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It is fitting that Bethpage Black’s iconic “warning” sign was removed for the Ryder Cup.
Due to unusually short rough and Thursday’s rain softening the greens, the pros will enjoy easier conditions than any local has ever experienced at the municipal course, long considered one of the toughest in the world.
“This is not the normal Bethpage Black,” Harris English said Thursday. “You’re going to see a lot more birdies out there than you normally would in the PGA or the U.S. Open.”
The legendary Long Island course cemented its reputation as one of the world’s most difficult at the 2002 U.S. Open, when Tiger Woods was the only player to shoot under par.
Bethpage’s infamous knee-high fescue — also showcased at the 2009 U.S. Open and the 2019 PGA Championship — has largely been cut well below the ankle, tailored to the specifications of Team USA.
“[In 2019], the golf course was a beast,” Bryson DeChambeau said. “Rough was a lot longer. This week … the rough isn’t as penalizing. So it’s going to be fun to see how this golf course presents itself for us in these types of conditions.”
English, who is making his second Ryder Cup appearance, is as happy as any American player that the event is being held at home.
In July, English played two events in the United Kingdom, but his caddie, Eric Larson, could not join him after being unable to obtain a new travel visa due to a 30-year-old drug conviction.
Larson spent more than 10 years in prison.
“He’s the best guy in the world and means a lot to me,” English said. “This is as much about me getting back here as it is about him, and I want him to enjoy every moment. … Obviously with his story of being in prison, he has seen some dark places. To get here and to see these crowds and to be in this moment is very special for him.”
Sepp Straka identifies as Austrian and American. His mother is from Georgia. He’s lived in the States since he was 14.
But he expects the crowds at Bethpage Black to go easier on him than many of his teammates for another reason.
“I don’t know that much of the crowd knows who I am,” Straka said. “I think that’s helpful in that.”
Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland formed one of the most dominant pairings at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
But Åberg never knows what to expect when he steps on the course with his fellow Scandinavian.
“He’s a funny guy to have funny conversations with,” Åberg said. “They can go in any direction that you don’t really expect. He’s always into sort of the UFO deals and all those things, so it’s quite interesting. I’m not quite down that road just yet. If I hang out with him long enough, I might be.”
Hovland’s fascination with life beyond Earth is his own escape.
“I think it’s been one of those things that’s taken my mind off of golf a little bit,” Hovland said. “The more you go into it, you just get more questions. It’s one of those things that you don’t really find any more answers, but it’s very interesting to go in there and kind of challenge some of your beliefs that you currently hold, and you kind of have to expand your mind a little bit.”
