The First Look: BMW Championship

The PGA TOUR heads to Delaware for the first time, as the BMW Championship tees off at Wilmington Country Club.

FIELD NOTES: Only the top 70 in the FedExCup standings will earn their way to the BMW Championship… Scottie Scheffler, who entered the Playoffs at No. 1 in the FedExCup, is coming off a missed cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, just his fourth of the season… Other notables looking to bounce back after a missed cut in Memphis are past FedExCup winners Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth… The TOUR’s biggest stars will continue their quest for the FedExCup at Wilmington Country Club including world No. 1 Scheffler; defending BMW and FedExCup champ Patrick Cantlay; The Open and THE PLAYERS winner Cameron Smith and Sam Burns and Xander Schauffele, who each have three wins this season… Five TOUR rookies -- Cameron Young, Davis Riley, Taylor Pendrith, Mito Pereira, and Sahith Theegala – advanced to the second Playoffs event with eyes on finishing their first TOUR season at East Lake… The BMW Championship field will be confirmed when the FedExCup standings are set after Sunday’s conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Wilmington Country Club (South Course), par 71, 7,534 yards. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1959 (the original Wilmington Country Club, on a different site, was established in 1901), the course was re-worked by Andrew Green in 2021 after a tornado ripped through the area in August 2020. In just five minutes, 300 trees were felled by the tornado including a 250-year-old white oak, which allowed Green to move the 14th green back by 60 yards. The tournament routing will intertwine the front and back nines of the course (e.g. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are actually the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, holes for the members). Green was originally contracted by the club to redesign its North Course, but following the tornado the club had Green work on the South Course as it prepared for the TOUR’s arrival, as well.

The club has hosted six USGA events in the past, along with the 2013 Palmer Cup competition between Europe and the United States. That American team featured Justin Thomas.

STORYLINES: A dramatic cut to the FedExCup field will occur after the BMW Championship, with only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings making it to the season finale at East Lake…The automatic qualifiers for the Presidents Cup teams will be determined after the BMW, as well, with six Americans and eight Internationals securing spots on their respective teams… Unlike the FedEx St. Jude Championship, there is no cut at the BMW Championship… No golfer has defended his title at the BMW Championship since it became a FedExCup Playoffs event in 2007… The last two, and three of the last four, BMW Championships have been won in a playoff… Olympia Fields, which hosted the BMW Championship in 2020, will return as host next year.

72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Patrick Cantlay/Bryson DeChambeau (2021 – Caves Valley Golf Club)

WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB RECORD: N/A

18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk (2nd round, 2013)

WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB RECORD: N/A

LAST TIME: Patrick Cantlay rode a hot putter to top Bryson DeChambeau in a dramatic and thrilling six-hole playoff to capture the 2021 BMW Championship en route to winning the FedExCup. Cantlay closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday, making putts of 8 feet for par on 16, 8 feet for bogey on 17 after his tee shot found the water and a 20-footer on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with DeChambeau, who shot his own 66 on Sunday. Cantlay gained 14.6 strokes on the greens that week, the most at a single event since that statistic debuted in 2004. The pair finished at 27 under for the week, with DeChambeau becoming the first golfer in TOUR history to fire a score of 261 and not take home a title. Cantlay and DeChambeau made matching pars for the first four playoff holes before rolling in birdies on the par-3 17th, the fifth playoff hole. DeChambeau had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 12-foot birdie try on 18. He had three other birdie tries in the playoff and missed them all. Cantlay rolled in an 18-foot birdie on the sixth and final playoff hole for the win. It was a two-horse race through Sunday, as Sungjae Im, who finished third, was four shots out of the playoff. Rory McIlroy finished fourth while Erik van Rooyen finished fifth.

HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET)

Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC)

Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)

For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR

PGA TOUR LIVE

• Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes