Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
LAST TOURNAMENT: Wyndham Championship (Aaron Rai)
THIS WEEK: BMW Championship, Castle Rock, Colo., Aug. 22-25
Course: Castle Pines Golf Club (Par 72, 8,130 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 12-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 10:15 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @BMWChamps
NOTES: The Top 50 in the standings after the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs qualified for this week’s event. The top 30 after the BMW Championship will advance to the Tour Championship. All players in this week’s field have qualified for each of the eight signature events next year along with The Players Championship. Jake Knapp, Mackenzie Hughes and Tom Kim were bumped from inside the top 50 last week. Denny McCarthy currently occupies the No. 30 spot, just two points ahead of Tommy Fleetwood and nine ahead of Chris Kirk. … The BMW returns to Colorado for the first time since 2014, and Castle Pines is playing host to a PGA Tour event for the first time since 2006. The course is 6,200 feet above sea level and is the longest course in PGA Tour history. It was also the venue for The International from 1986-2006, having since undergone a full renovation that included new bunkers, rebuilt tees and greens and renovated water features.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+300 at DraftKings) enters the BMW Championship leading the standings for the third consecutive year. He has won four signature events, the Masters, The Players and the Olympic gold medal in 2024. … Xander Schauffele (+550) shot a closing 63 on Sunday to tie for second last week, following a win at The Open and a T9 at the Olympics. … Rory McIlroy (+1200) tied for 68th last week and missed The Open cut but is also the only three-time winner of the FedEx Cup and finished fourth here in 2023. … Collin Morikawa (+1400) has 12 consecutive top-25 finishes worldwide as he seeks his first win since last fall. … Viktor Hovland (+1800) has had an uneven season, but the defending champion is coming off a T2 last week. … Hideki Matsuyama (+1800) vaulted to third in the standings with last week’s win that came on the heels of a bronze medal.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Tour Championship, Atlanta, Aug. 29-Sept. 1