sport will only grow once the teams representing the United States and Europe tee off against each other at 7:10 a.m. on Friday. The Black — famously known for its difficulty — has previously hosted the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens as well as the 2019 PGA Championship.
The 2002 Open is where Bethpage put itself on the map. It was the first time the USGA had awarded the major championship to a local municipal golf course, breaking the tradition of playing at top-tier private country clubs. As a result, it became known as “The People’s Open” and the atmosphere at the course that sits some 30-plus miles east of Midtown Manhattan didn’t disappoint.
“The real story was the crowds, the 40,000-something folks that walked over me each day,” the Daily News wrote at the time. “They were loud, funny, obnoxious and, at times, inspiring — basically, they were New Yorkers. It was Yankee Stadium and Woodstock rolled into a bold, beer-swilling throng. Thank God for portable johns.”
The course itself greets you with the famous sign that reads “WARNING! The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.” Golfers across Long Island and the world camp out overnight — and sometimes longer — in the parking lot of the facility, lining up in their cars for the challenge of the black. It is the crown jewel of Long Island public golf as the Joseph H. Burbeck and William Tillinghast design is known for challenging distance and a very difficult walk.
“It’s definitely mentally draining, because every golf shot, you’re tested,” said Tiger Woods, who claimed his eighth career major by winning the 2002 U.S. Open here. “There’s not one shot you can step up and kind of relax and ho-hum it out there. You’ve got to hit a golf shot. And once you get to the greens, your work is not finished. There aren’t easy putts out there. It may be along the flat side, but the reads are so difficult, you can see a putt behind the hole, it looks right-to-left, go behind the ball and now it looks left-to-right. That’s kind of how the putts are. And you’ve got to somehow pick a line and be committed to it.”
Woods was the only player under par that week on Long Island — besting rival Phil Mickelson by three shots — to win his second U.S. Open title.
Mickelson came up short again when the U.S. Open returned to Bethpage seven years later with the rain-soaked event going to first-time major winner Lucas Glover by two shots as the tournament extended to a Monday finish because of the frequent rain delays that week. Mickelson joined David Duval and Ricky Barnes in a three-way tie for second.
Six years ago the golf world again turned its attention to Bethpage for the 2019 PGA Championship.
Here is how long-time Daily News golf columnist Hank Gola described the final round on that May day on Long Island.
“In the end, Bethpage Black got angry and New York golf fans got obnoxious, just not angry or obnoxious enough to knock Brooks Koepka off his pedestal.
“In some of the most difficult conditions seen on any major Sunday and in the face of some hostile galleries, Koepka bent but didn’t break and managed to hold off his pal Dustin Johnson to win his second straight PGA Championship and, incredibly, his fourth major title in his last eight starts.”
Now, “The People’s Country Club” will welcome its biggest event.
Outside of the intensity between the two opponents — the U.S. team seeks revenge for Europe defeating them at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome in 2023 — the players are expecting another incredibly rowdy Long Island crowd. So much so that European players are wearing virtual reality headsets in their practice rounds to prepare for what might come from the crowd.
“The Long Island fans are the best,” said Thomas. “They are so, so passionate. And I’ve said this the whole time but I’m just glad I’m on the team that they’re rooting for. But at the same time, they expect a lot from us. So we expect to give it to them.”
Bethpage Black will be the seventh golf course in United States history to host a U.S. Open, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup, joining the likes of Pinehurst No. 2, Hazeltine National and others. Oak Hill in Pittsford is the only other New York course to host a Ryder Cup (1995).
It will also add to its impressive resume, as it was announced on Wednesday that it will be hosting the 2033 PGA Championship, marking it its fourth major championship.
No home Ryder Cup team has lost on home soil since the U.S.’s 2012 defeat at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.
The ticket prices are on par with the gravity of the event. The cheapest ticket for the first of the three-day event is $1,186, with prices reaching up to nearly $10,000, according to StubHub. Practice rounds on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are available to the public at a much more reasonable price.
Morning foursomes will begin early Friday morning at 7:10, 7:26, 7:42, 7:58. The opening pairings will be announced by captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald on Thursday.
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