PGA TOUR, Western Golf Association, and BMW Announce BMW Championship Host Venues for 2025 and 2026.
GLENVIEW, Ill. (Aug. 16, 2022) – The BMW Championship will return to Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland, in 2025 and Bellerive Country Club, in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2026, PGA TOUR, Western Golf Association, and BMW officials announced today. While official dates have not been announced, both events are scheduled to be held in August.
“We are excited to bring the BMW Championship back to these iconic venues, giving the amazing fans of the greater Baltimore and St. Louis areas a chance to see the best players in the world up close,” said Vince Pellegrino, WGA Senior Vice President of Tournaments. “When we consider potential hosts, we look for challenging layouts that can deliver an unmatched experience for fans and our PGA TOUR partners. Caves Valley Golf Club and Bellerive Country Club are the perfect additions to our championship lineup.”
The BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs, dates back to 1899, when it debuted as the Western Open. It is the third-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule, behind only the British Open and the U.S. Open. BMW became the title partner of the event in 2007.
Each year, the championship is contested on golf’s grandest stages. Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, is hosting the 2022 BMW Championship this week. The BMW Championship will return to Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago in 2023 before visiting Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado, just south of Denver, in 2024.
After going nearly 60 years without hosting a PGA TOUR event, the Baltimore area is getting its second in five years. Patrick Cantlay won the 2021 BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club, prevailing in a thrilling six-hole playoff on his way to capturing the FedExCup. The 2021 event yielded a record contribution to the championship’s sole beneficiary, the Evans Scholars Foundation, raising $5.6 million for caddie scholarships and helping establish the Caves Valley Evans Scholars Scholarship House at the University of Maryland.
“It is a tremendous honor for Caves Valley Golf Club to once again host this prestigious championship,” Caves Valley Golf Club President Steve Fader said. “We are still buzzing from last year’s finish and the spotlight that was placed on the Baltimore area. The club will continue its Long-Range Strategic Plan, working with the Fazio Design Group to enhance competitive and agronomic conditions for its membership and all involved with the 2025 BMW Championship.”
Bellerive Country Club hosted the 2008 BMW Championship, as Camilo Villegas earned the first PGA TOUR victory of his career. The club was established in 1897 and is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The current course was designed by renowned architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr., in 1960 and underwent major renovations led by Jones’ son, Rees Jones, in 2005, 2013 and 2019.
In 1965, Bellerive Country Club became the youngest course to host the U.S. Open, with the legendary Gary Player completing the career grand slam. The club also hosted the 1992 PGA Championship – Nick Price’s first major victory – and the 2018 PGA Championship. In November 2021, the club was selected to host the 2030 Presidents Cup.
“Bellerive is thrilled to host the 2026 BMW Championship and welcome the FedExCup Playoffs back to St. Louis,” said Bellerive Country Club President Rick Walsh. “Our club has a storied history of major championship golf. We expect to present a formidable test for the players while celebrating our incredible and supportive community.”
In addition to having an estimated economic impact of more than $30 million in the regions surrounding Baltimore and St. Louis, the BMW Championship will continue to play a vital philanthropic role by introducing golf fans across the country to the Evans Scholars Foundation and its mission of awarding full tuition and housing college scholarships to deserving young caddies.
Since 2007, the BMW Championship has raised more than $40 million for caddie scholarships, helping send more than 3,300 young men and women to college.
“We are proud of our longstanding collaboration with the Western Golf Association and of the work we’ve done over the past 15 years to help so many young men and women go to college and pursue their dreams,” said Sebastian Mackensen, President and CEO, BMW of North America.
The 2022 BMW Championship will feature the top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoffs vying to earn one of 30 spots in the season-ending TOUR Championship and the chance to be crowned FedExCup champion. Starting next year, the field will be made up of the top 50 players in the FedExCup standings.
Past BMW Championship winners include Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods.
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About the BMW Championship
The BMW Championship dates back to 1899 when it debuted as the Western Open, making it the third-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule, behind only the British Open and U.S. Open. BMW has sponsored the tournament since 2007 when it became the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs. The BMW Championship features a field of the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings to determine the final 30 players for the FedExCup final at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. Since 2007, the BMW Championship has contributed more than $40 million to the Evans Scholars Foundation, the event’s charitable beneficiary. To learn more, visit www.bmwchampionship.com.
About Caves Valley Golf Club
Since its opening in 1991, Caves Valley has been dedicated to promoting and preserving golf’s honored traditions. Caves has been a consistent supporter of championship golf at all levels. In 2002, it hosted the U.S. Senior Open, where Don Pooley bested Tom Watson in a dramatic five-hole playoff. In addition, the club has hosted the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur, the NCAA Division I Men’s (2005) and Women’s Golf Championships (2009), the AJGA Cannon Cup (twice), and the Palmer Cup in 2007. Caves Valley also hosted the inaugural LPGA International Crown in 2014, the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship in 2017 and a thrilling 2021 BMW Championship, won by Patrick Cantlay in six playoff holes. Designed by nationally acclaimed golf course architect Tom Fazio, Caves Valley is situated on 962 acres of rolling hills, pastures, woods, and wetlands, forming a spectacular setting for an 18-hole course that has consistently been ranked one of the top courses in the United States by Golf Digest.
About Bellerive Country Club
Bellerive Country Club began in 1897 in north St. Louis as a nine-hole course with 60 members. In 1910, the membership incorporated as Bellerive Country Club, naming the club after Louis St. Ange De Bellerive, the last French commander in North America. Renowned architect, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., chose a prime farm location for the current site of the “Green Monster of Ladue”. The course was opened on Memorial Day, 1960. Since then, Bellerive has hosted all four men’s Major Championships (US Open, PGA Championship, US Senior Open and Senior PGA Championship) becoming just the third club to do so. In 2008, Bellerive hosted the second-ever BMW Championship as part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, in which Camilo Villegas had his first career tour victory.
About the Western Golf Association
The Western Golf Association conducts six national golf championships and sponsors the nationally acclaimed Evans Scholars Foundation. Headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, the organization was founded in 1899 by 11 Chicago-area golf clubs to promote their interests in golf. In addition to the BMW Championship on the PGA TOUR and the NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank on the Korn Ferry Tour, the WGA conducts four prestigious amateur championships, the Western Amateur, the Western Junior, and the Women’s Western Golf Association’s Amateur and Junior championships.
About the Evans Scholars Foundation
Established by famed amateur golfer Charles Chick Evans Jr. and the Western Golf Association, the Evans Scholars Foundation provides full housing and tuition scholarships to high-achieving caddies across the country. Currently, 1,100 caddies are enrolled in 22 universities across the nation as Evans Scholars. The Program, which is supported by the Western Golf Association, is funded by contributions from more than 36,000 Evans Scholars Par Club members, including Evans Scholars Alumni, as well as proceeds from the BMW Championship. Since the Program’s inception in 1930, 11,815 caddies nationwide have graduated as Evans Scholars. To learn more, visit www.wgaesf.org.
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