The second leg of the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs is here this week. With the BMW Championship returning to Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois.
A south suburb of Chicago, the site was the host of the 2020 BMW Championship won by Jon Rahm. The top 50 players in the field will battle over four days. With the top 30 players in the golf standings advancing to the TOUR Championship.
Patrick Cantlay has won this tournament in back-to-back seasons, both coming at different venues in the Northeast. Cantlay defeated Scott Stallings last season at the Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, shooting a four-day total of 270 (14-under) for a one-shot win.
As the golf schedule winds down, the purse sizes increase. This week’s purse size remains the same as it was last week, with a $20 million dollar prize pool. The winner of this week’s tournament takes home $3.6 million in earnings.
Let’s take a look at this week’s historic venue, touch on key players in the field, and hand out our favorite BMW Championship predictions as we lead up to Thursday’s opening round.
Olympia Fields Country Club
The North Course at Olympia Fields is one of the top courses in the Chicagoland area and is annually rated one of the top venues in the United States. The par-70, 7,366-yard layout has hosted four major tournaments and a handful of other large events.
Designed by Willie Park Jr., the course features unique elevation changes for an Illinois course. Along with eight holes that bring water into play. Fairways are lined with native oak trees, and 91 bunkers dot the property.
The BMW Championship Field
All players ranked inside the top 50 in the golf standings are expected to tee it up this week. The field includes nine of the top 10 ranked players in the world and all five inside the top 5.
The top three spots in the FedEx Cup standings remained unchanged following the FedEx St. Jude Championship, with Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, and Rory McIlroy leading the way.
The last five in the field looking for a strong week are Cameron Young, Hideki Matsuyama, Tom Hoge, Harris English, and Patrick Rodgers. Matsuyama is the only one of the bunch who entered last week’s tournament outside the top 50.
BMW Championship Predictions
With the golf odds released, it is time to take a look at our BMW Championship predictions. Expect the course to offer a tough test this week, even for the top players in the world. This week, our golf picks consist of two finishing positions and one outright winner.
Sepp Straka (T20 or better finish) +110: Straka comes to the Chicagoland area sitting 24th in the golf standings and needing a solid week to advance to East Lake. The Austrian picked up his second win of his career earlier this summer at the John Deere Classic and has four top-20 finishes over his last ten tournaments.
Tommy Fleetwood (T10 or better finish) +135: Fleetwood is still searching for his first PGA Tour victory. But he is our favorite BMW Championship prediction this week to log another top-10 finish. In five of his last six tournaments, Fleetwood has found himself inside the top 10, walking off the 18th on Sunday.
Jon Rahm (Winner) +1000: Our outright BMW Championship prediction, Rahm, is due for another trip to the winner’s circle. Rahm has a pair of second-place finishes since winning at Augusta in April. And statistically, his game is too good to keep him away from his 12th career PGA Tour victory any longer.
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