Westchester Country Club is a private country club located in Harrison, New York. Founded in 1922 as a destination for sportsmen, it was known to professional golfers and spectators for more than four decades as the home of the Westchester Classic," a PGA Tour favorite. Amenities include an historic clubhouse designed by architects Warren and Wetmore and two championship caliber 18-hole golf courses designed by Walter Travis. The club also boasts one nine-hole golf course, an indoor swimming pool, squash courts, grass tennis courts and a stand-alone beach, outdoor pool and restaurant facility on Manursing Island.[1]
History
The Westchester Biltmore Country Club was the dream of hotelier John McEntee Bowman.[2] Bowman purchased the former 650-acre Hobart Park Estate and planned a place to which businessmen from the New York metropolitan area could commute easily and pursue golf, riding, polo, tennis and more.
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.
Today's PGA Northern Trust tournament was played at Westchester for many years. The tournament had its beginnings at neighboring Apawamis as a one-day pro-amateur benefiting the now defunct United Hospital of Port Chester.[6][7] Founded by William Mitchell "Bill" Jennings,[8] it was the precursor of the Thunderbird Classic and quickly became a "Westchester Classic". The Thunderbird was a success in 1963 and also in 1964 and 1965. There was no tour event at Westchester in 1966, and starting in 1967, the Westchester Classic became an annual stop on the PGA Tour through 2007.
Jack Nicklaus won the rain-delayed inaugural event (and $50,000) on a Wednesday,[9][10] and Steve Stricker the last, the initial event of the first FedEx Cup Playoffs.[11][12] 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' absence in the tournament in 2007 (following his consecutive victories in the WGC-Bridgestone and PGA Championship),[11] and the tournament's subsequent low TV ratings and low attendance. On January 26, a compromise agreement was made between the club and the PGA Tour at a town hall meeting at the club; WCC was paid $1.1 million to move the event from Harrison to Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, for 2008. The tournament name has changed several times since then due to sponsorship switches.
