New Jersey deserves credit

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PARAMUS, N.J. -- I think that it is time for New Jersey to get its due. After all, it has been sitting right across the river from the cultural and business hub of the universe for more than 200 years and still the state is the brunt of countless jokes. You would think being that close to greatness would rub off at least a little. I know that when I stand next to Tiger I stand a little taller and suck in my stomach.

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So the PGA TOUR this week is helping Jersey do just that this week. If you just got a Tony-Soprano-without-hit-shirt image I am sorry. Actually, Barclays deserves a lot of credit here and I would image the good people at Ridgewood would like a nod as well. Other than for two U.S. Opens and one PGA Championship at Baltusrol, the last time the PGA TOUR visited New Jersey was in 1970 for the Dow Jones Open. Most of the time players fly into Jersey only to drive through a tunnel or cross a bridge to get to somewhere else.

Now, there was a Champions Tour event in Atlantic City in 1980 which makes a certain amount of sense. Atlantic City is like no other place on the planet. It is half Myrtle Beach and half Pluto with casinos and a bad haircut. If Donald Trump can't make money in the gambling industry an hour from New York City then they ought to call the whole thing off and put up another Dollywood. Even young people on the boardwalk dress like they are 75 and removed all the mirrors from their houses during the Nixon administration.

When the players heard that The Barclays was going to move to New Jersey there were certainly a lot of questions. Although Westchester was never the most convenient tournament on the PGA TOUR the golf course and its rich history made up for it. Besides, the food in player dining was exquisite. In Ridgewood, though, the PGA TOUR has found a storied A.W. Tillinghast course that has hosted a Ryder Cup and two Champions Tour majors.

Obviously the players wanted to know the most convenient airport. They wanted to know how far it is from Paramus into Manhattan. They wanted to know how much change to put in their golf bags in case there was a toll every three holes. And finally they wanted to know if anyone could get them on Pine Valley. It seems that everyone on the planet has played PV but no one can tell you exactly where it is. I'm not sure it is in New Jersey at all.

Golf in Jersey has suffered right along with the rest of the state in terms of an identity crisis. Think about the number of majors that have been played right across the river with a New York zip code. Bethpage is a municipal course and is about to host the U.S. Open for the second time in less than a decade. I am not saying that it is undeserving but that just has to get under New Jersey's skin a little bit.

Shinnecock Hills has certainly had its fair share of notoriety lately, too. And then there is its cousin, The National Golf Links of America, that I have got to play before it falls into the ocean. Winged Foot is one of the most acclaimed courses in the world and it's only a stone's throw from New Jersey.

But this week New Jersey stands on its own in the golf world. The gateway to the FedExCup runs north on the Garden State Parkway. So what if you have to fill up with quarters and stop every four minutes to pay a toll. A terrific venue on a classic design awaits the first tee shots of the Playoffs.

Yes, New Jersey golf can stand a little taller this week knowing that it pulled a coup from its more famous neighbor. The FedExCup starts here regardless of what one player said last week after a terrific finish at the Wyndham Championship moved him into the Playoffs: "I was planning on going home but it looks like I am going to New York." I bet if he wins he will remember where he hoisted that trophy.