After the BMW Championship — and the other three tournaments in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup playoffs — received a 1-2 punch the last couple of weeks, the PGA Championship produced some very welcome positive news for the Tour stop coming to Cherry Hills Country Club Sept. 4-7.
After all, the BMW Championship will feature the winner of two consecutive major championships — the last two majors of 2014. And so if Tiger Woods didn’t qualify for the playoffs and Dustin Johnson is out after announcing a “leave of absence”, having a phenom like Rory McIlroy (left) in the field softens the blow considerably.
McIlroy on Sunday won the PGA Championship, making him the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2008 to claim consecutive men’s major titles. And, if that weren’t enough, the 25-year-old McIlroy became the third-youngest player — behind Woods and Jack Nicklaus — to have won at least four majors as the Grand Slam events are currently configured. In addition, McIlroy is a very likable character.
That adds up to some serious star power, whether Woods is on hand or not.
“The excitement level has just multiplied by 100,” Cherry Hills head professional John Ogden said Monday as the BMW Championship held its annual media day. “Obviously, you don’t see this kind of golf come around very often. Personally I can’t wait for (McIlroy) to come here and compete at Cherry Hills and in Colorado. As they keep saying on the television and in the media, it’s a passing of the torch (among golf’s all-time greats). You’re seeing something we didn’t think we’d see again in our lifetime. So I can’t be more excited.”
And it should be noted, of course, that one of McIlroy’s nine PGA Tour victories came at the 2012 BMW Championship. That event was named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year. The top 10 that week featured McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Woods, Johnson, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Lee Westwood.
“We’ve been busy preparing for those top 70 players in the world, and now we’re starting to get a feel for who they are and what they look like,” 2014 BMW Championship general chairman George Solich said Monday. “We’re super excited about what this field looks like.”
The top 125 players in the FedExCup season-long point standings following this week’s Wyndham Cup will qualify for the The Barclays in Paramus, N.J., Aug. 21-24. The top 100 after The Barclays will go to the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton Mass., Aug. 29-Sept. 1. The top 70 after that advance to Cherry Hills, and the top 30 following the BMW Championship make the Tour Championship Sept. 11-14.
Through the PGA Championship, the top five players on the FedExCup points list are McIlroy (2,582 points), Jimmy Walker (2,493), Masters champion Bubba Watson (2,172), Matt Kuchar (1,921) and Jim Furyk (1,851).
Other notables in the top 70 currently are Sergio Garcia (seventh, 1,699), Jordan Spieth (eighth, 1,692), U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer (13th, 1,525), Scott (14th, 1,479), Rickie Fowler (15th, 1,471), Kent Denver graduate Kevin Stadler (30th, 1,066), Mickelson (42nd, 921) and Henrik Stenson (67th, 720).
Walker led the FedExCup standings for 30 consecutive weeks, but McIlroy took over the top spot with his victory Sunday at the PGA Championship.
But there’s obviously plenty of juggling that will take place in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills. To prove the point, McIlroy moved from 42nd place less than a month ago to first now thanks to three consecutive victories (British Open, Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship).
Officials Say BMW Championship Could Attract 140,000 Fans for the Week: Even though spectators can’t attend BMW Championship activities until a Tuesday (Sept. 2), and that ticket sales for any given day are limited to 27,000, tournament officials are hoping that the event at Cherry Hills draws more than 140,000 fans for the week.
“We do expect to see maybe over 140,000 fans for the week,” general chairman George Solich said.
Tickets are still available for the event (CLICK HERE). But as Vince Pellegrino, the senior vice president for tournaments for the WGA, which runs the BMW Championship, noted, “Especially after this past weekend (at the PGA Championship), people are buying them up left and right, which is great.”
How Cherry Hills Will be Set Up for BMW Championship: Various details about how Cherry Hills will play for the BMW Championship have been solidified. Though yardages will vary slightly day to day, the course will play about 7,352 yards for the tournament. It will be a par 34-36–70 layout, with no par-5s on the scorecard until No. 11. Holes 5 and 18 (left), which play as par-5s for members, will be par-4s for the PGA Tour players.
The rough will be 3 inches deep, albeit very thick Bluegrass. Greens will run about 11-11.5 on the Stimpmeter. And eight holes will feature fairways that are “pinched-in” compared to how they played for the U.S. Amateur in 2012: Nos. 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 16 and 18.
“Three inches (of rough) is going to present them a lot of problems,” Ogden said. “It’s just so dense. I’ve had lies out there this year where you just barely miss the fairway … I don’t care who it is — Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, whoever — you’re going to have a hard time hitting the ball anywhere out of that stuff. The ball has a tendency to go to the bottom. That’s always going to be a challenge.”
Added Solich: “With all the rain we’ve had, (the rough) has got some teeth. There’s no doubt about it.”
Ogden predicts that if weather is typical for that time of year, the winning score will be between 264 and 268, or 12-16 under par.
Hoping for Hefty Bottom Line for Evans Caddie Scholarship: The Evans Scholars Foundation, which sends needy and qualified caddies to college with full tuition and housing scholarships, is the sole charitable beneficiary of the BMW Championship. Just since 2007, when BMW became the title sponsor of the event, more than $16 million has been raised for the Evans Scholarship. Overall, the proceeds from the BMW Championship represent between 15-20 percent of the revenue raised for the Evans Scholarship, which currently has 14 scholarship houses nationwide, including one at the University of Colorado.
“So it’s a very important event from a charitable standpoint as well,” noted Solich, an Evans Scholar alum who graduated from CU in 1983.
Notable: Pellegrino said during tournament week, play will run from roughly 11:15 a.m.-6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. On each day of the event, rounds will begin off both the first and 10th tees. … With this being the BMW Championship, BMW automobile and motorcycle owners will have access to preferred parking (6145 Happy Canyon Road) and to a BMW owners tent on the course, near holes 8 and 14. … A total of almost 2,600 people have signed up as volunteers for the BMW Championship, with all openings having been filled. Ninety percent of the volunteers are from Colorado, though 40 other states and two other countries are represented. A wait-list for volunteer openings has been established at BMWChampionshipUSA.com. … Military personnel have been offered free tickets to the BMW Championship, with active duty, Reserve, military retirees and veterans able to obtain a complimentary ticket valid for any one day of the championship following advance verification of their military status. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, a total of 14,000 complimentary military tickets will be available: 5,000 for each of the practice rounds on Sept. 2-3 and 1,000 each day of the tournament rounds Sept. 4-7. The tickets may be ordered online at birdiesforthebrave.sheerid.com. The military tickets are complimentary, but a $1 verification fee does apply.
