Bethpage Black Course

Rankings

In its July 2008 list of America's greatest golf courses Golf Digest ranked Bethpage Black No. 26 overall, No. 6 in the state of New York, and No. 5 of America's greatest public golf courses. It is also the top-ranked course in the Golf Digest list that is operated by a governmental entity.

Scorecard

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• Hole #7 was played as a par 4 in both U.S. Opens

History

Opened in 1936, it was designed by Bethpage State Park superintendent Joseph H. Burbeck, who was also responsible for the park's Blue and Red Courses in the mid-1930s. Brief consultation was also provided by noted golf architect A. W. Tillinghast.

In 1972, the course record was set by Mal Galletta Jr. when he shot a 65. Club pro Rick Hartmann tied the record in 2001 during the second round of the Metropolitan Open. The course record was finally broken in 2019 by Brooks Koepka who fired an opening round 63 during the PGA Championship.

U.S. Opens

The 2002 U.S. Open was won by Tiger Woods, the only player to break par for the tournament. It was seen as one of the most difficult and exciting U.S. Opens in history, breaking attendance records and creating a more boisterous atmosphere for the championship. Its 17th hole rivaled the 16th at the Phoenix Open, thanks to a pair of large grandstands that flanked the green and a natural hill behind it creating a giant horseshoe of spectators.

Prior to 2002, all U.S. Opens had been staged at private golf venues or infrequently at resorts that, while nominally open to the public, had several hundred dollar greens fees per round. Bethpage being selected in 2002 as the first publicly owned and operated golf course to host the tournament was seen as an egalitarian move by the USGA.

The 2009 U.S. Open was affected by continuous rain that resulted in multiple suspensions of play. It was won by Lucas Glover. 2002 winner Tiger Woods was never a realistic contender, and left the park within ten minutes of sinking his final putt. After completing his round Phil Mickelson declared that he would be taking significant time off to tend to his ailing wife, Amy, who had been recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

As in 2002, media coverage of the relationship between the New York gallery and Mickelson was one of the tournament's major headlines. Following his tee shot on the short par-3 17th hole, he was met by thunderous chants of "Let's Go!" as he approached the green. Though his birdie putt came up short, he later commended the New York golf fans and suggested a Ryder Cup played at Bethpage Black would give U.S. players "a big advantage."

The USGA teamed up with World Golf Tour and co-hosted a 2009 Virtual US Open tournament to give fans a better experience of playing the difficult Black course. The winner earned a trip for two to the 2010 event in Pebble Beach. The Virtual U.S. Open attracted hundreds of thousands of players from more than 180 countries.

Recent tournaments

The annual Barclays tournament, the first of the 2012 FedEx Cup Playoffs, continued its rotation around the New York metropolitan area and was played at Bethpage State Park in 2012 in late August. As with the previous two U.S. Opens, the 2012 Barclays was played on the difficult Black course. Differing from the U.S. Opens, the 7th hole was lengthened slightly and played as a par-5 to make the course a par-71 at 7468 yd, identical to the course's blue tees.

During the 2016 FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Barclays returned for August 25–28, 2016. A total of 79 of its 120 entrants made the second-round cut at 145 (+3). Despite this total there was no secondary cut after the third round as in regular PGA Tour events, following a change made after the 2014 season. Patrick Reed won by a stroke over Emiliano Grillo and Sean O'Hair, moving from seventh place to first in the standings. The top 100 players in the points standings advanced to the Deutsche Bank Championship. This included five players who were outside the top 100 prior to the tournament. Five players also started within the top 100 but finished outside it, ending their playoff chances. The tournament was the last qualifying event for the eight qualifying places for the American team in the 2016 Ryder Cup.[[File:Brooks Koepka, 2019 PGA Champion.jpg|thumb|200x200px|Brooks Koepka, 2019 PGA Champion]]

The 2019 PGA Championship was played at the Bethpage Black Course from May 16 to May 19. Brooks Koepka won the tournament by two strokes at 8 under par.

The 2025 Ryder Cup was played at the Bethpage Black Course from September 26 to 28. Bethpage was selected to host the 2024 Ryder Cup in 2013 along with the 2019 PGA Championship. The Ryder Cup was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to its original cycle of being played in odd years. The European Ryder Cup Team won the event 15–13, becoming the first away team to win the event since 2012.

Notable events

• The Barclays is now known as the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Future events

References

References

1. (September 2016). "The Barclays". GCSAA.
2. (July 2010). "Bethpage Black scorecard". Bethpage Pro Shop.
3. "Course Rating and Slope Database: Bethpage State Park - Black Course". USGA.
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9. (2020-09-17). "Top 50 toughest golf courses in the U.S.".
10. "Inside the course: Bethpage State Park - Black Course". PGA Tour.
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13. "The Journal News 23 Aug 2001, page Page 44".
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15. (June 22, 2009). "Glover holds off Mickelson to win U.S. Open". CNN.
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17. (June 2009). "Wayne Stopak Crowned 2009 Virtual U.S. Open Champion". USGA.
18. "The Barclays - Home". The Barclays.
19. "2012 Barclays - Course: Bethpage State Park - Black Course". PGA Tour.
20. (December 11, 2014). "PGA Tour unveils FedExCup Playoff points change". PGA Tour.
21. (August 28, 2016). "Patrick Reed wins Barclays, Rickie Fowler loses Ryder Cup auto bid". ESPN.
22. Everill, Ben. (August 28, 2016). "FedExCup update after The Barclays". PGA Tour.
23. Gray, Will. (September 17, 2013). "It's Official Bethpage Black to Host '19 PGA, '24 Ryder Cup". Golf Channel.
24. (September 17, 2025). "PGA Championship is Heading Back to Bethpage Black & Oak Hill: New York State to Host 3 PGA of America Major Championships". PGA of America.