A Historic First as Metropolitan PGA Hosts 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black

The connection that New York – and specifically the Metropolitan PGA Section – has to this game, and the PGA of America, is robust and honorable. But until this year, it had never once hosted the game’s biggest team competition, the Ryder Cup.

That changes shortly, however, with the 2025 matches being contested at Bethpage State Park’s iconic Black Course.

And that special opportunity is extra meaningful for those who have been part of the MET section for decades.

It’s time now for something awfully special.

“It’s almost absurd the MET section has not yet hosted the Ryder Cup,” says Brian Crowell, the general manager and PGA Master Professional at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point in The Bronx, with a smile. “There is a huge feeling of pride and excitement for all of us in the MET Section of the PGA.

“We get to showcase not just the incredible golf courses at Bethpage State Park but the golf courses and professionals throughout the area. There are a lot of people in town who are getting their first look at the MET Section, and we’re very excited about being able to show off what we’ve got.”

New York State has, of course, already hosted a Ryder Cup, with the 1995 matches being contested at Oak Hill Golf and Country Club. In that instance, however, ‘Country Club’ does some heavy lifting. Bethpage Black Course is, of course, completely open to the public. Find the monies for a green fee, and you’re in. It’s super exciting, and an honor, Crowell says, that is not only the MET Section hosting the Ryder Cup for the first time, but it’s also being played at a public facility that so many in the section have a personal connection to.

“With respect to Oak Hill, not everyone gets to walk through the doors and sleep in the parking lot there,” he says. “New Yorkers have a unique relationship to this property. We feel a part of it. And I think it’s going to be extra special for the Ryder Cup matches to be hosted at a public-access facility.”

The Black Course at Bethpage State Park is no stranger to having hosted big events in the past, with the 2019 PGA Championship being contested there (it was announced in mid-September that it would also host the 2033 PGA and, before that, the 2028 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship) along with two U.S. Open’s and a FedExCup Playoff event twice.

If there’s someone who knows what it takes to have success at Bethpage Black, it’s Craig Thomas. Thomas, who has been the head golf professional at Metropolis Country Club since 2007, broke the 71-year-old course record at Bethpage Black when he shot a 64 in the second round of the 2007 New York State Open. Alas, that record was broken by Brooks Koepka en route to Koepka winning the PGA Championship in 2019 – but Thomas still often receives deserving kudos.

He says the Black course “doesn’t demand much finesse” but instead just wears golfers down.

“By the end of the round, you’re both physically and mentally drained. I can’t imagine finishing a round and immediately heading out for another match,” Thomas explains. “As a proud member of the Metropolitan section of the PGA for the past 35 years, I’ve had the honor of experiencing numerous Tour events and several major championships in our section. But now, with the Met Section hosting the Ryder Cup, this truly elevates the experience to an entirely new level.”

The current president of the MET PGA, Stuart Waack, is – like Thomas – someone who has been a member of the section for essentially their whole professional life. Waack was born and raised in New York and calls this upcoming week “an experience for a lifetime.”

Thomas, who began caddying at 12 and learned to play at a New York State Park golf course, says that everyone in the section – and the community at large – understand the importance of this event.

“Like many of my fellow Met PGA professionals we feel an incredible amount of pride this huge global golf event is being played on our backyard at one of the iconic golf courses in the world. Not to knock other locations but the fact this event is in New York, so close to the greatest city in the world, just elevates this event like no other,” Waack says. “It is such an honor for me to be in a position of leadership of our Section at this time and to have this up-close experience with this event.”

From the organization’s initial gathering to this gigantic competition, there has always been a special connection between the PGA of America and New York – and the 2025 Ryder Cup will be another extremely exciting chapter in the relationship’s history.

“You talk about the earliest start of the game, it’s all right here. (The PGA’s founding meeting in) 1916 (happened) 10 miles down the road from me,” says Crowell. “This is the heart of the game in the U.S. of A and that means a lot to have the honour to finally host the crown jewel of golf.”