Rosamond Cup: A Hole in One for Our Zoo

Fans of golf, wildlife, and community support, rejoice! September 15 is for you.

Supported by Tompkins Community Bank, the first-ever Rosamond Cup will happen on Monday, September 15, 2025 at the Tuscarora Golf Club in Marcellus, NY, just a few 7-iron drives away from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. The golf tournament will benefit the Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s mission to provide support to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo’s work of providing exceptional animal care, educating the public, and conserving the world’s wildlife. Participants can look forward to a day of great golf, fantastic food, and classic competitions, all while helping the zoo.

Kevin Joy, Vice President, Wealth Advisor at Tompkins Financial Advisors and frequent visitor of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, has been planning the event for months. Inspired by his appreciation for the zoo and the upcoming Ryder Cup, Joy created a special event that offers participants a unique chance to participate in a golf tournament that mimics the team-style competition of the Ryder Cup, with a bit of a wild flair. “The Rosamond Cup is going to be a good time for everyone involved and be a positive force for the zoo,” Joy describes.

As golf fans know, the Ryder Cup is one of the most anticipated professional golf competitions of the sport. Established in 1927, the Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition jointly hosted by the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) of America and Ryder Cup Europe (a partnership between the PGA European Tour, PGA of Great Britian and Ireland, and the PGAs of Europe). The Ryder Cup’s format offers the normally solitary sport of professional golf an exciting team element. Two twelve-person teams play against each other, with one group made up of players from the United States and the other from Europe. This year, the Ryder Cup will take place at the prestigious Bethpage Black State Park Golf Course in Farmingdale, NY, often described as one of the most challenging golf courses in the United States.

While the Rosamond Cup will include traditional match play with a shotgun start and captain-and-crew format, the tournament will also reflect the Ryder Cup by randomly dividing participants into two teams for competition: Team Elephant and Team Penguin.

The choice to designate each team as elephants and penguins emphasizes the zoo’s role in helping conserve these species. After all, the zoo’s herd of Asian elephants and colony of Humboldt penguins are among the zoo’s most popular animals. Perhaps what’s even more meaningful about Joy’s choice for Rosamond Cup teams, however, is that both elephants and penguins are social species. They live in family groups, relying on communal support from each other for protection, finding food, rearing offspring, and more. Sociality is a behavioral adaptation that both species share, highlighting the community aspect that is at the heart of the Rosamond Cup. According to Joy, Tompkins Community Bank is an institution that takes the “community” part of its name seriously. “We’re engrained in the communities we serve,” he explains, “And committed to finding those opportunities to do good. The zoo is such an important resource for our CNY area, so it only made sense to find a way to partner with the Friends of the Zoo so we can deepen the positive impact both our organizations have on our community.”

Another unique opportunity offered at the Rosamond Cup will be a closest to the pin (KP) contest featuring Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) members and hopefuls through a partnership with BackSwing events. That means participants would have the chance to test their tee shots by trying to get their ball closer to the hole than professional-level golfers. This is your shot (yes, golf pun intended!) to compete with high-level players. Other contests, such as longest drive, are planned to take place. No matter which part of the game is your strongest suit, there’s sure to be a contest for you!

Participants will also enjoy lunch before teeing off and a banquet dinner, during which winners’ prizes will be awarded. Because the tournament’s proceeds will support the zoo’s mission, Joy explains, you don’t have to have the lowest score or the best putt to come away from the day feeling like a winner. “We’ve worked hard to give everyone a fun day, and at the end of it all, everyone feels good about supporting the zoo. The tournament takes place on a Monday. What better way can you think of kicking off your work week than with golf that helps animals?”

The Rosamond Cup, supported by Tompkins Community Bank, will take place thanks to the following sponsors: Nave Law Firm (presenting sponsor), Falk Precision Inc (presenting sponsor), NBT Bank (presenting sponsor), OneGroup Retirement Advisors (presenting sponsor), Coca-Cola (banquet sponsor), and Paul de Lima Coffee (beverage cart sponsor).