Former U.S. Open site boosts prestige and difficulty
The Yankees are chasing another pennant. Qualifying is underway for the U.S. Open at Forest Hills. The Super Bowl champion Giants are charting the course for a repeat. And Sanchez-Tebow is a hotter debate than Obama-Romney.
Competing for the attention of sports fans in New York City isn’t easy. But the Barclays is getting its share of buzz thanks to a change in venue and one intriguing pairing.
When Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy tee off together Thursday morning, it will be at the people’s course, Bethpage Black, the most illustrious municipal golf facility in America.
| Barclays |
| When » Thursday-Sunday |
| Where » Bethpage Black, |
| Farmingdale, N.Y. |
| TV » Thu.-Fri., Golf |
| Sat.-Sun., Golf, CBS |
After hosting the U.S. Open to rave reviews in 2002 and 2009, legendarily difficult Bethpage Black will be the site for a regular PGA Tour event for the first time. As if a dangerous ski slope, the course has an ominous sign overlooking the first tee that reads: “Warning — The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course, Which We Recommend For Highly Skilled Golfers.”
The course is open to the public and nonresident players, who regularly sleep in their cars overnight to secure an early tee time. The weekend rate is a reasonable $150. Even some of the best players in the world can sound awed by Bethpage Black, which will play to 7,468 yards, 42 more than its length for the 2009 Open.
“Elevated tee shots, uphill tee shots. It’s just everything about it is just big,” Zach Johnson told reporters. “There’s certain holes you’ve just got to get off with a great shot, starting the tee box through the green, and that’s what separates a championship course from an OK course.”
Johnson will get plenty of attention Thursday as he is paired up with Woods and McIlroy. Since McIlroy won the PGA Championship earlier this month to move ahead of Woods’ pace when he won his second major, comparisons have been rampant. The New York media is playing up the pairing.
“It’s nice. It really focuses you from the get go, a pairing like that,” McIlroy said. “I feel every time I’ve played with Tiger, he’s sort of brought the best out of me.”
There is another variable that accompanies a tournament at Bethpage — the raucous New York crowds. With his reckless crash-and-burn style, the fans adopted Phil Mickelson in 2002, urging him to a runner-up finishes in both Opens.
“I love the golf courses. I love the people. I love how knowledgeable they are at sports,” Mickelson told the Golf Channel. “They just get it.”
Another thing some of the more vocal New York fans will get is a chance to heckle Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard, who is flying high after winning the Wyndham Championship on Monday, is best remembered in New York for being vexed at the 2002 Open, gripping and regripping his club, unable to start his backswing. Kevin Na went through the same mental block earlier this year but didn’t face the comical verbal abuse Garcia did at Bethpage.
“I think that the fans are very rowdy, but at the same time, they’re very, very sports [oriented] and sports driven,” Garcia said. “It’s always exciting to come back to New York.”
