The BMW Championship has been a fixture of the PGA Tour since 2007, and is the final event before the conclusion of the season each year at the Tour Championship. It’s the second of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events, hosts the top 70 players from the preceding season, and almost always acts as an exciting exposition of the world’s greatest golfing talent. This week, BMW announced that it would remain the title sponsor of the event—which is actually called the Western Open with history dating back to 1899—though 2027, making for a full two decades of having hosted one of the most compelling events on tour.
The event has been named the PGA Tour’s tournament of the year four times, including 2008, 2012, 2013, and most recently in 2014. Patrick Cantlay won the 2021 BMW Championship in historic fashion at Caves Valley Country Club in Owings Mills, Maryland before winning the Tour Championship and securing the FedEx Cup the following week. Next year’s tournament will be played at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, while the 2023 edition is slated to return to the Chicago area for the first time since 2020, once again at Olympia Fields Country Club.
“For the past fifteen years, we have worked with our partners at the PGA Tour and the Western Golf Association to host the top 70 players in the world at what has become one of the best, and most exciting events on the golf calendar,” said Sebastian Mackensen, president and CEO, BMW of North America. “The BMW Championship is not only a great way to showcase our brand and engage customers, but also a wonderful opportunity to raise money for the Evans Scholars Foundation and help so many young students to follow their dreams.”
Tiger Woods has won the BMW Championship twice, first in 2007 at the inaugural event, and again in 2009. He subsequently went on to become the FedEx Cup Champion both years.
According to BMW, the BMW Championship attracts 100,000 attendees each year, but given the names the tournament usually hosts, it’s no mystery as to why. BMW owners who attend enjoy benefits such as complimentary preferred parking and access to an exclusive hospitality area with premium refreshments and great views of the course. During the past fifteen years as the title sponsor, BMW has also raised more than $40,000,000 on behalf of the Evans Scholars Foundation.
“We would like to express our sincere thanks to BMW for their continued support of the PGA Tour and the Western Golf Association through 2027,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “The BMW Championship played an incredibly impactful role in launching the FedExCup in 2007 and BMW’s commitment to presenting a best-in-class event each year continues to elevate the FedExCup Playoffs. We are also very appreciative of BMW’s dedication to fulfilling the mission of the Evans Scholars Foundation, having impacted thousands of lives over the last fifteen years.”
BMW’s commitment to the game of golf is not exclusive to the PGA Tour. BMW has been a partner of the Ryder Cup since 2006 and will remain so through 2023, when the event returns to Europe at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy. The automaker also hosts the BMW PGA Championship in England, as well as the BMW International Open in Germany. The BMW Ladies Championship in Busan, South Korea was added to the LPGA Tour schedule in 2019, and the BMW Charity Pro-Am is played in South Carolina.
[Photos courtesy BMW AG.]
