Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury is hosting its first PGA Tour event this week as the Northern Trust tournament and the top 125 professional golfers take over the course.
Old Westbury Village Administrator Brian Ridgway said the village has been preparing for 20,000 visitors to flood the area for the tournament Wednesday through Sunday.
“This is very, very high exposure for the Village of Old Westbury and our community, and the chief and his department have spent a lot of prep time coordinating with the various groups that will be basically running this tournament,” Ridgway said, referring to the Police Department.
Hideki Matsuyama heads into the tournament as the FedExCup points leader with five consecutive top 15 pre-tournament rankings and six worldwide victories in the last 10 months.
“I only played the back nine so far,” Matsuyama said in a news conference Tuesday. “I really like this golf course. The greens are undulated, and in order to play well here and to score well, you’re going to have to putt well. I like the fairways aren’t as narrow as some of the courses we’ve played recently. But the greens are poa annua greens, so that will be challenging for me.”
The most recent PGA Tour winner and the 2013 FedEdxCup winner, Henrik Stenson, said a repeat win of the FexEdCup is difficult because it requires a solid performance for the entire season, and he joked that 2015 cup winner Jordan Spieth making “50-foot bombs when he shouldn’t have” doesn’t help.
“You’ve got to prove yourself time and time again to win the FedExCup,” Stenson said. “You’ve got to play pretty solid; you can come in with different kind of starting points from the regular season, but you’ve got to have at least a pretty solid season in the back.
“Then, you have to play well in the first three playoff events to make sure that you’re inside the top 30. Most of the guys who have won it I’m sure have been within the top five.”
The festivities kicked off Tuesday with a SoulCycle spin class for charity on the back patio of the clubhouse overlooking the golf course with all proceeds benefiting The First Tee, a youth development organization.
Tuesday also celebrated U.S. military members and veterans as the tour joined with Birdies for the Brave, offering free tickets for active and reserve military members and nonretired veterans. Active and reserve duty members are eligible for complimentary tickets every day for their family, and veterans are allowed a ticket plus a guest ticket each day.
A voucher is required for the free military member tickets, available online, along with a photo ID.
“What we loved about hosting a joint charity ride is that it exposes riders to what’s so cool about golf … charity, fitness, a gorgeous setting and most of all fun,” Julie Tyson, senior vice president of championship management, said.
Fans this weekend will be able to taste the stylings of some of the most recognizable chefs in the world as they walk the fairways, including Mario by Mary in the Taste New York Marketplace.
The collaboration between Mario Batali and Mary Giuliani started in 2015 and takes the best of Batali’s recipes and adds a little bit of Giuliani’s playful food whimsy to create seasonally inspired fast-casual Italian food.
Tournament attendees will be able to enjoy fun sandwiches like the “Italian Muffuletta” featuring mortadella, soppressata, caciocavallo, hot capicola and Italian olive spread, as well as the “When Mario Met Mary” sandwich, a bite of grilled cheese with black truffle honey and fontina.
“Mario Batali is a food superhero from the way he makes you fall in love with food to his sense of humor, and to his amazing creations,” Tyson said. “To be able to bring fans an experience that is a little unconventional, mind-blowingly delicious and just plain fun is our ambition for every aspect of the Northern Trust Tournament, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Junior’s, Marc Forgione’s Lobster Press, Nathan’s Famous and David Chang’s Fuku Spicy Fried Chicken will also be featured at the tournament.
