+++ US sports stars to open BMW Championship at Olympia Fields
Country Club (Chicago, USA) +++ Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am in support of
the Evans Scholars Foundation +++ 50 world class golfers to tee off at
the PGA TOUR playoff tournament +++ Hole-in-One Award: an all-electric
BMW i5 for both the player and his caddie +++
Chicago. The BMW Championship is the penultimate
playoff event in the FedExCup, only the top 50 pros of the PGA TOUR
season are eligible to play. The field of players scheduled to play at
Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago (Illinois) this week is
arguably of the highest quality that golf fans will ever see. Two-time
defending champion Patrick Cantlay (USA) will compete to become the
event’s first-ever three-time winner since BMW became the title
partner in 2007.
With almost all the top 20 in the world rankings taking part, the
task of defending the title once again could not be more difficult for
Cantlay. Jon Rahm (ESP), the FedExCup leader, reigning Masters
champion, and winner of the only BMW Championship held at Olympia
Fields Country Club (2020) to date, world number one Scottie Scheffler
(USA), world number three Rory McIlroy (NIR), and reigning major
winners Wyndham Clark (USA, U.S. Open) and Brian Harman (USA, The
Open) are just some of the world-class pros to watch out for.
The tournament week got underway on Wednesday with the traditional
Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am. The amateurs reaching for their golf clubs in
Chicago included US sporting greats such as CC Sabathia, former
baseballer and World Series winner, former American footballer and
Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz, as well as BMW Motorsport works
driver Conner De Phillippi.
The Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am is the largest annual fundraiser for the
Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF). All proceeds from the 2023 BMW
Championship benefit the ESF, a charity which funds full college
tuition and housing scholarships for deserving caddies across the
country. Since 2007, the BMW Championshp has raised more than $45
million in support of the ESF, helping more than 3,300 students
achieve their dreams of attending college.
Once again, BMW will contribute a four-year Evans Scholarship,
covering full college tuition and housing, in the name of the first
PGA TOUR player to record a hole-in-one on any hole during tournament
play. BMW has awarded six such Hole-In-One Scholarships, with the most
recent coming after Viktor Hovland’s (NOR) ace in the final round of
the 2022 tournament.
If a pro succeeds in getting a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, both the
player and his caddie will have plenty to celebrate. The reward for
this feat is two all-new, fully electric BMW i5 Sedans. Since all
proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit deserving young caddies
through the Evans Scholars Foundation, it’s only fitting that when a
player wins a new car, so does his caddie.
In addition to the sporting battle for one of the most prestigious
titles on the PGA TOUR, a total prize fund of 20 million US dollars,
and one of the 30 starting places at the season final TOUR
championship, the Ryder Cup also plays a role at the BMW Championship.
This week is the last opportunity for the Americans to pick up points
to qualify for the team of captain Zach Johnson (USA). The six best
players in the rankings have secured their place in the defending
champions’ squad. Johnson will use Captain’s Picks to complete the
squad with six other pros; the team will face the European selection
in Rome (ITA) from 25th September to 1st October 2023. BMW will be
part of the legendary team competition as Worldwide Partner.
