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THE BARCLAYS MEDIA DAY

April 24, 2008

ALEX KHOWAYLO: On behalf of the board and on behalf of all of our members, I would also like to welcome the PGA TOUR, Barclays Capital as well as the players who will be competing in the first leg of the four play-offs for the FedEx Cup, which will be played here in August, as you all know.
Hosting a premiere event such as the Barclays is another edition to the story history of our club and the enthusiasm for hosting this event and from our members and from the community is significant and still exciting and getting even more so day in and day out.
As you also know, our club was founded in 1890 and as a result, we are one of the oldest clubs in the country. What you may not know is that Byron Nelson was an assistant golf professional here early in his career. And given that the Byron Nelson Championship is being contested in Texas, I thought it would be appropriate to recognize his service here in Ridgewood.
What else you may not know is that George Jacobus, who was our head golf professional from 1964 was a teacher and mentor to Byron. And you also may not know that George Jacobus was the first American-born president of the PGA of America. George was instrumental in getting the Ryder Cup here to the club in 1935 and provided a lot of great service to our members.
Peter will introduce Dave Reasoner, who is only the fourth golf professional here at the Ridgewood Country Club.
Our members have been very generous with their time. We have hosted numerous national professional, regional professional and amateur events and we look forward to hosting another great event in 2008. We believe that this event will provide a fair test for the players and the spectators. It will be an exciting event to watch. I, for one, am looking forward to it and am getting very excited.
Before I get too excited, let me introduce the honorable James Tedesco, the mayor of the borough of Paramus and he will, I'm sure, share his enthusiasm of the event as well. (Applause.)
MAYOR TEDESCO: Thank you and good morning and welcome to Paramus, New Jersey, the home of the Ridgewood Country Club and now the home of the Barclays, the PGA TOUR and the first leg of the FedEx Cup. How exciting is that?
As the mayor of one of the large communities in Bergen County and one of the economic engines of the state of New Jersey, I'm very proud to have Ridgewood Country Club host this wonderful event. I know that Westchester had this event and has done a very good job in hosting this event. But as you will see at the conclusion on Sunday, Paramus and the Ridgewood Country Club will put on events that will rival none. The community at large is extremely excited to have this event here in Paramus and at the Ridgewood Country Club.
Today, we have a number of officials from the City of Paramus. We have people from the business community. We have our president of the Chamber of Commerce and our executive director of the Chamber of Commerce here so that they can show the support for this event. I have the deputy chief of our police department. We have the chief of our fire department. We have emergency preparedness director of the City of Paramus all here to show that Paramus is committed to making this event a premiere, outstanding event for Barclays, for the PGA, for FedEx but certainly for the players.
This will be an experience that the players on the PGA TOUR will talk about for a long time. There is no doubt in my mind that playing a course like this at this location, in this town, in this county and in this state, the people, the players when they leave here will say "What a wonderful event," "What a wonderful experience." We are going to make the players and their families feel like members of this community. They may be guests but when they leave, they'll say we feel like we belong to Paramus.
Part of what is so exciting as the leader of this community is the cooperation that we've already gotten from Ridgewood Country Club, from the PGA TOUR and from Barclays. One of the commitments and one of the major undertakings that Barclays has been known for is their ability to provide charitable funding for local agencies and charities. And I'm very thankful -- and I want to at this point thank Barclays for having such a community-minded charitable spirit and that this isn't only about the money and the TOUR but it is about the people.
Today Barclays will show that generosity to the City of Paramus, to one of our agencies. And out of that -- out of this event will be more generosity to other charitable organizations spread throughout this community and this county. And that's what really makes the difference. It's about the game, but it's about the commitment and the commitment that Barclays has for the City of Paramus and the County of Bergen and the State of New Jersey.
From a standpoint of what this means to the community and this area, we are the largest generator of taxes in the State of New Jersey. We are the number one retailing center by zip code in the nation. But what this means to the economic engine of our town, of our county and our state is another positive that is being generated out of this wonderful event.
As we put something together like this, there are always obstacles, there are always challenges. I've committed to Ridgewood Country Club. I've committed to the PGA TOUR and I'm committed to Barclays that we will work and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure that this goes as smoothly and as positively as we can make it from a city, community and borough perspective.
Having the Pro TOUR here for the first time -- and I've experienced this in the past when Ridgewood hosted the Senior event and an LPGA event. But having "the" TOUR and having the greatest players in the world come to this venue and walk this venue is, to me, just a remarkable feat from a standpoint of making it all happen.
