Where are they playing the 2023 BMW Championship? Course, field and predictions
The PGA Tour is heading to Illinois this week for the 2023 BMW Championship and it’s going to be quite the show with a number of major stars in the field.
Despite his back-to-back wins at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the Wyndham Championship, Lucas Glover isn’t among those who are favorites according to the odds. With that said, don’t be surprised if the American turns heads once again.
2023 BMW Championship: The Lay of the Land
With both the FedEx St. Jude Championship and Wyndham Championship behind us, this will be the second week of the FedExCup Playoffs with just 50 players in the field before we see the top 30 advance to next week’s TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. Rest assured this is going to be a determining moment in the season for many golfers out there. This is of course the first time that the BMW Championship will be played at the course in Illinois since 2020 when Jon Rahm secured a more than impressive walk-off playoff victory over Dustin Johnson in a battle between the then-No. 2 and No. 1 golfers in the world.
As for this year, Rahm enters as one of the clear favorites having already won the most events on the PGA Tour this season with four. He is the current leader in the FedExCup Standings despite his T37 at the recently concluded FedEx St. Jude Championship. Yet, there is also defending 2022 BMW Championship winner, Patrick Cantlay. Interestingly, Cantalay will be looking to make it three in a row this year, having won the tournament in 2021 as well when it was played at Caves Valley Golf Club. What’s more is that the former UCLA Bruin is fresh off a solid performance in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, as he finished runner-up to Glover in a playoff. Of course, there’s also Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy who have been having eye-opening seasons as well. This all to say the field is stacked, so expect a show.
Where is the 2023 BMW Championship?
The 2023 BMW Championship is set to run from August 17th - 20th and will be played at Olympia Fields Country Club (North), Illinois. With a purse of $20 million on offer, we can expect fireworks on the course.
A bit about the course at Olympia Fields
Designed by Willie Park Jr. in 1923, and renovated by Mark Mungeam in 2013, the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club is a 7,366-yard par-70 with two par-5s, four par-3s and 12 par-4s. To be clear, eight of the 12 par-4s are at least 440 yards, and both par-5s are over 600 yards, meaning distance off the tee will be of significant importance for all involved this week. Overall, there are 91 bunkers at the North Course, and water is in play on eight of the 18 holes. This is a course with a great deal of history, having hosted four men’s major championships (the 1928 and 2003 U.S. Opens and the 1925 and 1961 PGA Championships) along with the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the 2015 U.S. Amateur (won by Bryson DeChambeau) and the 1997 U.S. Senior Open.
2023 BMW Championship: The Odds
Below you can see the odds for the entire field at the 2023 BMW Championship: