Having recently assumed two of the top posts at the PGA of America, Ted Bishop and Peter Bevacqua have both expressed an interest in bringing one of the organization’s high-profile events to Bethpage Black.
‘We’ve just got some things to sort out with some dates in the future, but there is no decline in my interest,’ Bishop, who took office last month as president, told Mark Herrmann of Newsday. ‘Honestly, I would have to tell you that if you asked me my goal for the next couple of years, it would be to make some kind of an announcement that something is going to happen at Bethpage.’
Located in Farmingdale, N.Y., the Black Course is the most difficult of the five courses at Bethpage State Park. Notably open to the public, the course hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 when Tiger Woods won, and again in 2009 when Lucas Glover emerged victorious.
Bevacqua, recently named to the position of CEO, was with the U.S. Golf Association during both Opens at Bethpage and echoed Bishop’s sentiments.
‘It has a special place in my heart,’ said Bevacqua, who along with Bishop was in the New York area this week preparing for Thursday’s announcement of the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup captain. ‘I’ve probably played the course well over 100 times. Then to have been so involved with the ’02 and ’09 U.S. Opens, I know it’s a wonderful place.’
It may be several years, though, before the PGA of America can hold either of its marquee events at Bethpage. Future sites for the PGA Championship are currently committed through 2018, and the next opportunity to host a Ryder Cup would come in 2024 after the matches head to Hazeltine National (2016) and Whistling Straits (2020).