Many people will be surprised when they come to this town and see this facility and say, "How does this facility exist in a town and a city like this eight miles from New York City?" You never know you are in the middle of a suburban area eight miles from New York City when you come out here to Ridgewood Country Club. That's what makes this place so unique.
So we're excited and we look forward to making this an experience that the fans, the players and the event leaders can be proud of and, I dare say, want to come back again for. Thank you all for having me here today.
At this time, I would like to turn it back over to Peter Mele. (Applause.)
PETER MELE: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Alex. I just wanted to at this time personally thank the two of them. They have fast become friends of the PGA TOUR and the Barclays. They've become stall worths and champions of the event, and I want to thank them personally for what they've done for us at this point and what I know they're going to provide support for us going forward over the next four months.
At this time, I would like to introduce our executive vice president of the PGA TOUR and championship management, Mr. Rick George. (Applause.)
RICK GEORGE: Thank you, Peter. I have been accused before as having an enthusiasm and passion and all that, but I can't hold a candle to this guy right here. You're all very lucky to have him as your mayor because I can tell you with that enthusiasm, it is going to make for a great event.
First, let me say how excited we are at the PGA TOUR about playing the Barclays at the famous Ridgewood Country Club in the great City of Paramus. I can tell you that there is a lot of enthusiasm back in Ponte Vedra and amongst our players about playing the Barclays here this August.
The enthusiasm of the Ridgewood Country Club leadership and the members for hosting the Barclays is contagious. We think it sets a tremendous stage for an exciting and compelling Barclays tournament that will be played here this August.
On behalf of our players and staff at the PGA TOUR, we want to thank everyone at Ridgewood Country Club, the membership, for allowing us to play at this historic site. It is an outstanding club as those of you that are here know. But those of you that don't, it is a tremendous club that has a great golf course.
And our players for the first time -- and David will probably explain this a little more in a minute -- will play a hybrid course that's never been played here. And we think it is going to set up for a real competitive challenge for our players but, also, that it's going to be an exciting golf course for the fans and spectators to watch golf. And to me that's exciting.
I am not sure if it is the fourth or the fifth hole, but a 294-yard par 4, that is going to be a lot of fun. And I can tell you the enthusiasm in the galleries out there are just going to be tremendous. But we're really excited about playing this golf course.
Also want to personally thank the mayor, Mayor Tedesco. Thank you so much for being here today. I think having him here today shows the commitment and the partnership that we will have with the Paramus borough, with the city, with the surrounding communities. To have him here today is a testament to that and we are really looking forward to building on our partnership for this year and beyond. And what you do for Peter and our staff we really appreciate very much.
Also want to thank Peter Truell to my left here and all the people at Barclays. What a great partner they've been with the PGA TOUR, not just here at this event, what they've done in golf and what they do giving back to the communities that they're in and the events that they host. They're a great partner.
We feel very fortunate that we will be with Barclays for the foreseeable future, and they are truly an outstanding partner. And I think you will see that as they start to come into their community with the number of guests that they will bring in.
As most of you know, and as the mayor as said, the Barclays will kick off the play-offs for the FedEx Cup. That's an important position in the schedule because it kicks off play-offs that culminate at the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in Atlanta four weeks -- or five weeks later now, I guess, with the Ryder Cup in between. The 18th through the 24th of August is an important time frame on our schedule and we expect that we'll have -- and we think it is important to this event that we have large galleries, we have enthusiastic crowds. And I know the mayor -- we've talked about that and we feel very strongly that the enthusiasm in the galleries that we will have will be outstanding and this event will kick off the play-offs in a way that will be significant, that a lot of the tournaments following will have to really duplicate because I think it's going to be a great crowd that's going to be very enthusiastic.
Before I announce the charity recipients and who will benefit from the Barclays being played in this area, I want to acknowledge Peter Mele to my left and his staff. This is the best-dressed group right here. You don't know (applause) -- yes, give them a round of applause. You don't know how good they are. They've -- they're outstanding. They run great events. Peter's leadership, Sandy, Marisa, Joe, Justin, John, all of them are just terrific people.
But everything that they do, I can guarantee you it will be first-class. You will be proud to be associated with it. They're great people, and they work tirelessly to make this event successful. And it is a great group, and I wanted you all to know that because you will get to know that over the next several months.
As you know, charity is a major focus on the PGA TOUR. It is something we take a lot of pride in. As a PGA TOUR, we give more money collectively to charity than all professional sports combined, and it is important for us. And when we come into a community like this, we like to leave the community better than when we got there and so we'll be giving money that comes from the benefit of having the tournament here. We'll donate money back to this community, and we think that's significant and we think that's important.
