New Yorkers are experts in outrage, so it’s no surprise their vitriol upon hearing of the high price of tickets for the Ryder Cup when it comes to Long Island’s Bethpage Black next September. To attend a practice round will cost $255 per person, a competition day jumping to $750. Tickets include all-you-can-eat food and non-alcoholic drinks, but that did little to assuage the masses.
Yet golf fans looking for allies to help convince the powers that be to bring down the price on a course that can cost as little as $44 for locals to play are running out of options. Officials with the PGA of America, which runs the event, are standing their ground on the price plan. “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, Ryder Cup championship director, during an interview with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. “That was a part of it.”
RELATED: The Ryder Cup ticket price controversy, explained
So what about New York politicians? Could they help put pressure on the PGA of America? Leaders on Long Island are trying to stick up for their constituents.
“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 New York Post. Jake Blumenkranz, a New York state assemblyman, pitched the idea of creating a reduced-prize community day to allow local fans more affordable access. And New York state senator Anthony Palumbo wondered publicly if New York Governor Kathy Hochul could step in.
The 18th hole at Bethpage Black.
Gary Kellner
The governor’s office, however, seemed to make it clear in a recent statement from a spokeperson to the New York Post that there wasn’t much she could do.
“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.”
Indeed, when the New York Yankees host the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium for the World Series next week, the face value of tickets run from $204 to $2,115. Could you really expect the governor’s office to ask Major League Baseball to have a more discounted ticket? (By the way, the average price on the secondary market is up to $4,875.)
As Karns noted when defending the PGA of America’s plan earlier this month: “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.”
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
