PGA Tour Brunch | BMW Championship
Preview of the Second Leg of the 2025 FedEx Cup Playoffs | Maryland
By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk
BALTIMORE - This week, the PGA TOUR’s FedEx Cup Playoffs reaches its second leg and the Tour stops just outside of Baltimore, Maryland at Owings Mills. The BMW Championship is the oldest non-major on the PGA TOUR schedule, dating back to 1899.
Back in 1899, five players competed and the prize money went accordingly:
$50.00 to Willie Smith
$40.00 to Laurie Auchterlonie
$30.00 to Harry Turple
$20.00 to Peter Walker
$10.00 to Robert Bolton
The BMW Championship has returned to Caves Valley Golf Club for the second time and first since 2021. Only 22 players in this week’s field competed in the 2021 BMW Championship, including winner Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy (4th) and Scottie Scheffler (T22).
Future BMW Championship host sites include:
2026: Bellerive Country Club – St. Louis, Missouri (host of 2030 Presidents Cup)
2027: Liberty National Golf Club – Jersey City, NJ (host of 2017 Presidents Cup)
The Top 50 players will be cut down to the Top 30 at the conclusion of the BMW. Those Top 30 players will earn a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR (through 2027) and gain access into the major championships that traditionally recognize the Top 30. Every player in the field at the BMW Championship has already qualified for all Signature Events on the 2026 PGA TOUR schedule and the 2026 PLAYERS Championship.
With 5,456 FedEx Cup points, Scheffler enters the 2025 BMW Championship with a 2,012-point lead over Rory McIlroy as Scheffler is sure to enter the TOUR Championship as the FedExCup leader for the third consecutive season. This year, all players at East Lake will begin even par, as opposed to previous years when No. 1 had a considerable (-10) handicap.
Preview - The BMW Championship
COURSE: Caves Valley Golf Club - (Owings Mills, MD)
OVERVIEW: (link)
ARCHITECT: Tom Fazio
YARDS/PAR: 7,542 yards/Par 72
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $20,000,000/$4,000,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Keegan Bradley
PAST RESULTS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points / Winner: 2,000
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @BMWChamps
OFFICIAL SITE: (BMW Championship)
BMW: Field, Update and Tee Times
Field: (link)
Update: No. 5 Sepp Straka withdrew from the BMW due to a private family matter
Tee Times: (9:21am to 2:00pm ET) (link)
BMW Championship | Odds
(Odds by CBS Sports)
Scottie Scheffler +220
Rory McIlroy +800
Xander Schauffele +1800
Tommy Fleetwood +2000
Ludvig Åberg +2200
Patrick Cantlay +2500
Justin Thomas +2500
Cameron Young +3000
J.J. Spaun +3000
Maverick McNealy +3300
Collin Morikawa +3500
Russell Henley +3500
Sam Burns +3500
Viktor Hovland +3500
Kurt Kitayama +3500
Chris Gotterup +3500
Ben Griffin +4000
Matt Fitzpatrick +4000
Keegan Bradley +4500
Hideki Matsuyama +4500
Justin Rose +4500
Corey Conners +4500
Harris English +5000
Akshay Bhatia +5500
Robert MacIntyre +5500
Si Woo Kim +6000
Rickie Fowler +6000
Harry Hall +6000
Shane Lowry +7000
Taylor Pendrith +7000
Sungjae Im +7000
Andrew Novak +8000
Jason Day +8000
Brian Harman +8000
Denny McCarthy +8000
Daniel Berger +10000
Sam Stevens +10000
J.T. Poston +10000
Nick Taylor +10000
Lucas Glover +12500
Bud Cauley +12500
Ryan Gerard +12500
Michael Kim +12500
Jacob Bridgeman +12500
Jhonattan Vegas +12500
Ryan Fox +12500
Thomas Detry +15000
Tom Hoge +50000
Brian Campbell +75000
What They’re Saying
Sepp Straka WDs - (CBS Sports)
Statement from Straka’s manager Butler Melnyk: “For personal reasons, Sepp is unable to play this week. He intends to compete at the TOUR Championship, but requests privacy at this time as he attends to a family matter at home.”
Scenarios to Make TOUR Championship (PGATourCom)
Scheffler Needs Fill-In Caddy (Again) (PGATourCom)
Power Rankings for ‘25 BMW (PGATourCom)
First Look: At the BMW (PGATourCom)
FedEx Cup Standings (PGATourCom)
Sports Gambling, Daily Fantasy & Golf Industry News
Best Bets for the 2025 BMW - (Action Net)
Expert Picks for the BMW - (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks at the BMW - (PGATourCom)
On This Day in Golf History
August 13, 1989 - Payne Stewart registered a one-shot victory over Mike Reid to win the PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes in Illinois. Stewart birdied four of his last five holes to win his first major. - Courtesy of Randy Walker, Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt
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TL