Ryder Cup Tees Off In Farmingdale With Trump In Attendance

FARMINGDALE, NY — The Ryder Cup 2025 is underway at Bethpage State Park's Black course. President Trump arrived at the opening day of the tournament with his granddaughter.

The event, featuring the top golfers from U.S. and Europe, runs through Sunday. A dozen players make up each team. It's the first time for the Ryder Cup at the famed Bethpage Black.

The first two days feature match play before concluding with the singles action on Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler, a winner of two majors this year, comes to his third straight Ryder Cup with the title of the world's number one golfer.

As for Trump, who left the White House on Friday morning for Long Island, it's his first time attending a pro golf event since August 2023.

“It was an honor to have President Trump in Nassau County for the Ryder Cup. The crowd loved him, and he thoroughly enjoyed his time here. We had an extensive conversation about important issues concerning the nation and the region," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

Expect closures along the surrounding roads this weekend.

"Traffic is always a pain in the neck, but we live in New York so we're used to it," Michael Catania, general manager of the nearby Casa Stellina Ristorante, said.

Area shops, like Catania's eatery, are looking for an uptick in customers.

"The business community is still very excited to find ways to have the Ryder Cup up here in Farmingdale, " Chamber of Commerce President Joseph Garcia told Patch.

Garcia said that excitement comes despite the traffic jams due to Trump's motorcade.

"It's going better than I expected," Garcia told Patch. "Our businesses are seeing, at least some positive impact, on the business they're doing already."

As many as 250,000 spectators are converging on Bethpage Black this weekend. Throughout the practice rounds, Catania welcomed guests from as far away as Europe and California.

"Anytime people come to the village and our restaurants, everybody here in the village gets exposed to new faces and new people," Catania told Patch. "Regardless of the traffic, I think it's a great thing."

Many stores are showing support for the weekend tournament with signs and banners in the windows.

"When you have an event like the Ryder Cup, it's exciting and it draws people who aren't even golf fans," Garcia said. "Because it's such a popular thing right now for people, putting out some Ryder Cup signage draws some new attention and fresh eyes to whatever marketing you've been doing."

USA is covering the event on Friday, while NBC will broadcast the tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

"We're offering our daily specials, some of them are Ryder Cup and golf themed, especially cocktail-wise," he said. "We try to make ourselves available to everybody, and so far we're happy with the turnout."

Catania, who opened the restaurant in early 2024, said having the Ryder Cup as his neighbor "is a win-win, not just for us, but everybody here."