Sep 3, 2016: BMW Championship 2016
• COURSE: Crooked Stick Golf Club, 7,516 yards, par 72. Pete Dye’s first prominent golf course was built in 1965, transforming a cornfield outside Indianapolis that Dye had purchased with the help of 60 “interested, avid and maybe crazy golfers.” As with other notable Dye courses, no two consecutive holes face in the same direction and players must be able to generate drives both left-to-right and right-to-left. Crooked Stick first ascended to the national stage as host of the 1982 U.S. Junior Amateur, later bringing the 1991 PGA Championship where John Daly burst onto the scene. The course also has staged the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open, 2005 Solheim Cup and its first edition of the BMW Championship four years ago, when Rory McIlroy prevailed.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points.
• CHARITY: The Evans Scholars Foundation, an arm of the Western Golf Association which awards college scholarships to caddies across the country with limited financial means. The foundation currently supports more than 800 caddies attending college.
• FIELD WATCH: World No. 1 Jason Day, who first scaled the top after last year’s BMW win, and The Barclays champion Patrick Reed head up a 69-man field for the next-to-last FedExCup playoffs event. … Open champion Henrik Stenson, who has been battling knee problems in recent weeks, is the only projected qualifier not to sign up. The Swede entered the Deutsche Bank Championship at No. 19 in FedExCup points. The top 30 after the BMW Championship advance to the TOUR Championship. … Rookies Emiliano Grillo and Smylie Kaufman remain alive in the FedExCup postseason, though Kaufman needs to climb four spots to reach the finale.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Tiger Woods (2007 at Cog Hill G&CC), Jason Day (2015 at Conway Farms GC).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk (2nd round, 2013 at Conway Farms GC).
• LAST YEAR: Day cemented his meteoric rise to No.1 in the world rankings with a six-stroke romp at Conway Farms, facing little challenge after playing his first two rounds in 61-63. That tied the PGA TOUR’s 36-hole scoring record, as the Aussie led by at least four shots after every round. Four rounds left him at 22 under, matching Tiger Woods’ tournament record when Cog Hill was the annual stop. Victory also was Day’s fourth in a six-start stretch, which included his first major title (PGA Championship) and the FedExCup opener. Daniel Berger topped the chase pack, holding his own against Day for the final three rounds, while Scott Piercy birdied the final hole to finish third alone. Getting the final spot among the 30 advancing to the TOUR Championship was Harris English, who had missed by one each of the previous two years.
• STORYLINES: While Reed, Day and Dustin Johnson appear certain for top-five positions at East Lake, putting their FedExCup hopes into their own hands, the chase remains to see who joins them. … The spotlight also falls on No. 30, where Daniel Berger arrived in Boston on the bubble to advance. Last year, four men played their way to East Lake after starting the BMW outside the top 30. … Crooked Stick also is the final opportunity for U.S. Ryder Cup hopefuls before captain Davis Love III names three of his four wild-card picks. He’ll round out his lineup with one more after the TOUR Championship.
• SHORT CHIPS: Not only does the TOUR Championship await the top 30 in FedExCup points after Sunday, but automatic entry to all four majors in 2017. … The BMW Championship has its roots in the old Western Open, which dates back to 1899. That ranks as the third-longest running event in professional golf, behind only The Open (1860) and U.S. Open (1885). … … Next year takes the event back to Conway Farms, staying true to a plan that alternates the tournament between Chicago and other destinations. The 2018 edition goes to Aronimink GC outside Philadelphia, which previously staged two editions of the AT&T National.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, noon-3:30 p.m. (NBC), 3:30-6 p.m. (GC). Sunday, noon-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (NBC).
• PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-7 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m. (featured holes).
• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
By Jeff Shain, PGA Tour
