Cuomo, PGA talk Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black

ALBANY -- The Cuomo administration is trying to woo pro golf back to Bethpage Black for the 2024 Ryder Cup.

Golf's stars are converging at the Long Island course this week for the Barclays at Bethpage Black, the tournament that marks the beginning of the FedEx Cup playoffs. It's the third marquee golf event Bethpage Black has hosted in the past 10 years.

Top Cuomo officials said they have talked to the Professional Golfers' Association over the last several months about hosting the Ryder Cup -- the biennial match-play tournament between Europe and the United States.

The earliest Bethpage could host the Ryder Cup is 12 years from now.

Larry Schwartz, secretary to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, has met with PGA chief executive Joe Steranka about the possibility of playing the event at Bethpage.

"Bethpage has hosted the U.S. Open twice, now the Barclays, and I think the Ryder Cup would be a home run," Schwartz said .

He noted that the course has always won rave reviews. "You don't have to sell Bethpage Black. It speaks for itself," Schwartz said.

In 2002, Bethpage Black, part of Bethpage State Park, became the first publicly owned and operated golf course to host the U.S. Open.

The Ryder Cup is held every two years, with the host continents alternating. The United States hosts the cup this year, at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago, and then again in 2016 (Hazelton National in Chaska, Minn.) and 2020 (Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.).

PGA officials didn't return calls to comment.