The 2025 Ryder Cup is set to tee off on September 26 at the Bethpage Black Golf Course in Farmingdale, New York. The event, being played in US soil, will see the home team try to reclaim the prestigious trophy from Team Europe. Ahead of the event, PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague has come out to laud the course and dubbed it ‘America's country club.’Keegan Bradley’s team USA will undoubtedly be the fan favorite in New York. Now, the PGA chief himself have exuded confidence in the course and its audiences. He called Bethpage Black, the public course ranked No. 7 on Golf Digest’s 2025 rankings of top public courses in America, the ‘people's country club’ before dubbing it ‘iconic.’ The chief further called on New Yorkers to cheer for their team and be ‘loud’ while doing it.Commenting on Bethpage Black hosting the Ryder Cup at a press conference, PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:“Well, I think the magnitude of the course. I mean, it’s a championship layout. It’s iconic. It’s the people's country club. Next week, as our said, it’s America's country club. It’s a tough test of golf to test the best players in the world on both sides, both teams.Then I think that spirit that proud New Yorkers bring to all their sporting events here, they’ll be cheering for their team and they’ll be encouraging them in the nicest manner they can when they don’t hit the great shots. But they’ll be loud, and that’s what I think makes this atmosphere that much more special for the Ryder Cup.”It is pertinent to note that this isn’t the first time the New York state park has hosted a big event. For the unversed, Bethpage Black has had two US Opens (2002 and 2009) and the 2019 PGA Championship in its soil.PGA of America CEO links Ryder Cup to ‘patriotism’The upcoming Ryder Cup contest between the US and European teams will be the ninth edition since Derek Sprague joined the PGA of America. It will also be the first edition since he took over as the CEO on December 20, 2024, succeeding Seth Waugh who stepped down after six years in the role. Ahead of the contest, the NY native used words including ‘electric’ and ‘patriotism’ to describe the pre-event feeling.Speaking of hosting the Ryder Cup in New York, Derek Sprague said:“I think for me, this is my ninth Ryder Cup next week, so I’ve been to a number of them starting - I know I don’t look that old, but my first one was 2008 at Valhalla, and here we are in 2025 at Bethpage… A couple words that come to mind is ‘electric.’ ‘Patriotism’ is another word as an American, proud American and proud New Yorker. It’s just going to be that much more elevated next week.When I talk about the electricity, the Ryder Cup is all about sportsmanship as well, and yes, you’ve heard it’s going to be very spirited competition, but I can tell you because I've attended both Ryder Cups on foreign soil as well as American soil, and it's just as loud on both sides of the pond… But at the end of the day, sportsmanship is the north star for this event.”Sprague went on to emphasize the need for ‘mutual respect between the teams’ at the event. The PGA chief reiterated that the ‘electric atmosphere’ of having the ‘best players in Europe and America’ will be special. He also went on to use the word ‘magical’ to describe the biennial copetition.