News Releases

Mayor James Tedesco today officially welcomed The Barclays and the PGA TOUR to the city of Paramus, New Jersey. The Barclays, one of the premier tournaments on the PGA TOUR schedule and the first of four events in the 2008 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, is scheduled for Aug. 18-24 at The Ridgewood Country Club.

“Fans in the New Jersey area have a historic passion for golf,” said Tedesco. “The city of Paramus is thrilled to welcome the PGA TOUR and The Barclays to New Jersey. We look forward to hosting a world-class event.”

Ridgewood was founded in 1890, and the 27-hole golf course designed by A.W. Tillinghast in 1929.  Ridgewood has hosted two professional major championships, the 2001 Senior PGA Championship (won by Tom Watson) and the 1990 U.S. Senior Open (won by Lee Trevino), as well as the 1935 Ryder Cup and the 1974 U.S. Amateur (won by Jerry Pate). The course was ranked 87th in the United States by GOLF Magazine in September 2007 and No. 84 Most Prestigious Clubs in America by Golf Connoisseur in 2006.  The Barclays will be contested on the Championship Course which is a composite of 18 holes from the East, Center, and West Courses.

“Hosting a premier PGA TOUR event like The Barclays adds even more to the rich history of our Ridgewood Country Club,” said Alex Khowaylo, past president of The Ridgewood Country Club and first vice-chair of The Barclays. “Our members and our community will take great pride in delivering a first-class event and I believe our Championship Course will provide a fair test for the players and an exciting week of golf for the fans.”

The Barclays has a rich PGA TOUR history after being on the TOUR’s schedule since 1967 when Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural event at Westchester Country Club. Since that time, some of the greatest players in the game have earned the title including World Golf Hall of Fame members Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Raymond Floyd, Seve Ballesteros, Hale Irwin, and Curtis Strange. Some of the world’s top current players have won this event as well, including Vijay Singh, who has won The Barclays three times, two-time champions Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia, and The Barclays 2007 champion Steve Stricker.

“Since arriving in Paramus and at The Ridgewood Country Club, there has been tremendous excitement about The Barclays and the PGA TOUR coming to this area,” said The Barclays Executive Director Peter Mele. “Fans in the area should get their tickets now if they want to see the best players in the world square off in the opening tournament of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.”

The PGA TOUR has made giving back a major priority. In fact, the three Tours have surpassed the $1 billion mark in overall charitable contributions. The Barclays is no different. Tournament officials announced the charities below as the first of a growing list of New Jersey organizations that will benefit from The Barclays this year.

First Tee of Metropolitan NY                  

Bergen Community College Civic Engagement Fund

Valley Hospital Ladies' Auxiliary            

Children's Aid & Family Services, Inc.

Ridgewood Education Foundation          

Borough of Paramus Firefighters

West Bergen Mental Health Care            

Valley Hospital Foundation

 

About Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. It is one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalization. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 135,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 27 million customers and clients worldwide. www.barclays.com

About Barclays Capital

Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC which has an AA long-term credit rating and a balance sheet of over $2.4 trillion. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with solutions to their financing and risk management needs.  Barclays Capital has offices in 29 countries, employs over 16,200 people and has the global reach and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide.   www.barclayscapital.com

About Barclays Global Investors

Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers and a leading global provider of investment management products and services. It has over 2,900 institutional clients and over $2.0 trillion of assets under management. It transformed the investment industry by creating the first index strategy in 1971 and the first quantitative active strategy in 1979. BGI is the global product leader in Exchange Traded Funds (iShares) with over 320 funds for institutions and individuals globally. It has $408 billion of iShares assets under management.   www.barclaysglobal.com

About Barclaycard

Headquartered in Wilmington, Del., Barclaycard US has more than 60 partnerships with some of the country's most successful travel, entertainment, retail and financial institutions including US Airways, Lufthansa, Barnes & Noble, Best Western, BJ's Wholesale Club, Travelocity and Carnival Cruise Lines. The company employs more than 1,200 associates and was named a Top Employer in Delaware in 2007. www.barclaycardus.com

About the PGA TOUR

The PGA TOUR is a tax-exempt membership organization of professional golfers. Its primary purpose is to provide competitive earnings opportunities for past, current and future members of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour; to protect the integrity of the game; and to help grow the reach of the game in the U.S. and around the world.                                      

In 2008, the three Tours are competing in approximately 108 events for approximately $355 million in prize money.  Tournaments are being held in nine countries outside the U.S. and in 37 states.  In addition to providing competitive opportunities for its membership, TOUR events also generate significant funds for local charities.  In fact, the three Tours have surpassed the $1 billion mark in overall charitable contributions.  The PGA TOUR’s web site address is www.pgatour.com and the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

CONTACT(S):  Laura Hill, PGA TOUR, 904-273-7655, lauraneal@pgatourhq.com

Chris Reimer, PGA TOUR, 904-273-3286, chrisreimer@pgatourhq.com

Kevin Sniffen, The Hamilton Group, 212-213-3144, ksniffen@thehamiltongroup.net

Peter Truell, Barclays, 212-412-7576, peter.truell@barclayscapital.com