The Barclays and the PGA Tour are "negotiating to bring" the FedExCup tournament to Bethpage Black in '12, according to a source cited by Doug Ferguson of the AP. The source noted that "such a deal would need approval by the New York state parks and recreation department and the tour's policy board." USGA Senior Dir of Rules & Competition Mike Davis said that he "was not aware of a deal for The Barclays to go to Bethpage Black," which has hosted two U.S. Opens. But Davis indicated that it "would be at least a decade before the U.S. Open returned to the public course." He added, "I do know the Bethpage people have been looking at other events they could do." Ferguson noted The Barclays, the opening event of the PGA Tour's playoffs, has "rotated around New York and northern New Jersey since" the FedExCup began in '07. It has gone from Westchester, the tournament's first home, "to Liberty National to Ridgewood Country Club, and is set for this year at Plainfield Country Club" (AP, 2/16). On Long Island, Greg Logan notes "given the USGA's success at a public venue, the PGA Tour's only New York-area event might well make a greater impact at Bethpage Black." The "question would be whether Barclays and the PGA Tour would invest funds to insure top-quality course maintenance as the USGA did in the past" (NEWSDAY, 2/17).
