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August 17, 2023 (UPI) — The BMW Championship, the second tournament of the PGA Tour playoffs, kicks off this week in Olympia Fields, Illinois, with top golfers including Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Patrick Cantlay vying to chase down the current FedEx Cup leader, Jon Rahm.
The tournament, initially delayed due to rain, will run from Thursday to Sunday on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club. Golf Channel and CBS will provide coverage of the event.
“The goal coming into the playoffs is to maximize my chances of securing the No. 1 spot and reaching East Lake,” said Rahm in a press conference earlier this week, referring to the upcoming Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, scheduled for August 25-27.
McIlroy, Scheffler, Rahm, and Cantlay are among the favorites expected to contend for the championship. Other notable contenders include Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, and Rickie Fowler. Lucas Glover, who won the previous playoff opener, currently sits outside the top contenders.
The BMW Championship offers a total purse of $20 million, with $3.6 million allocated for the winner. In addition to the prize money, the winner will also receive 2,000 points towards the FedEx Cup standings. Second and third-place finishers will receive 1,200 and 760 points, respectively. The top 30 finishers out of the 50-player field will advance to the Tour Championship next week.
Heading into the BMW Championship, Rahm leads the FedEx Cup standings with 3,386 points, followed by Scheffler with 3,238 points. McIlroy, Glover, and Cantlay round out the top five in the standings with 2,954, 2,885, and 2,643 points, respectively.
After the conclusion of the BMW Championship, the standings leader will start the Tour Championship at 10-under par, while the second-place golfer will start at 8-under. Other players inside the top 25 will also start the tournament under par, with golfers ranked between 26th and 30th starting at even par.
The Tour Championship in Atlanta will feature a first-place prize of $18 million.
Cantlay is the defending champion of the BMW Championship, having secured victory in both the 2020 and 2021 editions. Rahm won the tournament the last time it was held at Olympia Fields in 2020.
Olympia Fields’ North Course, which spans 7,366 yards and features long layouts, challenging rough grasses, bunker-guarded fast greens, and water features, will serve as the battleground for the championship. Recent rainfall is expected to soften the course and potentially make it play even longer, demanding more power from the players.
Thursday’s forecast includes rain and wind gusts of up to 25 mph, while sunny weather is anticipated for the remaining rounds.
The tournament will commence with J.T. Poston and Brendon Todd teeing off in the first group at 11:26 a.m. EDT on Thursday. Cantlay and Homa will tee off at 12:54 p.m. on hole No. 1, followed by McIlroy and Glover approximately 15 minutes later. Rahm and Scheffler are scheduled to tee off at 3:38 p.m. on the North Course.
Schedule
All Times in EDT
Thursday
First-round coverage from 2 to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Friday
Second-round coverage from 2 to 6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Saturday
Third-round coverage from 1 to 3 p.m. on Golf Channel and 3 to 6 p.m. on CBS
Sunday
Final-round coverage from noon to 2 p.m. on Golf Channel and 2 to 6 p.m. on CBS
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