Time to take a mulligan on these prices.
Long Islands pols are appalled by the massive price tag of tickets to next year’s Ryder Cup at a state-run course in Bethpage — and are calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to step in and cut the cost.
Golf enthusiasts are outraged that the PGA set the ticket price at a whopping $750 a head for the bi-annual international golf event at Bethpage’s famous Black Couse, which is located in a state park and is known as “The People’s Country Club” because anyone can play it themselves for as little as $44.
“Perhaps the governor should engage in some discussions with the PGA to make it possible for individuals other than corporate executives to experience the Ryder Cup in person,” state Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-Suffolk) told The Post.
“It’s disappointing that the PGA thinks gouging fans with exorbitant ticket pricing is somehow representative of the Ryder Cup traditions of fun competition and teamwork. Bethpage Black is a municipal course and the tickets should be reasonably attainable for the everyday fan,” the Long Island Senator added.
Some pols think the Governor could use some leverage to put some pressure on the PGA given that the course is state-owned — and a lot of their voters will be priced out.
“The residents here most impacted by the event are priced out of the event. That’s not fair,” Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino told The Post.
He said there would be variable pricing so the well-heeled fans who want the “champagne service” pay more while others who want a beer pay less.
“There should be something for everyone,” Saladino added.
Assemblyman Jake Blumenkranz (R-Nassau) floated a possible middle ground, like a reduced-price community day to make the event accessible for local enthusiasts.
“I fully back the idea of a Community Day with free or reduced-cost access and activities. It would be a great way to ensure our residents can share in the excitement of this world-class event,” Blumenkranz said.
Despite the calls for action, Hochul declined to tee off on the money grab.
“New York State is excited to welcome golf fans to Bethpage State Park for the 2025 Ryder Cup. The PGA of America is a private organization and the State does not have the ability to change ticket prices for their tournament,” a Hochul spokesman wrote in a statement to The Post.
The Ryder Cup is a highly anticipated match held every two years in which a team of US pros faces off against a squad of pros from Europe over three days. The $750 price is for the actually days of competition, which are scheduled for Sept. 26-28 2025, though tickets to watch practice earlier in the week went for less.
In the days leading up to the 2016 Ryder Cup held in Minnesota, tickets were selling at around $175 for the first round. The prices that year decreased in the days before the competition.
Bethpage State Park’s Black Course became the first publicly owned and run course to hold a major championship when it held the storied 2002 US Open, won by Tiger Woods.
It also had held 2009 US Opens and the 2019 PGA Championship, which, like the 2002 Open, had affordable prices and led to the facility getting a reputation in golf circles for having rowdy, working-class crowds.
The prospect of a richer, more genteel crowd at the Ryder Cup has prompted some to say that the prices might actually affect the performance of the US team, who could fail to benefit from much home field advantage.
“I would like to go on the record now and say that if Europe wins the Ryder Cup at Bethpage because the crowds were turned into a polite snooze fest like LACC (Los Angeles Country Club) by the insane ticket prices, it’s going to go down as a massive own goal,” golf pundit Kevin Van Valkenburg wrote on X.
Nevertheless, the PGA of America is defending the move.
“We view ourselves as a Tier 1 event that’s on par with a World Series, or with an NBA Finals Game 7,” said Bryan Karns, championship director for the PGA of America, in an interview with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. “That was a part of it.”
Karns said that the organization worked with an outside firm to study pricing across different sports and teams.
He cited prices with the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics and Lambeau Field as factors into how the upcoming Ryder Cup ultimately set its prices.
“We’re able to tap into data from all these different venues. We’re able to see, ‘what do people pay?’” Karns said. “Our position in this landscape—where do we view ourselves? I think that’s the reality. There are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list in the same way that someone would have a Yankees opening game World Series on their bucket list. Ultimately, we felt like that’s where we are. The demand is at an all-time high for this event, so we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately.”
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