This week it’s Bethpage Black’s turn to host the Ryder Cup. The New York public course will join Chicago’s Medinah and five other U.S. course that have been sites for the Ryder Cup as well as the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.
Medinah had its turn to host the Ryder Cup in 2012, and it was a debacle for the home team. The American squad collapsed in the singles matches on the final day and was a 14 ½-13 1/2 loser to the Europeans. One of Europe’s playing stalwarts that year was Northwestern alum Luke Donald, who will captain the Euros for the second straight time at Bethpage.
While the sides do battle this week staffers will be preparing Medinah for next year’s President’s Cup there. The President’s Cup is a biennial event with a similar team format as the Ryder, but not the prestige. Instead of the Europeans, an International team will battle the American stars in the Presidents Cup and that series has been onesided. The U.S. has won the last 10 meetings and holds a 13-1-1 edge in the series.
Still, Joie Chitwood, executive director of Medinah’s Presidents Cup, is predicting “the biggest event in our 30-year history. We’ve already sold 80 of our 122 suites.’’
The event is Sept. 22-27, 2026, but preparation work has long been underway. General admission tickets went on sale Sept. 9 and a check presentation of $250,000 was made to the newly-opened DuPage County Crisis Recovery Center on behalf of the 2026 Presidents Cup on Sept. 16.
Next in the pre-event promotion will be Oct. 6-9 when captains Geoff Ogilvy if the International side and Brandt Snedeker of the American side gather at Medinah and downtown locations. The biggest event will be Oct. 8 at Soldier Field when the captains compete in a 100-yard shot contest with the actual Presidents Cup the target.
Though he’s the visiting team captain, the Australian Ogilvy is more familiar with Medinah’s recently renovated course than most anyone else. A former U.S. Open champion, Ogilvy resides near Scottsdale, Arizona and supervised the year-long renovation that was completed a year ago.
“Geoff doing the renovation gives us a fantastic story line,’’ said Chitwood. “Whether it’ll be an advantage for his team I don’t know, but he did a fantastic job. It’ll be a great match play event. For something like this it takes the right market – and Chicago has a phenomenal market – and a fantastic course. The renovation was fantastic. I’ve never seen such energy. The recipe for success is there.’’
Just how big attendance might be is still in doubt but Chitwood said the number will be announced soon.
“We’re very close on determining our capacity,’’ he said. “We’ve securited a ton of parking lots.’’
Medinah, which opened in 1924, is no stranger to big tournament competition. In addition to the Ryder Cup it has hosted three Western Opens, three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and – most recently – the 2019 BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup Playoff event on the PGA Tour. For details on the Presidents Cup visit PresidentsCup.com.