BMW Championship Preview
Photo Credit: OFCC
Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Illinois
The playoff run heated up this past weekend for the St. Jude Classic. It was a steamy finish, ending in a playoff between Lucas Glover and Patrick Cantlay. Lucas Glover was able to bounce back after a bogey on the 14th hole to go on and win the playoff hole, securing his second win in a row. The win catapulted Glover to number 4 in the FedEx Cup points rankings. He, along with the remaining top 50 points earners, will be teeing it up this weekend for the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The BMW Championship will be the second event in the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoff run. Olympia Fields Country Club will be playing host to the top PGA golfers this weekend. The historic course will be a great backdrop for the top 50 FedEx Cup points holders looking to make their move to be in the top 30 and move on to the Tour Championship next week. Last week, Hideki Matsuyama made a huge push up the points rankings to qualify for the BMW Championship. Can he keep the momentum up and qualify for the Tour Championship this weekend? Will Lucas Glover stay on his hot streak and sweat it out for three in a row? This weekend will be a great test to see who will be favored going into the Tour Championship next week.
The Field:
The fat has been trimmed and the prime cuts are all that is left for the showdown at Olympia Fields. Of the 6 rookies in the field last week, only Eric Cole made the cut to compete this weekend. The youngest golfer in the field will be the phenom Tom Kim (21), and the oldest will be Lucas Glover (43), who will look to make it three victories in a row. Patrick Cantlay won the BMW last year and lost in a playoff last week to Glover; he will be a favorite this week. Will this be the week when the top two golfers in the world, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, get their games back and get back to winning? They have both been struggling with different aspects of their games. Rahm has been struggling off the tee and Scheffler is still trying to figure out his flatstick. The top 30 line will be the entertainment for the weekend; there are a lot of great golfers hovering on both sides that will be battling to make it to the Championship next week. Golfers like Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala, Justin Rose, Corey Conners, Tyrrell Hatton, and Byeong An are in group of the hunt and hunted this weekend.
The Course:
Olympia Fields Country Club was founded in 1915 by University of Chicago football coach Amos Stagg. The course was designed by Willie Park Jr. and was lengthened prior to the 2003 U.S. Open, which Jim Furyk won. The course is set up as a par 70 (35-35) at 7,366 yards, which is long for a par 70 set up. Olympia Fields is tee-to-green bentgrass with bluegrass rough. The area has received a lot of rain as of late, so look for soft conditions this week. The rough will be extra thick and grabby, and the bentgrass fairways and greens will not see much roll out. The weather for the weekend looks fair; the only chance of rain is Thursday, and the fans will kick on Saturday and Sunday with 20 mph gusts.
TexHoss Projected Top 5 (via BetOnline):
Patrick Cantlay +1100
Tommy Fleetwood +2200
Cameron Young +3500
Sungjae Im +5000
Max Homa +3300
Tournament Wagers:
Matchup: Tony Finau OVER Byeong Hun An (-110) [via DraftKings]
Matchup: Tyrell Hatton OVER Max Homa (-120) [via DraftKings]
Matchup: Hideki Matsuyama OVER Russ Henley (-110) [via DraftKings]
Matchup: Jon Rahm OVER Patrick Cantlay (-130) [via DraftKings]
Matchup: Brendon Todd OVER Taylor Moore (+105) [via DraftKings]
Matchup: Collin Morikawa OVER Tommy Fleetwood (+100) [DraftKings]
Top 20: Tony Finau (+105) [via DraftKings]
Top 20: Brendon Todd (+210) [via DraftKings]
1st Round Wagers:
Matchup: Adam Schenk OVER Xander Schauffele (+170) [via BetOnline]
Matchup: Adam Svensson OVER Matt Fitzpatrick (+110) [via BetOnline]
2 Ball: Brendon Todd OVER Russ Henley (+100) [via DraftKings]
2 Ball: Jon Rahm OVER Scottie Scheffler (-105) [via DraftKings]
2 Ball: Collin Morikawa OVER Jason Day (-130) [via DraftKings]