WILMINGTON - Just as the PGA Tour is approaching the most important two weeks on the schedule, the talk of LIV Golf vs PGA Tour is dominating the news coverage, rather than the game of golf and the FedEx Cup playoffs themselves. This week’s BMW Championship - with only the Top 70 players in the field - is the equivalent of the Tour’s semi-finals, no different than the NFC and AFC championship weekend for the NFL to decide the teams that will play in the Super Bowl (TOUR Championship next weekend).
“You just get fed up with talking about it,” said Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 12 on the FedEx Cup standings board heading into this weekend). “My personal opinion, it’s like, right, let’s just get on with it now. Just want to play golf and concentrate on what you’re doing.”
Unless there’s some incredible resolution to the newfound rivalry, the PGA Tour is shooting itself in the foot by drifting off the topic of GOLF and into the business world and tempting LIV Golf offers to many of the top players. On Tuesday, Tiger Woods tried to bring some sense into the situation.
The PGA Tour Player Advisory Council took care of some business to introduce Max Homa, Brandt Snedeker, Keith Mitchell and Kevin Streelman as replacements for previous members Brooks Koepka, Graeme McDowell and Paul Casey, who have defected to LIV Golf.
"It was about all the top players getting on the same page," a player who attended the meeting told ESPN. "It was a good meeting."
"I think depending on the results, if anything changes potentially," said Patrick Cantlay. "I'm not sure what, if anything, will change, what will be the result of it. I think it's good that a lot of the players are getting together to discuss the situation out here, especially given the current circumstances."
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is expected to meet with players today.
When you stop and think about the situation, it’s the ABA vs NBA all over again, reminiscent of the 1960’s and early ‘70s when the two basketball leagues competed for talent and the more established NBA saw talented players and big time draws like Julius “Dr. J” Erving and David Thompson go to the rival - some called it “renegade” - league. Even the established NBA referees were jumping ship for the ABA. But, at least the ABA had some over-the-air television exposure!
The LIV is still negotiating media rights for a handful of not-regularly set programming tries to crack a code in a season and world where fall sports have already been embedded into the annual sports schedule. In the USA, the NFL and college football dominate weekend coverage, while Baseball tucks in its Postseason and World Series as the NHL and NBA start-up the regular season.
That’s why the PGA Tour shortened its FedEx Cup Playoffs, adjusted the schedule and folds up the tents next week with a Tour Championship to be held before the NFL kicks-off.
BMW Championship | Tournament Facts
COURSE: Wilmington Country Club, Wilmington, Delaware
YARDS/PAR: 7,534 yards/Par 71
ARCHITECTS: Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1959)/Andrew Green (2021)
PRIZE Money - Purse: $15,000,000/$2,700,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Patrick Cantlay
PAST RESULTS: (link)
PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 2,000
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @FedExChamp @BMWChamps
TV COVERAGE: The first two rounds (August 18 and 19) are scheduled for coverage from 3:00pm to 7:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, coverage is set for 12:00pm to 3:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 3:00 to 6:00pm (ET) on NBC. On Sunday, Golf Channel will be covering from 12 Noon to 2:00pm (ET) and NBC from 2:00pm to 6:00pm (ET).
PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: ESPN+ Live streaming coverage will run from 9:00am to 7:00pm (ET) both Thursday and Friday. Weekend streaming on ESPN+ PGA TOUR Live from 7:30am to 6:00pm (ET).
PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live coverage of the BMW begins at 1:00pm to 7:00pm (ET) on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, coverage will air 1:00pm to 6:00pm (or completion of event). PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92 or online via PGATourCom.
How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)
BMW Championship | Basics
The Tee Times at the BMW run Thursday from 9:10am to 3:00pm (ET).
Weather: Thursday’s forecast is for mostly sunny skies and a temperature of 77-degrees. There’s a 10% chance of rain and 9 mph winds. Friday-Sunday has a similar forecast with temps approaching 80-degrees.
Tournament Web Site: (link)
FedEx Cup Standings: (link)
PGA Tour Brunch will post at 8:30am (ET) on Thursday
Field, Updates, Tee Times
Field: (link)
Tee Times: (link)
BMW Championship | Odds
Rory McIlroy +1000
Jon Rahm +1200
Patrick Cantlay +1200
Will Zalatoris +1400
Scottie Scheffler +1400
Justin Thomas +1400
Matt Fitzpatrick +1600
Tony Finau +1600
Collin Morikawa +1800
Xander Schauffele +1800
Sam Burns +2000
Viktor Hovland +2500
Sungjae Im +2500
Joohyung Kim +2800
Cameron Young +3000
Shane Lowry +3500
Joaquin Niemann +3500
Jordan Spieth +3500
Max Homa +4500
Hideki Matsuyama +4500
Adam Scott +5000
Corey Conners +5000
Tyrrell Hatton +5000
Aaron Wise +5500
Billy Horschel +5500
Russell Henley +6000
Cam Davis +6000
Davis Riley +6500
Keith Mitchell +6500
Brian Harman +6600
J.T. Poston +8000
Sahith Theegala +8000
Taylor Pendrith +9000
Seamus Power +9000
Maverick McNealy +9000
Si Woo Kim +9000
Denny McCarthy +10000
Mito Pereira +10000
Keegan Bradley +10000
Harold Varner III +10000
Alex Noren +10000
Brendan Steele +12500
Kevin Kisner +12500
Sepp Straka +12500
Troy Merritt +12500
Trey Mullinax +12500
Taylor Moore +12500
K.H. Lee +12500
Scott Stallings +12500
Emiliano Grillo +12500
Chris Kirk +12500
Wyndham Clark +15000
Sebastian Munoz +15000
Tom Hoge +15000
Andrew Putnam +15000
Chez Reavie +15000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +15000
Marc Leishman +15000
Lucas Glover +15000
Adam Hadwin +15000
Alex Smalley +17500
Lucas Herbert +17500
Matt Kuchar +20000
J.J. Spaun +20000
Kurt Kitayama +20000
Cameron Tringale +20000
Luke List +20000
Mackenzie Hughes +27500
Sports Gambling, Daily Fantasy & Golf Industry News
Tiger Woods, Other Players to Gather for PGA Tour vs LIV Golf Talks (ESPNCom)
Woods to Meet with Tour Players (Golf Week/USA Today)
Bubba Watson’s Tour Resignation (Golf Digest)
Best Bets for BMW Championship - (Action Net)
Expert Picks for the BMW - (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks at BMW Championship - (PGATourCom)
Power Rankings Leading Into BMW (PGATourCom)
Patrick Reed v. Brandel Chamblee and the Golf Channel (Court Papers)
On This Day in Golf History
August 17, 1984 - Forty-eight year old Gary Player shot a (63) in the second round of the PGA Championship at Shoal Creek in Birmingham, Alabama, equaling the major tournament record at the time. - 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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