Black Course will again host in 2021 and 2027
(February 3, 2015) – 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.
