Rory McIlroy noted the distances matter-of-factly. In 27 holes of practice and pro-am play at Cherry Hills Country Club, he’s smacked a 3-wood 370 yards, hit 3-wood more than driver off the tee in taking aim at the 346- and 333-yard first and third holes, and gone 3-wood then 8-iron into a 526-yard hole.
Such is the way it is for the No. 1 golfer in the world — and player No. 3 in the PGA Tour driving distance statistic, averaging 310.4 yards.
“It’s funny: This course doesn’t really allow you to hit it that far,” McIlroy said Wednesday after participating in the pro-am for the BMW Championship, which begins Thursday. “There’s not many opportunities where you can just hit driver and see how far it goes. You really need to place your ball in the fairway here.
“But the fall is going forever (because of the mile-high altitude). Because of my high ball flight, it’s going a good 15 percent further than it usually does.”
Which is a remarkable feat considering how long the Irishman normally hits it.
The winner of the last two major championships, McIlroy is not only the player to beat each time he tees it up these days, but he’s a crowd favorite. At 25 years old, he’s the third-youngest player — behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus — to have won at least four majors as the Grand Slam events are currently configured.
But McIlroy is far from the only 20-something to be excelling these days. In fact, there are a half-dozen players under 30 currently residing in the top 20 in the World Rankings: 1. McIlroy (25 years old); 6. Jason Day (26); 11. Rickie Fowler (25); 12. Martin Kaymer (29); 14. Jordan Spieth (21); and 18. Hideki Matsuyama (22).
“I think (young players consistently being in contention and/or winning), that sort of makes (other young players) believe that they can do the same thing,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s great to see that there’s younger guys winning on Tour, and it only bodes well for the future of this game. I’m glad I’m the leader of that pack, and hopefully I’m the leader of the pack for the next 20 years as well.”
Added Keegan Bradley, another 20-something (28) who’s won a major championship: “We are part of the generation that (grew up) watching Tiger Woods play, and we watched him only talk about winning and coming out on Tour and wanting to win right away. I think you’re seeing now the influence of Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour and my generation of golfers. We didn’t come out on Tour scared of anybody. We were very respectful of the players, but Tiger kind of taught us to come with a mindset of winning.”
And, so far anyway, McIlroy is the most special of the 20-somethings.
Despite his skill and length — and that of other top players — McIlroy doesn’t see Cherry Hills getting ripped-up, score-wise, this week.
“All you need to do for a difficult golf course is get the greens firm and get the rough up — which they have done here,” he said. “You won’t see guys going crazy under par. You’ll still see some pretty low scores out there … but they can make it as tough as they want. There’s still a bit of bite there. … I think you’re going to see maybe 63, 64s, (but) I don’t think you’re going to see much lower than that this week.”
Contest Winners Paired With Holmes in Pro-Am: Andy Harwood and Pete Knutson of Denver, and Mike Stolze of Greenwood Village — winners of a CGA-run contest for BMW Championship pro-am spots (CLICK HERE) — were paired together for Wednesday’s Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am at Cherry Hills with PGA Tour player J.B. Holmes. The pro-am spots the players (left) won were worth $12,000 apiece.
Holmes, winner of three PGA Tour events including the 2014 Wells Fargo Championship, is No. 5 on the Tour in average driving distance at 307.4 yards.
Also among the amateurs playing in the pro-am Wednesday were Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway (paired with fellow former Bronco John Lynch and professional Russell Knox), former Denver Nuggets standout Chauncey Billups (with Ernie Els), and CGA executive director Ed Mate (with three-time 2013-14 PGA Tour winner Jimmy Walker).
With many Evans Scholar alumni caddying in the pro-am and donating their earnings to the scholarship, among the loopers Wednesday was BMW Championship general chairman George Solich. Solich, a 1983 Evans Scholar alum from CU, caddied for Elway. (At left, Elway and Solich chat with contestant Jordan Spieth on Wednesday.)
According to the Western Golf Association, one contestant tipped his caddie $10,000, an amount that was subsequently given to the Evans Scholars Foundation.
Mahan Enthused about Evans Scholars: Hunter Mahan, whose hole-in-one last year in the BMW Championship resulted in a BMW Hole-in-One Scholarship being awarded to Melyzjah Smith, spoke Wednesday about playing a part in a caddie receiving an Evans Scholarship. Smith, from Aurora, is a sophomore at the CU Evans Scholar house (READ MORE HERE).
“I got to meet the Evans Scholarship winner (Smith) and the fact that she’s going to (CU) and getting four years of college and housing paid for, it’s just amazing,” Mahan said. “It’s just an incredible offering by BMW to do that. The Evans Scholar Foundation, they had a board (on the 18th hole) of all the kids that are in the program and then the alumni, and there are some really outstanding people who are a part of that. So it’s a really neat thing.”
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BMW Championship: The Essentials
What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.
Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.
Schedule
Sept. 4-7: Championship rounds, with Thursday and Friday tee times from 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. off the first and 10th tees, and Saturday and Sunday tee times from 9-11 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.
Gates Open — 10 a.m. Sept. 4-5; and 8 a.m. Sept. 6-7.
TV Coverage — Sept. 4-5: 2-6 p.m., Golf Channel; Sept. 6: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel and 1-4 p.m., KUSA (9); Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).
Tickets — Tickets will not be sold on site, only online. CLICK HERE.
Thursday/Friday Tee Times: For Thursday and Friday tee times, CLICK HERE.
Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.
Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.
Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concludes on Sept. 1. There will be no cut during the BMW Championship.
Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.
Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-inch-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.
Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.
Parking — Free parking is available at 1 Highfield Parkway in Englewood, with free shuttle service provided to the main entrance at Cherry Hills CC. Free parking for BMW owners will be provided at 6145 Happy Canyon Road in Denver, with shuttle service to the course. (At Cherry Hills, the BMW owners’ pavilion is located between the seventh and 14th holes; owners need only show their BMW key for access).
Autographs and Cameras — Not permitted during championship rounds Thursday through Sunday.
Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.
Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).
For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.)
