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2023 BMW Championship Tips
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2023 BMW Championship Event Info
Starts: 17th August 2023
Course: Olympia Fields Country Club
Par: 70
Length: 7,366 yards
2022 Champion: Patrick Cantlay
2023 BMW Championship Course Info
Opened in 1923, the North Course at Olympia Fields CC was designed by Willie Park Jr. A long layout with water in play on seven holes, it will offer a significantly harder test than last week.
Not a regular tour stop, it hosted the 2020 BMW Championship. It also hosted the 2003 US Open and 2015 US Amateur. Lesser tournaments held there in recent times include the Junior Ryder Cup in 2012 and the annual Fighting Illini Invitational.
The course is a par 70. There are only two par 5s, each playing longer than 600 yards. The four par 3s also offer a significant test with two long par 3s (215 and 280 yards on the course website) going to cause particular problems.
The course record is 63, shot by Vijay Singh and Rickie Fowler.
"Some of these greens are very small but very undulating. You've got to try to get it into the right side of the green and try to put yourself under the hole." Ernie Els, 2003 US Open
"There's a lot of choices off the tee here. You can hit 1-iron or 3-wood, or you can hit driver, and I think it is a course where you can challenge the hole if you want, or you can lay back. And that puts more players in the game." Davis Love III, 2003 US Open
"it's a ball strikers' golf course, and that's what I'm doing well right now. You can't really putt your way around that course, so I like that. I mean, it's just a really good course to play." Robby Shelton, 2015 US Amateur
Significant Info
Olympia Fields hosted this event in 2020 and also hosted the 2003 U.S. Open and the 2015 U.S. Amateur.
Only 50 players tee it up this week and only the top 30 in the FedEx rankings will progress to next week's Tour Championship.
There is no cut this week.
Weather
Thursday
Rain showers possible with a max wind speed of 14mph.
Friday
Sunny with a max wind speed of 7mph.
Saturday
Sunny with a max wind speed of 10mph.
Sunday
Sunny with a max wind speed of 9mph.
2023 BMW Championship Stats
We can look back to the 2020 BMW Championship to identify the key stats this week.
SG: Off The Tee
The top two in 2020 (Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson) were 7th and 2nd respectively off the tee.
SG: Approach
The top two in 2020 (Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson) were 9th and 1st for approach.
SG: Around The Green
The top two in 2020 (Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson) were 13th and 51st respectively around the green.
SG: Putting
The top two in 2020 (Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson) were 17th and 12th respectively for putting.
2020 BMW Championship Quotes
“Olympia Fields, it's a great golf course. It's in really good condition, a little bit tougher than last week I would say. But you know, it's kind of right in front of you, and you've just got to golf it around here. Obviously they hosted a U.S. Open, a PGA Championship. I mean, it's a real golf course. It's tough, not a lot of -- not going to make a ton of birdies, but yeah, I like it so far. I've seen pretty much all the holes except for 4, 5 and 6. Definitely you need to drive it in the fairway this week." Dustin Johnson
"This golf course is just a good golf course. You have to do everything well. The rough has been thick every time I've played, and I'm guessing this year is no exception. I haven't been out there yet. But it's not tricky. It's not complicated. It's just a very straightforward challenging golf course. You have to hit good golf shots. It's Chicago, we get some wind, and there's something about the look of the place that I really like, tree-lined, have to drive it straight, and it's very clear where you need to hit your ball on every hole." Maverick McNealy
"We've played a lot of short and soft golf courses, and this is far from short and soft. I mean, the only thing I could remotely compare it to would be Muirfield just because of how the greens got a little firmer. But in terms of golf courses, they're not very similar in that aspect. I think Muirfield is quite a bit bigger fairways and more doglegs, whereas this place is relatively straight, has -- it definitely has some doglegs but it's not anything crazy one way or the other. It's got some deep bunkers which is also similar to Muirfield. No, for the most part I think there's a reason this place held a U.S. Open. It's kind of in a league of its own in my opinion." Justin Thomas
"A lot of people are saying that it's long. I don't think it's that long just because of how much the ball is running out currently. The greens are really firm. You can make it as short or as long as you want depending on what you hit off the tee, but it's going to be interesting to see what the guys do on certain holes and where the wind comes from because I know it's going to go southwest to northwest, and I haven't played into a northwest wind yet, and I think that may be the type of wind. But with that being said, coming into the green is very important. If you miss it in the wrong spots you're absolutely dead. The greens are starting to get really firm. They're starting to get really fast and there's a lot of pitch to these greens so you've got to miss it in the correct spots." Jason Day
2023 BMW Championship Tips
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In-play
2023 BMW Championship In-Play Blog
20 August 2023, 7.35am (UK time)
Player | Total |
Scheffler |
-11 |
Fitzpatrick |
-11 |
Harman |
-10 |
Homa |
-9 |
McIlroy |
-8 |
Hovland |
-8 |
2023 BMW Championship Round 3 Summary
Yesterday's top two, Max Homa and Chris Kirk, went backwards with Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick surging into the lead. Our 45/1 pre-event selection, Brian Harman, is in 3rd place.
Notable Round 3 BMW Championship Quotes
"I played what felt like a great round of golf today. I shot 6-under. Sam was the only guy lower than me today, I think. Yeah, I played really good. The winds were shifting around a bunch out there and you're going to get caught with some weird gusts; that's just part of the game.But I did a good job of when I got into trouble, got out, and my short game was really nice today." Scottie Scheffler
"Yeah, golf course played really tough. I thought I was fortunate to get out of there with 3-under. Hit some really good shots. I've got to drive it a little bit better if I'm going to have a chance tomorrow." Brian Harman
"It was good. Good day. Felt comfortable where I hit it. A couple of holes where obviously would like to take a couple shots back, but on the whole I felt really solid and comfortable going into tomorrow." Matt Fitzpatrick
2023 BMW Championship Round 4 Weather
Sunny intervals. Wind 5-8mph.
