LJWorld.com

Pro golfers had never heard the eardrum-rattling cheering they experienced during the U.S. Open at Bethpage, so they started imagining what an amazing chorus that whole throng would make if it chanted “U-S-A!” It is worth thinking about holding the Ryder Cup on the Black Course, top players said, and officials tend to agree with them.

“I think it would be terrific,” said Charlie Robson, executive director of the Metropolitan PGA, which is under the umbrella of the PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup for the United States. “One thing I intend to do is present it to our national office so it can at least open the door.”

Long Islanders should not hold their breath, or make sure they take a really deep breath. The next time the Ryder Cup — the biennial competition between the United States and Europe — has an opening on U.S. soil is 2024. And there are other huge hurdles, such as navigating the sensitive terrain between the U.S. Golf Association, which holds the U.S. Open, and the PGA of America (not to be confused with the PGA Tour).

The topic was raised, though, by U.S. Ryder Cup veterans Phil Mickelson and David Duval, who were buoyed by the crowds at the Open. Both said the Black would be a natural for the international electricity. Mickelson called it “an ideal spot” and Duval said, “Now that would be a heck of an idea.”

No argument from the PGA of America, the organization composed of club pros, which also holds the PGA Championship.

“First of all, it is great to hear that players are thinking about the Ryder Cup at the second major,” said Julius Mason, senior director of communications for the PGA of America. “Also, it’s clear that we love New York. We were born there in 1916 and we are going to celebrate our centennial with the PGA Championship at Baltusrol (in New Jersey) in 2016.”

Mason, who was at the Open, acknowledged that 2024 is “a long time from now” but said the group is open to all kinds of ideas. The PGA Championship has been held on Long Island several times, including 1926, when Walter Hagen won at Salisbury Golf Links, now Eisenhower Park Red. There has been talk of holding the Senior PGA Championship there.

Robson and Met PGA members have been urging the national association to consider Bethpage for 15 years. He did concede that New York State and officials at Bethpage State Park have a good relationship with the USGA and would not want to jeopardize that.

Because the process of negotiating for major championships is so intense and time-consuming, courses generally choose to get comfortable with only one of the two big American organizations, not both. The USGA and PGA were in a tug of war over Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. The PGA won. Baltusrol, Hazeltine (site of the PGA Championship this year) and Medinah all are former U.S. Open sites that now are in the PGA fold. Pebble Beach, Oakmont, Shinnecock Hills are USGA stalwarts.

Jumping back and forth across the line is not easy, albeit not impossible. Winged Foot hosted several U.S. Opens, then the 1997 PGA, then the 2006 Open. Whether it would be worth it for Bethpage to try to walk both sides of the street is something for the state to answer.