Governor Cuomo Announces Bethpage State Park to Host PGA Tour
Black Course Will Again Host in 2021 and 2027
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Bethpage State Park’s
Black Course will again host The Barclays professional golf tournament
in 2021 and in 2027. Bethpage Black first held The Barclays in 2012 and
the public golf course, located in Farmingdale, will again host the tournament
in 2016. The Barclays is the first event of the PGA Tour Playoffs for
the FedEx Cup.
“Bethpage State Park is one of the best public golf courses in the
nation, and we are proud to welcome The Barclays back for two more tournaments,"
Governor Cuomo said. "We look forward to welcoming golfers and spectators
to these world-class competitions and urge them to also experience all
that Long Island has to offer."
Under Governor Cuomo's administration, New York has secured six significant
professional golf tournaments to be held at state-owned courses. In 2012,
Bethpage Black hosted 100,000 spectators to watch Nick Watney win The
Barclays, and the organization is already scheduled to return for a four-day
competition in August 2016. Additionally, Governor Cuomo last year announced
an agreement with The PGA of America to bring the 2019 PGA Championship
and 2024 Ryder Cup to the famously challenging course.
PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said, “Today’s announcement
continues this tournament’s stellar rotation of playing on some
of the area’s best courses. I’d like to thank the New York
State Parks Department, Governor Cuomo and Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey
for their partnership over the years at Bethpage State Park, which now
extends well past the next decade. We’re thrilled to bring the first
event of the FedExCup Playoffs to such a well-respected and challenging
course again in 2021 and 2027, and we look forward to announcing additional
venues in the rotation in the near future.”
Bethpage Black became the first publicly owned and operated course to
host the U.S. Open in 2002 and hosted it again in 2009.
New York State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey said, “Bethpage Black
has rightfully gained a reputation as a thrilling place to both play and
watch great golf. I’m grateful to Governor Cuomo and the PGA TOUR
for believing Bethpage State Park and its dedicated staff will host another
great event and again demonstrate how the New York State park system is
a national treasure.”
Golf Digest ranked Bethpage Black fifth on its 2012 list of “
America’s 75 Toughest Golf Courses” and eighth on its 2013-14 list of “
America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.” In the early 1930s, the Bethpage Park Authority purchased the
Lenox Hills Country Club and other adjacent properties to build what is
now known as Bethpage State Park. Famed golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast
was hired to design and oversee construction of three new golf courses
(Black, Red and Blue) as well as modify the Lenox Hills Course which became
the Green Course.
The Barclays has been a part of the PGA TOUR schedule since 1967 when
Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural event at Westchester Country Club. Since
that time, some of the greatest players in the game have earned the title
including World Golf Hall of Famers Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Raymond
Floyd, Seve Ballesteros, Hale Irwin and Curtis Strange. Many of the world’s
current top players have won the event as well, including two-time champions
Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia; four-time champion Vijay Singh; and 2014
champion Hunter Mahan. As the first of four playoff events, The Barclays
plays a leading role in the FedExCup, the season-long competition that
is the centerpiece of the PGA TOUR season. For more information, visit
www.BarclaysGolf.com.