BMW Championship: Two-time champion backed for more success at 16/1

The FedEx Cup Playoffs head to the Rockies for the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado.

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BMW Championship Tips

Win: Wyndham Clark (25/1), Patrick Cantlay (16/1)
Top 5: Tony Finau (9/2)
Top 10: Corey Conners (3/1), Nick Dunlap (15/4)
Top 20: Max Greyserman (29/20)

Castle Pines Golf Club course guide

Opening in 1981, the Jack Nicklaus design 30 miles south of Denver hosted The International, a PGA TOUR stop in late summer from 1986-2006.

The 2006 edition tipped out at 7,619 yards and played to Par-72. For the 2024 BMW Championship, Nicklaus and Total Turf rebuilt all the tees and greens, and the new yardage on the scorecard is 8,130 yards.

Hosting the BMW Championship, or any FedExCup Playoffs event for the first time, the biggest ballpark used on TOUR ever sits over 6,000 feet above sea level. Bent/Poa greens and Bent/Poa/Rye fairways and rough can survive the less-than-hospitable cold weather months.

The 77 bunkers, 10 water penalty areas, and four inches of Bluegrass/Fescue/Rye rough frames the fairways and putting surfaces. Over 400 feet of elevation changes and the altitude of Castle Pines will require committing to yardages and ball flights. The greens, 5,600 square feet on average, are tiered and are prepped to run at 13 feet on the Stimpmeter.

Only Adam Scott (2000) and Jason Day (2006) have played tournament golf at Castle Pines. Neither survived the cut to play the weekend, and the redesign should remove any memories of 18-plus years ago.

The ability to navigate elevation changes, uneven lies, and math conversions for yardages into greens, patience, experience, and execution from tee to green will be the key stats to follow this week.

BMW Championship preview

The oldest non-major championship event on TOUR, the Western Open debuted in 1899 in Chicago.

The Playoffs began in 2007, and the Western Open evolved into the BMW Championship and continued rotating at courses throughout the Midwest and Mideast. The 2014 edition was played in the Denver suburbs at Cherry Hills Golf Club, the site of the famous 1960 U.S. Open. Billy Horschel won the event before winning the FedExCup Playoffs the following week at East Lake.

Viktor Hovland, the reigning event champion, won his first FedExCup Playoff event in 2023 at Olympia Fields North Course in the Chicago suburbs before winning the FedExCup Playoffs at East Lake.

Patrick Cantlay won the previous two editions at first-time host courses on the East Coast at Wilmington Country Club (Delaware) and Caves Valley Golf Club outside Baltimore.

Other BMW Championship winners in the field this week include Justin Thomas (2019, Medinah No. 3, Chicago), Keegan Bradley (2018, Aronimink, Philadelphia), Jason Day (2015, Conway Farms, Chicago), and Rory McIlroy (2012, Crooked Stick, Indianapolis).

The 50 players in the field this week will play all 72 holes (stroke play), and the top 30 after Sunday will qualify for The TOUR Championship at East Lake next week. All 50 players in the field have qualified for the eight Signature Events in 2025.

The winner will pocket $3.6 million of the $20 million prize pool plus 2,000 FedExCup points, quadruple the amount given to winners during the regular season. For the Playoffs, all point values are worth four times the amount awarded during the regular season.

Top of the Board

Scottie Scheffler (7/2): The only bogey on his radar is the man next on his list. Any result inside T4 will secure the top spot in the Starting Strokes next week at East Lake, regardless of any other results. Castle Pines provides a new canvas and another opportunity to win his first FedExCup Playoffs event, or at worst, secure the top spot for the big bonus payday.

Xander Schauffele (6/1): The only man who can take the lead from the World No. 1 is the World No. 2. The two-time major champion in 2024 closed with 63 last Sunday making Matsuyama earn it in Memphis. Cashing T2, the Californian knocked a chunk off Scheffler’s lead, but only a victory this week, plus some help from his Ryder Cup teammate, will result in him taking over the points lead.

Rory McIlroy (14/1): Finishing in the bottom three last week in Memphis, the Ulsterman did not do much of anything well. Dropping to fifth in the Playoffs standings, his place at East Lake is secured, but his desire to get back on the horse will be hotter than the forecast in the mountains. The three-time winner at East Lake also has the 2012 BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in 2012 on his mantle.

Collin Morikawa (14/1): Since his performance at the Masters, the two-time major champion has been in the weekly preview when entered. Not many hit more fairways, and that skill set travels. Previously a winner at Old Greenwood, Muirfield Village, and The Concession, I don’t have to sell his affinity for courses designed by the Golden Bear.

Patrick Cantlay (16/1): The only multiple BMW Championship winner in the field, the Californian will attempt to make it a hat trick of new venues where he has lifted the trophy. Balanced throughout the bag, he was one shot off last week of hitting the top 10 for the third time in four starts. Twice a winner at the Memorial, he also has an eye for Jack Nicklaus’ designs.

Hideki Matsuyama (18/1): Becoming the first Japanese player to win a FedExCup Playoffs event is another box checked off for the world superstar. Getting it over the finish line in Memphis last week without his regular caddy and coach should lift his confidence higher than the altitude this week. Nobody has won the first two Playoffs events since 2018.

Viktor Hovland (18/1): The defending champion at the event, the Norwegian picked up just his second top-10 payday of the year last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Sitting six shots off the 54-hole lead, he posted his third consecutive round of 66 or better to share second. Only Cantlay has won consecutive BMW Championships.

Players to consider for Top 10 or Top 20 action:

Tony Finau (25/1): If a shootout breaks out, his putting must keep up. Growing up in Utah, playing at elevation won’t bother him.

Wyndham Clark (25/1): At media day earlier this year, the man who grew up in Denver and played out of Cherry Hills surmised he played over 25 rounds on this layout over the years. If there’s a home-state advantage, he owns it. Cashing T14 or better in four of his last five events on TOUR, including T7 last week, his story might already have been written.

Billy Horschel (40/1): The only player in this field to win a PGA TOUR event in Colorado, the Florida man has been racking up big finishes after his tough loss at The Open. His run of events in the top 10 hit three straight last week with T10 in Memphis.

Corey Conners (45/1): Sitting ninth in SG: Tee to Green and fifth SG: Approach. I love him on unfamiliar greens.

Nick Dunlap (66/1): Won the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills last summer and played in the final group last week. Needing a par at the final hole to qualify for the BMW Championship, he held his nerve and cashed T5. The two-time winner plucked one of his victories at Old Greenwood, another Nicklaus course.

Max Greyserman (100/1): The 2023 winner at TPC Colorado at Heron Lakes, the runner-up at the 3M Open and Wyndham Championship, knocked out a KFT field last summer to punch his ticket to the PGA TOUR.