PGA Championship week at Bethpage Black

For the next week, New York will be the center of the sports world as the PGA Championship will take place at Bethpage Black on Long Island.

In a time where teams will be fighting for a bid in both the Stanley Cup Finals and the NBA Finals, New York who doesn’t even have a dog in either fight, will be the center of the sports world. For the second straight year, one of professional golf’s four majors taking place in the state. The PGA Championship comes to Farmingdale.

Last year the U.S. Open took place at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club just west of the Hamptons as Brooks Koepka won his second straight U.S. Open and his second of three majors in two years. Now, it is Bethpage Black’s turn to be the center of attention.

This will be Bethpage’s third time hosting a major, but hosting the PGA Championship. The famed course was home to the U.S. Open back in 2002 (won by Tiger Woods) and 2009 ( Lucas Glover).

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This year’s championship is making several firsts as part of the PGA Tour’s new major schedule. The PGA Championship which had previously been golf’s final major, held in August, was moved up to May for the first time in over 80 years.

It is golf’s second major of the season as the PGA has been moved up in an effort to have one major championship each month from April through July. For this reason, among a couple of others, that the tournament may draw more interest than usual.

Another reason is the revival of Tiger Woods. In the biggest comeback since Jack Nicklaus’ final major victory at the1986 Masters at age 46, Tiger Woods won in Augusta last month for his first major since he won the 2008 U.S. Open.

With that Woods, who is undoubtedly the most popular golfer in the world, has the chance to win back to back majors for the first time in over a decade. This will undoubtedly bring a plethora of fans onto Long Island to see Tiger in his natural habitat. Not only that, but Woods typically plays very well at this year’s host site.

As mentioned earlier, Woods won the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage and he also finished sixth when the 2009 U.S. Open returned to Farmingdale. It is for this reason that many believe Woods can win back-to-back majors for the fourth time in his career.

Woods opened up as the betting favorite with 8-1 odds of hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy come Sunday. The five favorites are rounded out by Dustin Johnson (10-1), Brooks Koepka (10-1), Rory McIlroy (12-1) and Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler who are both at 16-1.