The mayor mentioned the economic impact that this event will have when Barclays brings in all their guests. When all of our players and their caddies and manufacturer reps and media from outside come in here, we think it will have a significant economic impact but also an impact from an exposure standpoint when you're broadcast on a television network and it is distributed to 125 countries around the world. We think that's significant as well.
But the biggest winners in all of this are the charitable recipients that will benefit from this event. And just to mention our primary charities list to date -- and it is still growing -- The Children's Aid and Family Services. And I think Bob Jones who is the president and C.E.O. -- is Bob here? Bob's here with John Kendriviv (ph), chairman of the board; Liz Mason; Madina (ph) Greer, director of development. Raise your hands. Great. I am glad you will be benefitting from this.
The Bergen Community College Civic Engagement Fund, I don't believe President Ryan is here but I know he had intended to, but I don't think he has been able to make it today.
West Bergen Mental Healthcare, Kevin Boswell who is a trustee. Kevin, are you here? We are glad you are on board as one of the partners.
And the charities are important to us because it is a way people in the community can identify through a charity their attendance and their support of the event, who it is going to benefit. Our partnership with -- it is a partnership with these charities as well.
The Ridgewood Education Foundation, Jim Morgan, the president, I believe, is here along with Rebecca Silvernagle (ph) who is the executive director. Great, thank you for being here.
The Valley Hospital Foundation, Ann Swenson, the president, is Ann here as well as Dennis Sullivan, who is the chairman of the board of trustees. Glad you're here. The Valley Hospital Ladies Auxiliary, I don't believe anybody is here is from that group.
The First Tee of Metropolitan New York.
And then the borough of Paramus volunteer firefighters.
As I said, charity is very important to us. To kick off the importance of this event and what it means to charity, we wanted to start that by presenting a check to the borough of Paramus volunteer fire department. I would like to ask the fire chief to come up here, please. We'd like to express our gratitude to you and what you do in this community.
I would like to have the mayor -- present you with the first $20,000 from this event. (Applause.)
Finally -- I know you probably have heard enough of me -- but I want to say thanks again to the membership at Ridgewood Country Club. You have all been terrific. I can tell you our staff every time I have come here from Arlene out front, to your members, to David, to everybody, the welcome has just been tremendous. It is overwhelming at times. We appreciate it.
Our staff, as you know, have offices here on-site now. We think having that partnership is real important. I want to thank Alex Khowaylo and the membership and everybody involved, the leadership has been tremendous. Mayor Tedesco, we want to say thank you for your support. Our friends at Barclays, Peter, thank you for allowing all of us to be here.
We want to thank all the media. We need you to tell the story about what we do, not only in golf but what we do in the local communities and we appreciate very much your support here today.
I know with bears running around and mayor having press conferences, there is a lot going on so we appreciate very much having all of you here today. Thank you. (Applause.)
PETER MELE: Thank you, Rick.
I would like to digress just a minute and introduce vice president Brian Gowan (ph). He is here from headquarters today. And also our communications manager, Chris Reimer, he is also here today. (Applause.)
Also would, like you to join me. There was a press release yesterday afternoon, and I wanted to have you join me and congratulating Mr. Rick George. He is the new chief operating officer of the PGA TOUR effective June 1st. (Applause.) It is a great gain for the TOUR and a real loss for us, the championship management.
You've heard from some of the constituents that we have here today, the club here, the host venue, the town and the mayor. It really has to be a partnership for it to work. Events like this do not happen just by our staff coming in and managing. We need the full cooperation of the entire community, the least of not which is the title sponsor. And Barclays, as Rick said, is one of the best on TOUR. I would argue they are the best on TOUR. They do not just sign their contract and show up one week out of the year. They are engaged 52 weeks of the year. I talk to them sometimes more than I talk to my boss, and that's a good thing because -- it is rumored, anyway.
They are involved with every aspect of the event, not just as it affects them but as it affects the volunteers, as it affects the club, as it affects the caddies, as it affect the players, the media. Those of you that have experienced the event the last few years understand that. Those of you who haven't are in for a treat. They are the best title sponsors on the PGA TOUR. Today with us is the head of the communications for the Americas, Mr. Peter Truell.
PETER TRUELL: Peter, thank you for that kind introduction. I'm thrilled to be here today on behalf of Barclays. And, first of all, I would like to thank the Ridgewood Country Club and particularly Mayor Tedesco. This is a wonderful day, and also you've averaged the best weather I've seen in a long time -- we've seen in a long time. It is really excellent to be here.
