BMW Championship (PGA Tour)
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lake Forest, Illinois (2015) |
| Established |
2007 1899, 117 years ago as Western Open |
| Course(s) | Conway Farms Golf Club (2015) |
| Par | 71 in 2015 |
| Length | 7,149 yards (6,537 m) in 2015 |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $8.5 million |
| Month played | September |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate |
262 Tiger Woods (2007) 262 Jason Day (2015) |
| To par | as above |
| Current champion | |
 Jason Day | |
The BMW Championship is a professional golf tournament which is the third of four FedEx Cup playoff events on the PGA Tour schedule. Introduced in 2007, the BMW Championship was previously known as the Western Open. The Western Golf Association, which founded and ran the Western Open, runs the BMW Championship. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the PGA Tour named the BMW Championship its Tournament of the Year.[1]
Tournament format
The BMW Championship is open to the top 70 PGA Tour golfers following the Deutsche Bank Championship. Only 70 players qualify for the event, therefore there is no cut after two days. FedEx Cup points amassed during the regular PGA Tour season and then during the two preceding playoff events determine the participants. The top 30 FedEx Cup points leaders following the BMW Championship advance to The Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup Champion will be determined.[2]
The BMW Championship was primarily held at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. In 2008, it was held in Missouri at Bellerive Country Club in Town and Country, a suburb west of St. Louis. In 2012, the Ryder Cup was contested at nearby Medinah Country Club, and the championship was moved to Indiana at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, north of Indianapolis. It was contested in Colorado in 2014 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, a suburb south of Denver.[3]
At the 2015 BMW Championship, played at the Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois September 17–20, Jason Day scored a personal record of 61 (−10) during the first round.[4]
Western Open
- For a detailed history of this event, including a list of its champions, see Western Open.
The Western Open was first played 117 years ago in 1899. For many years, the Western was played in and out of the state of Illinois, before eventually settling down in the greater Chicago area. The Western Golf Association (WGA) ran the Western Open throughout its entire history (1899–2006), and continues to run the tournament under its new title. These are, however, two entirely different events in terms of playing format and invitational criteria. The Western Open was like any other regular PGA Tour stop – although it was once considered to be one of golf's majors. Its invitational criteria mirrored the PGA Tour Exemption Categories with one exception - the winner of the Western Amateur, another WGA-sponsored event, was invited to play in the Western Open. The BMW Championship is part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and only the top 70 FedEx Cup points leaders at the start of the BMW event will be eligible to play.
Winners
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Course | Location | Purse ($) | Winner's share ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Jason Day | Australia | 262 | −22 | 6 strokes |  Daniel Berger | Conway Farms Golf Club | Lake Forest, Illinois | 8,250,000 | 1,485,000 |
| 2014 | Billy Horschel | United States | 266 | −14 | 2 strokes | Bubba Watson | Cherry Hills Country Club | Cherry Hills Village, Colorado | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2013 | Zach Johnson | United States | 268 | −16 | 2 strokes | Nick Watney | Conway Farms Golf Club | Lake Forest, Illinois | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2012 | Rory McIlroy |  Northern Ireland | 268 | −20 | 2 strokes | Phil Mickelson Lee Westwood | Crooked Stick Golf Club | Carmel, Indiana | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2011 | Justin Rose | England | 271 | −13 | 2 strokes | John Senden | Cog Hill Golf & Country Club | Lemont, Illinois | 8,000,000 | 1,440,000 |
| 2010 | Dustin Johnson | United States | 275 | −9 | 1 stroke | Paul Casey | Cog Hill Golf & Country Club | Lemont, Illinois | 7,500,000 | 1,350,000 |
| 2009 | Tiger Woods (2) | United States | 265 | −19 | 8 strokes | Jim Furyk Marc Leishman | Cog Hill Golf & Country Club | Lemont, Illinois | 7,500,000 | 1,350,000 |
| 2008 | Camilo Villegas |  Colombia | 265 | −15 | 2 strokes | Dudley Hart | Bellerive Country Club | Town and Country, Missouri | 7,000,000 | 1,260,000 |
| 2007 | Tiger Woods | United States | 262 | −22 | 2 strokes | Aaron Baddeley | Cog Hill Golf & Country Club | Lemont, Illinois | 7,000,000 | 1,260,000 |
References
- ↑ "2013 BMW Championship Earns PGA Tour's Tournament of the Year Honor" (Press release). BMW Group. October 12, 2013.
- ↑ "FedEx Cup 101". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
- ↑ "Cherry Hills to host 2014 BMW Championship". PGA Tour. April 12, 2011.
- ↑ Martin, Sean (September 18, 2015). "Day's 59 bid comes up short, leads by four". PGA Tour.
External links
- Official website
- Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
- Official site of the Western Golf Association
- BMW signs six-year deal - includes details of course rotation
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Coordinates: 39°38′35″N 104°57′47″W / 39.643°N 104.963°W