Ex-Lehman M&A Chief `Chainsaw' Helps Bring Golf Playoffs to N.J. - Bloomberg

A caddie as a youth in Philadelphia, Zoidis has been Plainfield’s tournament coordinator for PGA Tour playoffs for the past six years. “I loved what I did on Wall Street, but I was ready to start a new chapter in my life,” Zoidis said in an interview. Zoidis, who has a 3. 8 handicap, has been a long-time supporter of golf, and in 2009 helped create the First Tee program at Plainfield to promote youth involvement in the game. Plainfield, about 45 miles from Manhattan, was the first country club in the U. S. to become a First Tee facility. Barclays Rotation Plainfield four years ago joined a rotation of New York-area clubs for the Barclays that includes New York’s Bethpage Black and newly added Glen Oaks, and fellow New Jersey courses Liberty National and Ridgewood, partly because... “We always liked the golf course, but I felt it was going to be pretty difficult to stage,” said Peter Mele, executive director of the Barclays tournament. Zoidis helped oversee the removal of more than 1,000 trees, following the path of venerable major championship sites such as Oakmont, Winged Foot, Olympic and Baltusrol in attempting to recapture their architectural heritage. Source: www.bloomberg.com