Many Westchester golf clubs are steeped in history, but few have more glorious stories to tell than The Apawamis Club in Rye. This year, the club observed its 125th anniversary, placing it in a tie for fifth oldest in the county with Wykagyl and Scarsdale. A spectacular trophy case filled with highlights from the club’s past was unveiled to celebrate the anniversary in October. Replicas of the trophies from the four USGA championships the club has hosted were commissioned for the cases as well.
Apawamis hasn’t just been around for a long time, though, it also boasts a proud history of hosting important competitions that extends to the present day. Among many other stellar events, the club hosted the US Amateur in 1911, which was the first US Am to go beyond 36 holes in its championship final match.
Women’s golf has a great history at Apawamis, too. The club was the site of the 1978 Curtis Cup Match, a biennial team competition for women amateurs analogous to the men’s Walker Cup in that it features matches between both US and British teams. The US won that year, by the way, with 12 points to the Brits’ 6. The USGA Junior Girls Championship was held at Apawamis in 1970 and the USGA Senior Women’s in 2005.
The longest-running national event at Apawamis is the US Senior Golf Association’s annual tournament, which started as a 36-hole stroke-play event for guys 55+ in 1905. Today, some 500 seniors meet on the first Tuesday and Wednesday in June to compete at Apawamis, Round Hill, Blind Brook, and Bedford Golf & Tennis.
You could say that the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup has its roots at Apawamis, too. The United Hospital pro-am, which eventually was merged into the Thunderbird Classic and then the Westchester Classic (which finally became the Barclay’s), was held for nine years at Apawamis. At the time (1954-1962) it was a one-day pro-am. In 1962, the last year the Apawamis Club served as host, Sam Snead and Billy Maxwell tied for first place.
