Westchester Country Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Westchester Country Club (or Westchester Biltmore Country Club) was founded by John McEntee Bowman, who hired Walter Travis to design two golf courses in Rye, 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 for the last time in 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.) Starting in 2007, The Barclays will be held during August and will be played at rotating sites in the New York Metropolitan Area. Westchester Country Club will continue to host the majority, but not all of the annual stops in the New York region.
[edit] Notable members of Westchester Country Club From the Past and Present
- Ralph Branca, professional baseball player. Threw the pitch of the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951 playoff game between Dodgers and Giants
- Robert Merrill, baritone at Metropolitan Opera House, sang national anthem at Yankee Stadium
- Ernie Anastos, WNYW TV anchorman
- Scott Shannon, radio disc jockey and the official voice of the Sean Hannity Show
- Sal Pepe, real estate entrepreneur
- Mark Simone, radio/TV personality
- James Nicholas, MD, orthopedic surgeon, team physician for New York Jets. He operated on Joe Namath.
- Paul Woolard, former President of Revlon
- Jules Alexander, sports photographer
- Mario Gabelli, founder and CEO of the eponymous Gabelli Asset Management
- David Hartman, American television personality
- John Mara, New York Giants owner
- Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express, on Board of Directors of IBM
- Earl G. Graves, CEO of Black Enterprise magazine
- Richie Powers, Eyewitness News Sportscaster, NBA referee
- Gary Sherlock, former president and publisher of Gannett Newspapers
- Frederic Salerno, President of Verizon Telephone Company
- Robert Diamond, CEO, Barclays Capital
- Albert Pirro, husband of former Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro
- Generoso Pope, Sr., publisher, owner of Colonial Sand & Stone, and the first person of Italian descent to become a self-made millionaire in the United States
- John N. Mitchell, Attorney General during Nixon Administration
- Howard Hughes, Legendary eccentric multi-millionaire, aviator, business tycoon
- Ed Sullivan, Television host and newspaper columnist
- Johnny Carson, Television Personality
- William D. Fugazy, Travel Agency and Limousine Mogul. Chairman of Ellis Island reconstruction and various Italian-American charities.
- Jimmy Roberts, NBC Sportscaster