We are, at Barclays, very excited about our move to the Ridgewood Country Club. We believe that it will elevate the stature of our event and our leadership, particularly our president, Bob Diamond is excited. He's here a lot and I am sure you will be seeing a lot of him this summer. The president of Barclays Capital, our investment banking division, is based in New York and, indeed, the whole team of managing directors in New York, one of whom, Mike Donahue, is a member here at Ridgewood and is sad not to be here with us today but he sends his very best wishes.
We at Barclays -- you may not know this -- have quite a New Jersey connection. We have a large facility at Whippany up in Morris County where we have about 600 employees. And we have been involved with the Chamber of Commerce and so on. We have some standing in New Jersey.
Going back to golf, we're also -- you may know this -- the new and proud sponsors of Phil Mickelson, and we're thrilled to build our association with golf with him. You may know about our sponsorship of a couple of other big golf events around the world, particularly the Scottish Open, the Singapore Open. I think we have a video we will show you today of Phil talking about the event.
Perhaps we can roll the video.
PHIL MICKELSON (on video): Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Phil Mickelson. Although I'm not there to help kick off the Barclays at Ridgewood Country Club, on behalf of the PGA TOUR and myself, we are so excited about the opportunity to come to Paramus. I want to thank Mayor Tedesco and the entire membership at Ridgewood Country Club for not only inviting us but help making this tournament a huge success.
I can't think of a better, more historic golf course than Ridgewood Country Club to help kick off this year's FedEx Cup series. I am a little partial, too, given that my success in big tournaments has been much better in the New Jersey area than it has in the New York area. So, Mr. Diamond, thank you very much for being very considerate of that thought. And we'll look forward to seeing everybody in August. Thank you.
PETER TRUELL: Perhaps now I can introduce David Reasoner.
DAVID REASONER: Good morning. I am just going to briefly talk about the golf course that the PGA TOUR will be playing.
Ridgewood Country Club is truly a classic golf course, has a lot of great history. I will echo Alex Khowaylo's thoughts about the tradition here. The list of champions alone, dating back all the way to 1935, the Ryder Cup; 1974, the U.S. Amateur won by Jerry Pate; 1981 Kathy Whitworth, all-time winner on the LPGA won the Coca-Cola Classic. In 1990, Lee Trevino won the Senior Open. And in 2001, Tom Watson won the Senior PGA Championship.
I think the PGA TOUR and the players really do have an appreciation for the tradition, and they like to play these classic golf courses. And I am looking forward to being a part of that.
A.W. Tillinghast is the golf course architect. In 1927, he built 27 wonderful golf holes here at Ridgewood. We will be playing what we consider our championship golf course. And I truly feel it is the 18 best we have, and it flows very well. It is a par 71, 7,300 yards. Please keep in mind that there is a 291-yard par 4 in there. So the golf course will be long. That hole, just to touch on it a little bit, we consider that -- it is called the five and dime hole. And it is a top 500 hole in the world ranked by "Golf" magazine. It is also a part of "Sports Illustrated's"Tillinghast's Dream 18, which we have two holes here at Ridgewood that are part of that Dream 18 which we are very proud of because Tillinghast has put together some great golf courses. Number 13, par 5 is also a part of that and Number 5 as well.
They call it the five and dime hole because when the golf course was built, there was no such thing as a pitching wedge. They had a 10-iron. So you play a 5-iron off the tee and then you hit 10-iron into the green. That's where the hole was set up. In '90, Jack Nicklaus said, "I know why they call at no time five and dime hole because you either make a five or a ten." It is true. It is a very difficult hole.
I think it shows a lot of Tillinghast variety in holes, and it will give the players an opportunity to maybe take a risk that they normally wouldn't and go for the green from the tee or they can lay up and try to hit a pitch shot into a very small slick, well-bunkered green. That is going to be a wonderful place to watch golf during the week.
The variety of holes here that Tillinghast put together, that's just a great example. There is going to be a lot of long par 4s and some short ones. Each 9 has one long par 3 and one short par 3. I think the par 5s here at Ridgewood are some of the toughest par 5s the PGA TOUR will face. I really do. They did a great job of putting this together. The golf course itself, they're going to really enjoy the classic design. I think it is going to be a great test to golf, and I look forward to the best players in the world playing one of the best golf courses in the world. I think it will be a great week.
I will turn it over to Peter Mele to wrap it up. (Applause.)
PETER MELE: Thanks, David. I should mention that -- he would be too modest to mention it. But the two individuals that are primarily responsible for coming in with this routing are David and the course superintendent, Todd Rash (ph). It was not an easy feat to route this golf course to this championship layout that we have. And it is -- when you have a chance late in the summer and we bring you back to play the golf course, you'll see, this is a great, great 18 holes. It is a great walk. And it is just a fantastic, fantastic golf course.
