Gearing up for the BMW Championship

Oh, to be on the beautiful grounds of the Wilmington Country Club among the rolling hills of the Delaware Valley this week! Wilmington is hosting the BMW Championship. There’s never been a PGA Tour event in the state of Delaware, and the electricity is palpable.

Last year’s winner Patrick Cantlay enters the tournament as the 4^th hottest golfer of 2022. He’s also looking to become the first repeat champion since BMW joined the fray as the title partner back in 2007. It wouldn’t be a shocker.

To continue the PGA Tour’s FedExCup Playoffs, the BMW kicks off Thursday, August 18, and ends Sunday, August 21.

Past BMW Championship winners Cantlay, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Thomas, join other major championship winners, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, and Matthew Fitzpatrick. This promises to be a fun few days!

FedEx Cup Standings

1        Will Zalatoris
2        Scottie Scheffler
3        Cameron Smith
4        Sam Burns
5        Tony Finau
6        Xander Schauffele
7        Patrick Cantlay
8        Sepp Straka
9        Rory McIlroy
10      Justin Thomas

 Unfortunately, we won’t see Cameron Smith this week. He’s dealing with a hip injury that hopefully won’t sideline him much longer. His agent Bud Martin said, “He has been dealing with some on and off hip discomfort for several months and thought it best he rest this week in his pursuit of the FedEx Cup.”

Smith is still in great position to advance to the Tour Championship, even without playing in the BMW Championship. There’s wisdom in giving that hip a break. 

Three Players to Watch

Expect big things from the ultimate driving machine, Cameron Young (who already has a 413 yard drive this year). Young’s ball striking was on point last week, but his putter wasn’t quite up to par. He’s usually a master around the greens. Look for him to have a strong showing this week!

Also, look for a big week out of Viktor Hovland. Last week, he returned to action for the first time since his disappointing final round at The Open. He hit the ball well, but Southwind didn’t exactly highlight his strengths… not like Wilmington should. Those sticky Bermuda green guards didn’t help last week, but he’s rocked with larger greens like he’s about to face.

The third player to keep an eye on is Scottie. Clearly Scheffler isn’t a surprise to include as a prediction given the fact he sits atop the best players of 2022 list. But the Masters champ will need to improve on the greens. Southwind obviously frustrated him as he lost strokes he didn’t have to. But look for him to play as well on the greens this week as he did at the Charles Schwab Challenge and his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.

The Points and the Purse

There are a whole lot of points at stake. Just like the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the BMW Championship offers four times as many FedEx points as regular PGA Tour events. The winner receives 2,000 points.

And now for what we all want to know. Let’s talk about the money. The BMW Championship features a $15 million purse. The winner walks away with $2.7 million. (Before Uncle Sam reaches in for his share of course.)

Catch the BMW Championship on the Golf Channel Thursday and Friday, from 3:00 to 7:00, and again Saturday, from noon to 3:00. NBC picks up coverage at 3:00. Then Sunday, the Golf Channel starts things off at noon with NBC taking over at 2:00.