Chandler Withington is the Head Golf Professional at Hazeltine National Golf club. He leads the team ensuring the highest level of service for the club’s members and guests. Prior to taking the helm at Hazeltine, Chandler worked at some of the top clubs in the country, including Seminole Golf Club in Florida and Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Club’s contingent representing Hazeltine with local and national golf organizations such as the MGA, USGA, and PGA of America.
Chandler opened his presentation (without any notes!) with the interesting history of the Ryder Cup, which was started in 1926 by Sam Ryder. The USA team played against only Britain in the first 6 decades, and public interest was low because there was not enough competition. After the rules were changed in 1983, the popularity and the American success have had opposite trends. Our community and the golf course will have an expected television/on-line audience of over 800 million viewers September 27 – October 2, 2016. About 70% of the attendees will be from other places, so the influx will challenge our hosting capacity and the depth of Minnesota-Nice. Jim Dauwalter has promised that we won’t run out of beer. No volunteer opportunities exist, but prior to October 1, tickets for the Tuesday through Sunday event are available through a lottery: www.rydercup.com
Chandler can be contacted at [email protected].
