Commerce Bank Championship Winner Praises Red Course as "Deal of the Century"

Loren Roberts, who won this year's Commerce Bank Championship at the Eisenhower Red golf course, told Newsday the Red is "the deal of the century" when he learned about the fees, which range from $22 (weekdays for senior citizens who are Nassau County residents) to $49 (non-residents on weekends).

The course, played at 7,082 yards for the tournament, came in for plenty of praise from the pros during the three-day tournament, which ended June 29 and drew thousands of spectators. Roberts described the Red as a deceptively tough course, telling Newsday "it's got plenty of length.You've got some wind out there and the greens are just flat enough that they're tricky." Defending champ Lonnie Nielsen, who finished third this year, ranked the Red as "one of the few favorites" among players on the Champions Tour.

Over the three rounds of golf on the par-71 course, Roberts finished 12 under, one stroke ahead of Nick Price and Lonnie Nielsen. Roberts collected $240,000 for his victory. Last year, Roberts was the recipient of the Charles Schwab Cup, given to the leading player on the Champions Tour.

The Red course has a storied history, having been designed by prominent golf architect Devereux Emmet in 1914 and having hosted PGA championships as far back as 1926. Newsday has ranked the Red course No. 4 among its top 10 public golf course on Long Island and the Long Island Press has included the larger Eisenhower Park golf facility among its “Best of Long Island” public courses.

The Eisenhower Park golf facility, which includes three 18-hole courses, is one of the busiest and finest public courses in the New York metropolitan area. A second championship-level course, the White, was designed by Robert Trent Jones, a major 20th-century architect of American courses. Jones also designed the third 18-hole course at Eisenhower, the Blue.