Westchester Country Club
Encyclopedia
The Westchester Country Club (or Westchester Biltmore Country Club) was founded by John McEntee Bowman
, who hired Walter Travis
to design two golf course
s in the Town of Harrison, New York
as a luxury resort hotel
. The West Course was designed for championship play and has hosted PGA tournaments since 1963. The South Course was originally designed for women and higher handicap golfers. Around 1997, the South Course was reconstructed with longer tees, new sand and grass bunkers, water hazards, and some new greens. The South Course is now more competitive with the West Course to accommodate low handicap golfers.
Westchester Country Club hosted its first PGA tournament in 1963 with the Thunderbird Classic
. The Thunderbird was also held in 1964 and 1965. There was no PGA tournament at Westchester Country Club in 1966, and starting in 1967 the West Course has annually hosted the Westchester Classic stop on the PGA Tour
. (The tournament name has changed several times since then due to sponsorship switches, and is now called The Barclays.) On January 14, 2008, an article in the Journal News announced the PGA Tour's desire to terminate its affiliation with Westchester Country Club. The decision was made primarily because of Tiger Woods' refusal to play in the tournament in 2007 and the tournament's subsequent low TV ratings and low attendance. On Saturday, January 26, 2008, a compromise agreement was made between the club and the PGA Tour at a Town Hall Meeting at the club. The PGA paid WCC $1.1 million to move the tournament from Harrison to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ, for the 2008 event. In a second compromise agreement, the PGA Tour recently awarded Westchester Country Club a major tournament on the Champions Tour
. The 2011 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship will be played on the renovated West Course during August. This is one of the biggest stops on the Senior Tour.
John McEntee Bowman
John McEntee Bowman was an Canadian-born businessman and an American hotelier and horseman who was the founding president of Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp....
, who hired Walter Travis
Walter Travis
Walter J. Travis was the most successful amateur golfer in the U.S. during the early 1900s, a noted golf journalist and publisher, an innovator in all aspects of golf, a teacher, and a respected golf course architect...
to design two golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s in the Town of Harrison, New York
Harrison, New York
Harrison is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately northeast of Manhattan. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census.-Establishment:...
as a luxury resort hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
. The West Course was designed for championship play and has hosted PGA tournaments since 1963. The South Course was originally designed for women and higher handicap golfers. Around 1997, the South Course was reconstructed with longer tees, new sand and grass bunkers, water hazards, and some new greens. The South Course is now more competitive with the West Course to accommodate low handicap golfers.
Westchester Country Club hosted its first PGA tournament in 1963 with the Thunderbird Classic
Thunderbird Classic
The Thunderbird Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1962 to 1968. It was played at two locations, the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey in 1962 and 1966-1968 and the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York in 1963-1965....
. The Thunderbird was also held in 1964 and 1965. There was no PGA tournament at Westchester Country Club in 1966, and starting in 1967 the West Course has annually hosted the Westchester Classic stop on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
. (The tournament name has changed several times since then due to sponsorship switches, and is now called The Barclays.) On January 14, 2008, an article in the Journal News announced the PGA Tour's desire to terminate its affiliation with Westchester Country Club. The decision was made primarily because of Tiger Woods' refusal to play in the tournament in 2007 and the tournament's subsequent low TV ratings and low attendance. On Saturday, January 26, 2008, a compromise agreement was made between the club and the PGA Tour at a Town Hall Meeting at the club. The PGA paid WCC $1.1 million to move the tournament from Harrison to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ, for the 2008 event. In a second compromise agreement, the PGA Tour recently awarded Westchester Country Club a major tournament on the Champions Tour
Champions Tour
The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...
. The 2011 Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship will be played on the renovated West Course during August. This is one of the biggest stops on the Senior Tour.
Notable members past and present
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