Back or Fade The Favourite?
The favourite has once again changed, Scottie Scheffler taking over the mantle at 13/10. Scheffler comfortably leads the tee to green stats this week and is considered the worthy favourite.
The world number one has converted four of his last five third round leads, a poor showing at last year's Tour Championship the only outlier. We weren't keen on backing Rory McIlroy or Max Homa when they were favourites after rounds one and two but the Scheffler price is far more appealing.
In-Play BMW Championship Bets We Considered
With Harman already onside, we did consider a bet on Scheffler at 13/10.
BMW Championship Round 4 Bets
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19 August 2023, 7.30am (UK time)
Player | Total |
Homa |
-10 |
Kirk |
-8 |
Fitzpatrick |
-7 |
Harman |
-7 |
Five players tied |
-5 |
2023 BMW Championship Round 2 Summary
Max Homa made ten birdies on his way to shooting a course record 62 and taking control at the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend.
Notable Round 2 BMW Championship Quotes
"Obviously I holed a lot of putts, which you have to do to make 10 birdies, but I was very proud of how I drove it. I felt like I was able to attack kind of all day. Obviously the greens are still really soft, so being in the fairway as often as I was, it felt like I was able to be aggressive when I wanted to, and if I didn't, I could just play to the middle of the green. I felt that the tee ball set up everything. It was a major bonus to make as many putts as I did, but it was all really good. I think that out here when you're in the fairway, it becomes significantly easier, more so than other golf courses." Max Homa
"It feels better. It's been interesting the last few months, I haven't played particularly well and have been working really hard on my game with my swing coach Scott Hamilton, and Ramon, my putting coach. We've been going at it and just kind of felt like I've been beating my head against the wall a little bit. But thankfully all of a sudden last week in Memphis after the first round felt like more of the same and kind of started to gain a little bit of momentum, played well the last three days, and the changes or tweaks that I've made in my golf swing are finally starting to get comfortable." Chris Kirk
"I personally prefer it being more difficult. I don't like it when it's a birdie fest. I hate those golf courses. I just think -- it just doesn't suit me personally. I just don't enjoy that." Matt Fitzpatrick
2023 BMW Championship Round 3 Weather
Sunny intervals. Wind 10-20mph.
Back or Fade The Favourite?
We weren't keen on Rory McIlroy's price yesterday due to the number of fairways he missed in round one. That proved to be the correct decision as McIlroy continued his wayward driving and could only manage a round of 70.
Max Homa has taken over as favourite with two rounds to go and can be backed at a best price of 19/10. If we were keen to oppose McIlroy due to his propensity to missing fairways, that certainly can't be said of Homa. Only Tom Kim has found more fairways this week and Homa ranks 5th for SG: Off The Tee.
Homa has held the 36 hole lead twice in the last 12 months and went on to finish first and second. It should be noted that the first at the Fortinet Championship was somewhat fortuitous (Danny Willett threw the tournament away on the final green) but we can certainly expect Homa to hang around for the weekend. However, we would be hesitant to back him at 19/10 given his biggest strength has been the putter so far.
In-Play BMW Championship Bets We Considered
Odds of 10/11 on Russell Henley to finish inside the top 20 was a bet of definite interest. However, the price is only available with Spreadex and so we're unable to advise to subscribers. We have one two ball bet we are advising to subscribers.
BMW Championship Round 3 Bets
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18 August 2023, 7.30am (UK time)
Player | Total |
McIlroy |
-5 |
Harman |
-5 |
Fitzpatrick |
-4 |
Theegala |
-4 |
Scheffler |
-4 |
Fowler |
-4 |
Clark |
-4 |
Kirk |
-4 |
Three players tied |
-3 |
2023 BMW Championship Round 1 Summary
Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman share the lead after the opening round despite neither hitting more than 50% of fairways. McIlroy in particular was wayward off the tee, hitting the fewest fairways of anyone in the 50 man field.
Notable Round 1 BMW Championship Quotes
"With the golf course being so soft, it's almost an advantage to be playing out of the rough going into some of these greens because you know the ball is not going to spin. I'm not saying I was trying to aim for the rough, but I was, I think, a lot of the tee shots I was just being super aggressive because I knew in the back of my mind I wasn't really being penalized for it. The golf course is certainly not playing the way it played in 2020. That was not my approach a few years ago here. But hopefully with the wind and the sun, the golf course starts to firm up a little bit and starts to play a little bit more like how I think it should play." Rory McIlroy
"Yeah, really pleased. Yeah, really, really, really, really, really, really pleased. Yeah, just not played great as of late. It's obviously pretty obvious. But I feel like we turned a corner kind of last Sunday really and the last few days with my driving, and that's been the difference I feel like." Matt Fitzpatrick
2023 BMW Championship Round 2 Weather
Sunny intervals. Wind 3-5mph.
Back or Fade The Favourite?
Rory McIlroy is the 3/1 favourite after his opening round of 65. However, McIlroy was erratic off the tee in the opening round (only three fairways found) and he'll need to improve if the course firms up over the coming days.
A host of top class names are tucked in behind the Northern Irishman and the 3/1 is a price we are not entertaining.
In-Play BMW Championship Bets We Considered
We opposed Seamus Power in his round one two ball against Lee Hodges and thought about going back to the well. However, despite his win, Hodges wasn't at his best and we'd prefer to oppose Power with someone else. We haven't been able to find any alternative match ups against Power but we remain keen to take him on.
BMW Championship Round 2 Bets
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