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It’s official: Championship professional golf will return to Southampton in five years.
The 2013 Women’s United States Open will be held at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, marking the first time that the young private club will host a professional event as well as the first time since 2004 that a United States Golf Association championship has been held in the area. It will also be the first time that the U.S. Women’s Open will be contested on Long Island.
The U.S. Men’s Open was held at nearby Shinnecock Golf Club in 2004.
The USGA made the decision official by signing a contract on June 25, the night before this year’s U.S. Women’s Open began.
The wheels were first set in motion last summer, when USGA executive director David Fey and Jim Hyler, the head of the tournament selection committee, first set foot on the two-year-old Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak-designed course.
“We had mutual friends and they were just coming out to play the course, not to look at it for a tournament,” Michael Pascucci, Sebonack’s owner, said on Monday. “After they’d seen the course, they liked it.”
Pascucci said he was happy that the USGA took such a liking to his course.
“I said, ‘that’s very flattering’,” he said. “It’s a brand new golf course, so I would be happy to have them come out.”
Pascucci added that the members were pleased with the announcement as well, and that he is also happy to play a part in promoting women’s golf.
“All the members love the idea and certainly don’t mind giving up a week five years from now,” he said. “The thing that intrigued me about it is that women’s golf is under served as far as tournament golf on Long Island; we’ve never really had anything out here. But women’s golf in the world is huge. If you look at tournament players, they come from all over: Asia, Mexico. On Long Island, we have a very broad mixed base of almost every ethnic group and in addition to that, we have a tremendous amount of women who are interested in golf.”
Pascucci said he is also eager to showcase his course to the world.
“It’ll end up being an extremely beautiful television experience to showcase women’s golf because Sebonack has 13 holes with water views or on the water, so it sets up well for television,” he said. “We’re looking at this as an entertainment event, showcasing the top women golfers of the world in a beautiful setting. It will be a very nice experience for the players and members of the Long Island community.”
When asked if he would be hoping to host other professional tournaments in the future, Pascucci did not dismiss the idea, but said it was too early to predict.
“We’re just not that far down the road yet,” he said.
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