It's going to be a true test, and I think coupled with the fact that the guys will be changing their shoes in the same locker room that the 1935 Ryder Cup did will be pretty cool. It is going to be a pretty special place to come in August.
At this time, I would like to open up to any questions.

Q. Peter, we already know what a great golf course this is. But the PGA TOUR players one of their favorite venue was Westchester because it was such a classic golf course. Do they know about the reputation of this? Have you had to do any kind of selling job coming here?
PETER MELE: I think the players do know about Ridgewood. One of the caddies, Joe LaCava, is a friend of a member and he has played here a bunch with the member. So I think the caddies are talking about it. I think they've heard tales of the golf course from Tom Watson, people like that. So I think there is a lot of buzz out on tour.
RICK GEORGE: I have talked to a number of players. After being here, I can tell you they know a lot about the history and the tradition of Ridgewood Country Club. I think once they come out and see it, I know there will be players that will be coming here throughout the course of the next three or four months to play in the tournament -- or to play the golf course the way they'll play it in August. I think as more players come and see it, you will see the enthusiasm grow amongst our players.

Q. Just, a followup, pace of play was a common issue at Westchester because of the layout. How is that going to be here?
RICK GEORGE: Just answer it again, myself, I think it will -- when you have a hole like number 4 -- is it 4? 5. We'll be cognizant of that, that there may be some guys that are trying to go for the green and that and will put out round times, but I think this course is not a real difficult golf course to walk. I think it will be great for spectators from that standpoint.
So I think there is a lot of positives. And my guess is, based on being at Westchester last year and being at Ridgewood this year, that you will see a better pace of play and a better flow of the players in the gallery and actually that's something that Peter and his team and Brian Gowan, who Peter mentioned a minute ago, we're taking great pains as we rope and stake the golf course that not only for the players but for the fans that there is an ease of seeing a lot of golf in la lot of different areas. And we think that we've got a pretty good strategy and plan in place for that.
PETER MELE: From our advance aeronomy team and competition staff, they really don't have much in the way of reservations about the pace of play here. They feel pretty good about it.

Q. Peter, you mentioned a hybrid course. Does that mean some of the holes from the east course will be used?
PETER MELE: Yeah, we're using all three 9s. We have holes from all three 9s. We start off on the east and play 1 through 4.
David, you might have to help me because I don't know your numbers.
DAVID REASONER: One through 4 east. Fifth hole will be the five and dime hole, which is 6 center. The 6th hole will be the third hole on center. The 7th hole will be what we call our cemetery hole, which is 4 center. The 8th hole is a par 3 downhill, which is 5 center. You'll cross over, for those of you who have played the golf course, and play 5 east as your 9th hole. Turn and make a right off that green, and 6 east will be the 10th hole. 7 east will be the 11th hole. 2 center -- make a left off the green, for those of you who have played the golf course, and 2 center will be the 12th hole. And then you will make a right off that green and Number 4 west through 9 west will finish the golf course.
There will be a quiz on that later for everybody paying attention. On the media kit we passed out, there is a hole by hole description as well as a course map of the composite course.
PETER MELE: It flows really well. The green-to-tee transitions are great. There are no extended transition areas which require a lot of walking between the greens and the tees. It is really pretty remarkable that it came together like this.

Q. (No microphone.)
PETER MELE: Yes, it was.
RICK GEORGE: It was the center west course with three holes from the east. This is a little bit different routing. We use 7 from the east, I think 5 from west and the rest are from center. It is a little more like what David said, a combination of probably the best 18 holes that we have.

Q. Rick, can you speak to what's been addressed since last year's FedEx Cup, particularly in terms of the number one player in the world playing the first event in the FedEx Cup? You would think because he will probably be missing these two events in May, it could influence him playing here.
RICK GEORGE: Well, I don't know if him missing these next few events will have an impact on that. We certainly think that -- we hope all the players, you know, will play all four events.
And the way we're scheduled this year now, as you're aware, we're not playing four in a row because of the way the Ryder Cup falls. So I think that will be beneficial to our players and their schedules.
And I can tell you that I believe our players will be pretty enthusiastic about playing at Ridgewood Country Club. I think they're going to find that the galleries that we'll have will be pretty significant, and I think there will be a lot of enthusiasm leading up to that.
So we've addressed the point system in the play-offs to make it more difficult to win the FedEx Cup if you don't play all four events. So I think from that standpoint, that's good. The way we've broken it up this year because of the Ryder Cup, I think, will be beneficial as well.

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