BMW CHAMPIONSHIP | 21 The Western Test
The historic BMW Championship, and what to expect this year as it comes to Cog Hill.
S
croll back more than 100 years to get a glimpse of the history and prestige of the BMW Championship.
The first champion was Willie Smith in 1899.
Keep going and the list reads like a roll call for the Hall of Fame: Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods. The course sites are dominated by Chicago-area
locales, most prominently this year’s course, Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, which will be hosting for a record 19th time. But the tournament has ventured as far west as California and as far east as New York to renowned courses such as Olympia Fields, Oakland Hills, Colonial Country
Club, Medinah and Bellerive. The BMW Championship, the second last event
in the 2011 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, began as the Western Open and is still organized by the Western Golf Association. The tournament became the BMW Championship in 2007 when its date moved to late summer as the PGA TOUR Playoffs debuted. There is no cut for the 70-player field, where 30 players advance on to the TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in Atlanta.
JOHNSON’S YEAR
The 2010 tournament at Cog Hill continued the tradition of crowning a significant champion. Dustin Johnson, the laid-back power player
TPC LIFE & LEISURE
The 14th green during the final round of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, and opposite: Dustin Johnson putts on the 18th green to win the BMW Championship in 2010.
© MAXX WOLFSON/GETTY IMAGES; JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES; STAN BADZ/PGA TOUR
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84