Craig Thomas didn’t know what to expect when he arrived at Liberty National Golf Club for the first time two months ago.
Thomas, a Marine Corps veteran from 1982-86 and the head golf professional at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains since 2007, was competing in the first Liberty Cup, a unique tournament that features all five branches of the military — the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.
In celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Liberty National Golf Club in early May hosted the event, founded by its owner, Dan Fireman, to be aired on the Golf Channel from 3 to 5 p.m. on July 4.
“I’ve played a lot of golf in a lot of tournaments, and I hadn’t played with many players this good,’’ the 63-year-old Thomas said, marveling at the talent in the Veteran Golfers Association, from which the field of players was made. “There was this young man named Travis Bryant who I was paired with. I hadn’t played with anybody who was that good, and hit it as well as him who wasn’t already on tour.’’
Bryant served as an Army combat veteran for five years and was on one of the last planes out of Afghanistan and is now a golf professional.
“The Liberty Cup is more than a golf tournament,’’ Josh Peyton, president and CEO of the VGA, said. “It is a celebration of the men and women who have served our country and the bonds that continue long after military service ends.’’
The idea for the event was hatched by Dan Fireman, whose father, Paul, who founded and developed Liberty National, served in the Army.
“He was always proud that he did his duty and did his service,’’ Dan Fireman said of his dad.
“The idea was to focus on America’s 250th anniversary and use this event as a way to tell the story of the military and also tell the story of golf.”
Liberty National has hosted PGA Tour events, LPGA Tour events, a Presidents Cup and has the BMW Championship coming in 2027. And Fireman called his experience hosting this event “the tops.’’
“It blew my mind,’’ he said. “I’ve not been in the military, so I felt like I learned a lot about the military — about the sense of community and culture. With the storytelling, the depth of the history of the military, the different branches of armed services — I just felt like this has a lot of opportunity to become a real mainstay of Liberty.
“There was also a sense of appreciation for being there that I really loved.’’
One of those who loved it was Thomas.
“Meeting a lot of the guys was a highlight for me,’’ Thomas said. “There’s a small percentage of guys at that competitive level in the VGA who served around my time or before me. Most of them are more recent — people who served in a lot of these conflicts recently, whether it’s Afghanistan or wherever.
“It’s really interesting to be around them and hear some of the stuff they went through. Just to be around the guys, there’s a lot of camaraderie there. You’re meeting guys who went through a lot of the same stuff, which I’m sure is very helpful to them in their lives. It’s been a great experience.’’