2023 BMW Championship Returning to Olympia Fields

December 6, 2021

The PGA Tour recently announced that the BMW Championship will be returning in 2023 to Olympia Fields Country Club, which hosted the event that was won by Jon Rahm in 2020. In addition, BMW has signed a five-year extension to remain the title sponsor of the TOUR’s second FedExCup Playoffs event through 2027.

The 2021 BMW Championship, part of the FedEx Cup, was played at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, and won in a dramatic playoff by Patrick Cantlay. Bryson DeChambeau and Cantlay staged an epic battle with both players posting (-27) 261 scores over the course of four rounds.

“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 15 years.”

The 2020 BMW Championship took place at Olympia Fields Country Club in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and was won by Jon Rahm, who made a 66-foot birdie putt to beat Dustin Johnson on the first playoff hole. The event took place without fans on the same Olympia Fields North course, which also hosted the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2017.

“We are thrilled and honored to welcome the 2023 BMW Championship back to Olympia Fields Country Club and our North Course, which has been the site of so many incredible moments in the history of this event,” said William McErlean, President of Olympia Fields Country Club. “Our membership looks forward to sharing our facilities with the golf community, as well as the best players in the world.”

Olympia Fields has a rich championship tradition. In addition to the BMW Championship and the 2017 Women’s PGA Championship, it hosted the 2003 U.S. Open, won by Jim Furyk; the 2015 U.S. Amateur, won by DeChambeau.

Over the years, 183 Olympia Fields caddies have become Evans Scholars, beginning with Don Dahlke, who earned an Evans Scholarship in 1954 to attend Northwestern University. Nine Olympia Fields caddies currently are attending college as Evans Scholars.

The BMW Championship is open to the top 70 PGA Tour golfers following The Northern Trust. With only seventy players in the field, there is no 36-hole cut.

Justin Thomas won the 2019 BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club. Thomas finished at 25-under 263, tying a tournament record with a closing 68 after a third-round, course-record 61. Patrick Cantlay finished second and Hideki Matsuyama finished third.

Before becoming the BMW Championship, the event was previously known as The Western Open Golf Tournament and typically was played in early July around the Chicago area. Cog Hill and Butler National hosted the event between 1974 and 2006.

All proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to deserving caddies from modest means. The current number of student-caddies with tuition assistance provided by the Evans Scholars Foundation is 1010; they are enrolled in eighteen universities nationwide.

Since 1930, more than 11,050 young men and women have graduated from college as Evans Scholars. Most recipients attend one of the 17 universities where the Evans Scholars Foundation operates a Scholarship House. Evans Scholars are selected on the basis of excellent grades, outstanding character, strong caddie record and demonstrated financial need.