The BMW Championship returns to the south suburbs of Chicago as the top 50 players remaining in the FedEx Cup standings tee it up at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois.
This week is the final FedEx Playoff event before the Tour wraps up its season next week in Atlanta for the TOUR Championship. The four-day, individual stroke play event will feature no cut and begins on Thursday, August 17th, and concludes on Sunday, August 20th.
Patrick Cantlay has won the last two versions of the BMW Championship, both played at different courses. Last season, Cantlay held on to defeat Scott Stallings by one shot, shooting a total score of 270 (14-under) at the Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware.
The purses for this year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs have been elevated with a $20 million dollar purse for the first two legs of the playoffs. The winner will take home $3.6 million of that total. Following the BMW Championship, the top 30 remaining players will advance to East Lake for the TOUR Championship.
Check out the full BMW Championship 2023 odds over on Bookmaker
Major Tournament Setting at Olympia Fields Country Club
Olympia Fields Country Club welcomes back the BMW Championship for the second time in four years, and the historic venue has hosted four past major tournaments (two PGA Championships, two U.S. Opens). There are two courses on the property, with the North Course being played this week. Ranked as one of the top layouts in Chicago, the North Course is consistently ranked as one of the top tracks in the United States.
The course was designed by Willie Park Jr., a two-time winner of the Open Championship in 1915. The course was lengthened in 2003 prior to the U.S. Open and now plays as a par-70 that stretches over 7,300 yards.
Notable Names Amongst Strong Field
This late in the season, all the top players in the world are in action this week. Headlining the list of participants this week includes nine of the top 10 players in the official world golf rankings. The top three players in the FedEx Cup standings, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, and Rory McIlroy, headline the list of pros.
Two players earned a spot in this week’s field after starting the FedEx St. Jude Championship outside the top 50. Cam Davis finished T6 to climb 17 spots from 62 to 45. Hideki Matsuyama moved up from 57th to 47th after firing a final round of 65 to finish T16.
The final three spots in the field went to Tom Hoge (48th), Harris English (49th), and Patrick Rodgers (50th), while Eric Cole (42nd) is the only PGA Tour rookie to advance to Olympia Fields.
BMW Championship Betting Favorites
McIlroy (+700 at BetOnline) comes into the week as the pre-tournament betting favorite as he tries to win his fourth FedEx Cup title. The 34-year-old finished T3 last week in Memphis, his eighth-straight finish inside the top 10.
Scheffler (+750) also is a betting favorite as he tried to get back into the winner’s circle for the first time since winning The PLAYERS in April. Scheffler’s T31 in Memphis was his worst finish in a PGA Tour event since a T45 at the CJ Cup last October.
In 2020, the last time the BMW Championship was played here, Rahm (+1000) took home the title. The Spaniard looks to rekindle the magic this week as he tries for his fifth win of the year.
Cantlay (+1100) and Viktor Hovland (+1600) round out the top five. Cantlay looks for three in a row at this event, while Hovland tried to ride the momentum of a T13 finish last week.
