Week 36 Approach Shots: BMW Championship
By PGATOUR.COM Staff
The PGA TOUR returns to the Chicago area for the BMW Championship, the third event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. Last year's tournament was held at Bellerive Country Club near St. Louis, where Camilo Villegas won his first TOUR title. A week later, Villegas added victory No. 2 at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
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This week's tournament at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club's Dubsdread Course in Lemont is the first of three consecutive BMW Championships slated for the Chicago area.
A year ago, Villegas opened with a 1-under 65 and never relinquished his lead, maintaining one-stroke advantages through 18, 36 and 54 holes before finally grabbing a two-stroke win over Dudley Hart.
While Villegas has yet to win in 2009, he has already secured a spot on The Presidents Cup International Team. His best finish was a tie for third at the Buick Invitational. He also has two other top 10s.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE: First held in 1899, the BMW Championship is the second-oldest U.S. tournament on the PGA TOUR behind only the U.S. Open. Of all the World Golf Hall of Fame members who have won this event, Gene Sarazen leads with five victories. Billy Casper and Walter Hagen each won four times. Ralph Guldahl and Tom Watson had three wins, followed by Lloyd Mangrum, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Price, who each won twice.
WIRE-TO-WIRE WINNERS: Villegas' wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Championship was just the second such win of the 2008 campaign. Villegas joined K.J. Choi, winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii, as the only two players to lead from start to finish. Dating to 1934, the only wire-to-wire winners (no ties) besides Villegas at this tournament are Nick Price (1993) and Tiger Woods (2003).
FIRST TIMERS: Villegas became the 15th player to win his first PGA TOUR event at the BMW Championship. The others: Abe Espinosa (1928), Herman Barron (1942), Hugh Royer (1970), Jim Jamieson (1972), Tom Watson (1974), Scott Simpson (1980), Scott Verplank (1985, as an amateur), D.A. Weibring (1987), Jim Benepe (1988), Russ Cochran (1991), Steve Stricker (1996), Joe Durant (1998), Stephen Ames (2004) and Trevor Immelman (2006).
PLAYER NOTES: Woods is a four-time winner of the BMW Championship (1997, 1999, 2003 and 2007) and has eight top-10s in 10 career BMW Championship starts as a professional.
At the 2008 BMW Championship, Dudley Hart and D.J. Trahan moved inside the top-30 on the FedExCup points list to play their way into THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Those dropping out of the top 30 were Geoff Ogilvy and Brandt Snedeker.
Despite the 70-player field this week, numerous past champions are in the field, including defending champion Camilo Villegas. Other former BMW Championship winners still vying for the FedExCup are Scott Verplank (won in 1985), Stricker (1996), Woods (1997, 1999, 2003 and 2007), Robert Allenby (2000), Jerry Kelly (2002), Stephen Ames (2004) and Jim Furyk (2005).
FEDEXCUP UPDATE: Seven players who started last week outside the Top 70 played their way into this week's BMW Championship -- Jason Bohn, Marc Leishman, Stephen Ames, Jeff Overton, Bubba Watson, Bryce Molder and Sergio Garcia.
The top player in the FedExCup standings, Stricker, can only be passed this week by Woods. Woods will have to finish no worse than third this week to have a chance to pass him. Every player in the field of 70 this week has a mathematical chance to move into the Top 30 and qualify for THE TOUR Championship in two weeks.
ON-COURSE OBSERVATIONS: PGA TOUR Network correspondent Bob Stevens is on the scene at Cog Hill for this week's satellite radio coverage (XM 146/SIRIUS 209). Reports Stevens:
The big news this week is Rees Jones' $5 million renovation that has made this Cog Hill much different than the one Tiger Woods won at two years ago at 22-under par. They would love to host a U.S. Open here at some point in the future, and that's why they brought Jones (the "Open Doctor") in to make it a U.S. Open-style venue. And he made it a monster, especially if you play all the way from the back tees at 7,616 yards. One player told me he hit hybrid to all four of the par 3s, which measure 228, 244, 221 and 218 yards. Two of the three par 5s are over 600 yards.
However, the real genius of the design is in the variety of set ups that are possible with five different teeing areas on every hole. Don't expect the course to play its full length any of the four days. They can make the course play with more variety than just about any course anywhere because of the number of tee boxes and the SubAir system that they put under the greens. They can make it as long or short as they want, and they can also make the greens as hard or soft as they want. That kind of variety should be great because, after all, this is the Windy City and, if the winds come up, they can change the set up on a day's notice.
The greens have been completely redone, so none of the players with a long history here will have an advantage. Jones told me that he wants the players to have to think their way around the course more than they ever have before. Where do they need to hit the next shot? Where should they hit the shot after that? Perhaps Jones said it best, "I don't care if they love it. I hope they like it. If they love it, I probably did something wrong."
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