BMW Championship: 2024 dates, course, format, history & prize money

The BMW Championship is the second of three FedEx Cup Playoff events at the conclusion of the PGA Tour season, in which the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings compete for a chance to play in the Tour Championship.

With only 50 players in the field, there is no 36-hole cut and the top 30 in the points standings at the end of the weekend will advance to the Tour Championship finale in Atlanta. 

The tournament was previously known as the Western Open, starting way back in 1899, before changing its name to the BMW Championship in 2007.

BMW Championship 2024 dates

The opening round of the 2024 BMW Championship will take place on Thursday, August 22, with the final round commencing on Sunday, August 25th, 2024.

BMW Championship 2024 course

Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Pines, Colorado will host the 2024 BMW Championship.

It will be the first time the event goes to Colorado since 2014, when Billy Horschel was victorious at Cherry Hills Country Club.

BMW Championship prize money & purse

In 2023, the BMW Championship features a $20 million purse, in which the tournament champion receives $3.6 million in winnings. 

See below for a full purse breakdown. 

Place	Payout
1	$3,600,000
2	$2,160,000
3	$1,360,000
4	$990,000
5	$830,000
6	$750,000
7	$695,000
8	$640,000
9	$600,000
10	$560,000

BMW Championship FedEx Cup points distribution

The winner of the BMW Championship will earn 2,000 FedEx Cup points, quadruple the amount of a regular season PGA Tour event. 

See below for a full points distribution breakdown. 

Place	Points Awarded
1	2,000
2	1,200
3	760
4	540
5	440
6	400
7	360
8	340
9	320
10	300

BMW Championship history

This tournament was previously known as the Western Open, with the inaugural tournament taking place in 1899 and won by Scotsman Willie Smith.

In 2007, the event changed to the BMW Championship and it was Tiger Woods who claimed the victory by two shots.

Woods also went on to take the title two years later, with a thumping eight-shot success at Cog Hill.

Since that 2009 tournament, just two players have equalled Woods' feat of two victories: Dustin Johnson in 2010 and 2016, and Patrick Cantlay, who won back-to-back BMW Championships in 2021 and 2022.

Norweigan star Viktor Hovland made history in 2023, shooting a course record 61 at Olympia Fields en route to winning the event. It was the second-lowest round in the history of the BMW Championship behind Bryson DeChambeau, who shot 60 at Caves Valley in 2021.