BMW CHAMPIONSHIP.

The penultimate event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs.

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP.The penultimate event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs.

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP.

One of the best tournaments on the PGA TOUR.

As the penultimate tournament on the PGA TOUR calendar, the BMW Championship has always enjoyed a high profile among the players and boasts one of the strongest fields at any golf tournament around the world. Only the top 70 in the FedExCup rankings qualify for the Playoff event, which BMW has supported as main and title sponsor since 2007. The venue does change regularly, but Chicago, the home of the Western Golf Association (WGA) who organise the event, has hosted the tournament most frequently. The BMW Championship continues the tradition of the Western Open, which was first held by the WGA back in 1899. In 2021, the BMW Championship will take place in the region of Baltimore. The prestigious tournament will be played from 23^rd to 29^th August at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owing Mills.

www.bmwchampionship.com

PAR 4.

Wissenswertes zur BMW Championship.

Tradition.

Charity.

PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year.

Record winners.

Tradition.

In 2007, the season in which the FedExCup Playoffs were introduced, one of the most iconic PGA TOUR tournaments was given a new name: BMW Championship. Previously, the tournament hosted by the Western Golf Association was known as the Western Open. It was held for the first time in 1899, which makes it the third-oldest tournament still being held on the PGA TOUR, after the Open (1860) and the U.S. Open (1895). The winner of the BMW Championship is presented with two trophies: the traditional J.K. Wadley Trophy – a challenge cup – and the BMW Trophy, which they get to keep.

Charity.

All net proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit Western Golf Association’s Charity, the Evans Scholars Foundation, which provides full housing and tuition college scholarships to hardworking young caddies. Since the tournament’s inception in 2007, the BMW Championship has raised more than $35 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation. For the 2019-2020 academic year, a record 1,000 caddies attended 18 major colleges and universities on Evans Scholarships. Currently there are more than 11,500 Evans Scholarship alumni nationwide.

PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year.

In 2014, the BMW Championship, which was held at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver (Colorado), dominated the headlines once again. The penultimate event of the playoffs was named “PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year” for the third consecutive year – an achievement that remains unmatched to this day. The BMW Championship tournaments previously received the accolade of “PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year” at Conway Farms Golf Club (Chicago, Illinois, 2013), Crooked Stick Golf Club (Indianapolis, Indiana, 2012) and Bellerive Country Club (St. Louis, Missouri, 2008)

Record winners.

Americans Tiger Woods (2007, 2009) and Dustin Johnson (2010, 2016) are the only two pro golfers to have won the BMW Championship twice. The record winner of the Western Open, as the BMW Championship was called between 1899 and 2006, is Walter Hagen (USA) with five titles (1916, 1921, 1926, 1927, 1932). Woods won the Western Open in 1997, 1999 and 2003 in addition to his two BMW Championship victories, which also brings him to a total of five tournament wins.

FUTURE VENUES.

Caves Valley Golf Club.

The 2021 BMW Championship will be played at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, a suburb northwest of Baltimore, from August 23-29. The 2021 event will mark the first time the BMW Championship has been held in Maryland.

Designed by nationally-acclaimed golf course architect Tom Fazio, Caves Valley is situated on 962 acres of rolling hills, pastures, woods, and wetlands, forming a spectacular setting for an 18-hole course that has consistently been ranked one of the top courses in the United States by Golf Digest.

In 2002, Caves Valley hosted the U.S. Senior Open. In addition, the club has hosted the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur, the NCAA Division I Men's (2005) and Women's Golf Championships (2009), the AJGA Cannon Cup (twice), and the Palmer Cup in 2007. Caves Valley also hosted the inaugural LPGA International Crown in 2014.

Wilmington Country Club.

The 2022 BMW Championship will be played on the South Course at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware. While official dates have not been announced, the event is scheduled to be held in late August of 2022. The 2022 tournament will mark the first time the PGA TOUR has played an event in Delaware.

Wilmington Country Club was established in 1901, with its original 18 holes covering 135 acres. The club relocated in the 1950s, bringing in renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design the South Course, which opened in 1959. Playing over 7,500 yards from the championship tees, the South Course has been recognized as one of the United States’ best golf courses by Golf Digest.

While this will be Wilmington Country Club’s first professional event, the club has long been a proving ground for the world’s best amateur players. After hosting the 1913 U.S. Women’s Amateur on what is now known as the “Old Course,” Wilmington has hosted five other USGA events, including the 1965 and 1978 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1971 U.S. Amateur, the 1978 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2003 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Highlights 2020.

This year’s BMW Championship may have had to take place behind closed doors, and thus without the fantastic atmosphere that has become a familiar feature of the event, but fans were still treated to a top-class event on TV and social media channels. This was partly down to the set-up on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club. The 70 best players in the world were set a worthy challenge: only the U.S. Open, traditionally the toughest major of the year, is played on a more testing course. The sporting challenge for the game’s elite was broadcast in stunning images around the world. The highlight video is definitely worth checking out. To do so, simply click on the “Play” button in the image on the right.

REVIEW.

In 2020, the BMW Championship took place at Olympia Fields Country Club (Chicago, USA). The battle at the top of the leaderboard developed into a real thriller, with Jon Rahm (ESP) and Dustin Johnson (USA) – the top two players in the world rankings – going head to head in a dramatic play-off. In the end, it was Rahm who lifted the coveted trophy, following a 20-metre putt for birdie and victory on the first extra hole. Prior to that moment, the course had really put the top 70 players in the FedExCup through their paces. Only five players remained under par on the demanding North Course. Despite losing out in the play-off, Dustin Johnson was the outstanding player in the PGA TOUR Playoff series. One week after the BMW Championship, he took victory at the TOUR Championship to win the FedExCup for the first time in his career. Johnson’s record at the three Playoff tournaments in 2020 is the best in the history of the competition: first, second, first.

FEDEXCUP.

The playoffs are the highlight of the PGA TOUR. Over the course of the season, the world’s top golfers score points towards the FedExCup ranking, with only the best qualifying for the final three tournaments. The field is reduced after each of these playoffs. Only the top 70 tee off at the BMW Championship, with 30 places at the season finale – the TOUR Championship – at stake.

FedExCup Standings

More information on the BMW Championship:

bmwchampionshipusa.com

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP.

The penultimate event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs.