DeChambeau Shoots 60 to Lead 2021 BMW Championship Heading into Weekend

Bryson DeChambeau shoots 60 to lead 2021 BMW Championship

(Image: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)
 

 

The first two rounds of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club have almost concluded with Bryson DeChambeau ahead at 16-under currently. He holds a single shot lead over Patrick Cantlay. DeChambeau carded a 68/60 to take the lead during his Friday round, shortly before play was suspended. 

Friday's round was first suspended due to inclement weather but resumed shortly afterwards. It was then suspended again, this time due to darkness Players who didn't finish their second rounds will do so Saturday morning.

 

Due to the reduced number of players in the field this week, there is no cut. 

 

 

DECHAMBEAU SHOOTS STATEMENT 60 ON FRIDAY

Bryson DeChambeau was on a mission Friday. Starting the day 4-under and in the middle of the pack, he went on to shoot a 60, in a round that included five birdies and two eagles. It was the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.

But a 60 will be slightly disappointing for Bryson. After an impressive second shot at the par 5 16th hole that landed several feet from the hole, he sunk the eagle putt. This set off the 59-watch, need either a birdie on the 17th or 18th to seal the deal. Bryson had birdie putts on both, landing his tee shot on the par 3 17th to about 17 feet and his approach shot on the par 4 18th to about 6 feet. Unfortunately, Bryson missed both of the putts but in his post-round interview, he noted that despite not reaching 59, he was still happy with the round and what he accomplished.

 

This is a statement round for DeChambeau, in my opinion. I think it validates the process he's been on for the past two years. It was interesting to note all the praise DeChambeau was getting from various golf commentators after his round, when just weeks ago at the WGC Fedex St. Jude Invitational these same people were bashing his approach to the game. While DeChambeau's golf has ranged from both ends of the spectrum, none can deny his entertainment factor. Whether he's on or off, he is always a great player to watch.

 

With his round of 60, DeChambeau sets a new course record at Caves Valley Golf Club. It is also the 43rd round of 60 in PGA Tour history, the last shot by Cameron Smith last week at The Northern Trust interestingly.

 

THE ASSAULT ON A STEAMING CAVES VALLEY

The temperatures were sweltering in the high 90s during the opening rounds at Caves Valley Golf Club. The humidity was high both days, which, along with a non-existent wind, led to soft conditions. 

 

Many low scores were had as a result of this. The low round on Thursday was a 64 shot by Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns. The low round on Friday, of course, was DeChambeau's 60, followed by a 63 shot by Patrick Cantlay.

 

During Friday afternoon though, the weather began to worsen, with rain beginning to fall and winds picking up, so much so that a flash flood warning was issued, and round suspended at about 4:30PM. It resumes briefly at 6:30PM, before being suspended again due to darkness.

TOP 30 BUBBLE

As it sits right now, the players around the 30th place cutoff for the Tour Championship next week are: Billy Horshel (T57 at 1-under, 29th), Charley Hoffman (T38 at 4-under, 31st) and Lucas Glover (T10 at 9-under, 32nd). Each will surely be looking to finish strong to stay or get within the Top 30.

Players who made a run to get into the Top 30 so far are Sergio Garcia (T4), who sits at 27th up from 44th at T3 12-under and Hudson Swafford (T6), who sits at 28th from 40th at T5 11-under

HOW ARE OUR PICKS DOING?

Let's check in to see how our picks are doing in the tournament so far:

1) Jon Rahm: T2 at 15-under, 2nd

2) Justin Thomas: T26 at 5-under, 6th

3) Louis Oosthuizen: T60 at E, 13th

 

The momentum continues for Rahm, who co-held the opening round lead with a 64 on Thursday. Thomas will be disappointed with himself so far, given the opportunity for low scoring the course has been offering so far. For Louis, it looks like he needs a bit of warming up to get back into the swing of things. He's still on track to stay in the Top 30 luckily.

***

The weekend is sure to bring excitement and drama, given what's on the line and the potential for changing weather conditions. Be sure to check back to see who has won. 

Also, for more up-to-date info, check out our Twitter feed, which we update live during the rounds.

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

2021 BMW Championship Preview and Picks

 Jon Rahm is our top pick this week to win the 2021 BMW Championship 

(Image: Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)

 

 

The second round of the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs is here.This week, the Top 70 will travel to Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland for the 2021 BMW Championship. On the line, the chance to get into the Top 30 and gain entry into the final playoff event, the prestigious Tour Championship, and a chance to hoist the FedEx Cup.

Since the field is smaller for this event, there is no 36-hole cut. This has the added benefit of bringing more drama to the event as any player in the field this week can move up the leaderboard on any day, if they play well. It also ensures that every player will be getting a paycheck too. 

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Prior to the creation of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the tournament was known as the Western Open, first being contested in 1899. This makes it one of the oldest tournaments on tour. It has historically been located in the Chicago area, but in the playoff-era courses such as Medinah, Cog Hill and Olympia Fields have played host.

 

Notable multiple winners of the tournament (under both its old and new titles) include Tiger Woods (5), Tom Watson (3), Dustin Johnson (2) and Nick Price (2).

 

In 1985, Scott Verplank won the tournament as an amateur. He became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Doug Sanders at the 1956 Canadian Open. Only one golfer has achieved this feat since: Phil Mickelson in 1991 at the Northern Telecom Open.

Winning the BMW Championship is perhaps a PGA Tour golfer's most important win of the year, aside from majors. Under the new Tour Championship format, a player entering the Tour Championship ranked first will start the tournament at 10-under, a player ranked second starts at 8-under, and so on. Given the amount of FedEx Cup points on the line this week, winning the BMW Championship, in the case of higher ranked players, can launch a player into first place (as we saw with Tony Finau last week), giving them a big advantage heading into the Tour Championship.

The importance of the BMW Championship has even been recognized by the PGA Tour in the past, being named the tour's "Tournament of the Year" from 2012 to 2014. 

CAVES VALLEY GOLF CLUB

Caves Valley opened its doors in 1991 to private membership. Designed by legendary course architect Tom Fazio, the course is sure to test golfers this week, featuring various water hazards, undulating fairways, elevation changes and fast greens (about 12.5 on the stimpmeter). The course has been touted as modern in design, placing 47th in Golfweek's Best Modern Course rankings in 1997.

 

Many have claimed that the course in recent years has had a "Muirfield Village" feel to it. This could be due to the fact that the course's superintendant, Kyle Steidel, previously worked at Murfield Village, and is said to have brought many practices over from there. 

This is the first time that the BMW Championship is being contested at Caves Valley, but the course is no stranger to professional golf. In 2002 it hosted the US Senior Open, then the 2014 International Crown and 2017 Senior Players Championship, as well as numerous amateur events.

 

For the tournament this week, Caves Valley will play as a par 71, measuring 7,226 yards in length. The nines will also be flipped, with players starting at the tenth hole and finishing at the ninth. 

 

The event is speculated to draw up to 100,000 fans this week. The open design of the course however, allows tour officials to space out the fans safely throughout the course. It will also feature some of the tallest grandstands on tour, at a stunning height of up to 30 feet in some locations. This, in conjunction with the natural elevation changes, will create a stadium-like atmosphere on some holes.

OUR PICKS THIS WEEK

It gets tougher and tougher to make our picks, but here's who we are picking this week:

1) Jon Rahm

2) Justin Thomas

3) Louis Oosthuizen

Jon Rahm is the defending champion at the BMW Championship, winning last year at Olympia Fields. He's riding a high wave of momentum coming off his near win last week at The Northern Trust. Justin Thomas is a player who's game I am beginning to appreciate more and more. He always seems to be near the top of the leaderboard, like a modern day Matt Kuchar. He too played well last week at The Northern Trust. Finally, TGR favourite Louis Oosthuizen is perhaps the most rested player in the field, having took the last two week off for injury prevention. Can he bounce back this week with a win?

The BMW Championship kicks off early Thursday morning. It will have a more intimate feel though, given the smaller field size. Nevertheless, be sure to check out our weekend update for all the storylines and drama over the first two rounds.

 

Also be sure to check out our Twitter feed, for live tweets during the rounds.

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day Wins the 2015 BMW Championship, Becomes World Number One

It may have been pretty clear from the start, but Jason Day dominated the entire field this week for an easy victory at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club. He finished off with a score of 22-under thanks to a pair of 69's over the weekend, a six shot lead over rookie Daniel Berger.  With it, he maintains his top spot on the FedEx Cup Rankings and also ousts Rory McIlroy to become the World Number One golfer on the World Golf Rankings, the youngest Australian to do so in history.

This is Day's second playoff win this year, and fifth PGA win of the year (including a major)! His streak kicked off near the end of July with his win at the Canadian Open. As of now, he's won four of his last six tournaments he's played in, a feat which has only been done by the likes of Tiger Woods, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, and a few more.

I've been saying this for years, but for most of Jason's career he's had great finishes but barely any wins. You could always count on him to have a great finish, especially in majors where we calculated that he had a 50% chance of finishing in the top 10 of any major he played. His win at the Farmers Insurance Open in February was his first in four year, and only his second of his PGA career. Many have called him the best player to not win a major or the best player who hasn't won a lot of tournaments, but he silenced them all these last couple of months. And considering his past and how golf has helped him get through it, there's no one more deserving of this success.

Like we said in our previous post, it's going to be hard to decide who the player of the year is. Is it Jordan Spieth, who won two majors, and nearly could have had them all? Or is it Jason Day, who's last couple of months has been career defining, full of broken records? Both are equally deserving, but who will it be?

Lastly, our picks finished pretty well too:

1) Louis Oosthuizen: T19 at 10-under
2) Rory McIlroy: T4 at 14-under
3) Justin Rose: T13 at 11-under

Funny enough, it was Rory who just a year ago was having a winning streak like Jason Day.

Next week is the final tournament of the playoffs and the season, the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Up for grabs is the FedEx Cup and over $10 million. Only the top 30 as of this week are invited, making it one of the most action-packed tournaments of the year. Be sure to check out our picks for it.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day: World Number One

Jason Day Holds Steady Going Into Weekend at BMW Championship

Two rounds have been played at the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club, although with the current scoreline, you'd think four have been played...

That's right, the current leading score is an 18-under, which is held by none other than Jason Day. The Australian shot an impressive 61/63 on his opening rounds and was actually on 59 watch most of the time. With that, he tied the PGA Tour record for lowest 36-hole score. In fact, due to the weather delay, Day had to finish his opening round yesterday morning. On his final hole, he had a 44-yard pitch shot, which he needed to hole to shoot that 59. It would have been the first 59 shot since Jim Furyk's 59 two years ago at this event.

Day's second round yesterday included seven birdies, an eagle, and a bogey; good enough to earn him a five shot lead over Daniel Berger and Brenden Todd. At this rate, Day's on track to win his second playoff event of the year. If he does (or finishes a solo second), he'll surpass Rory McIlroy as World Number One on the WGC rankings and may even beat out Jordan Spieth for PGA Tour Player of the Year (keep in mind that Spieth won two majors this year).

Weather conditions at Conway Farms were not the best and did result in the suspension of the opening round as we said. They didn't seem to affect the players too much though, as low scores were shot all around. Traditionally, players seem to always score low at Conway Farms (see Furyk's 59 in 2013) and the score average this year seems to be around the high 60's .

In other news, a unique streak is on the line for Hunter Mahan this week. He is the only player to play in every Tour Championship event (since it's inception in 2007). Mahan sits at T29 as of now and is projected to finish at 52nd on the FedEx Cup Rankings. He likely won't make it into the Tour Championship this year (keep in mind that only the Top 30 make it), unless he can do something big.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Louis Oosthuizen: T34 at 5-under
2) Rory McIlroy: T9 at 9-under
3) Justin Rose: T12 at 8-under


Pretty good results so far!

The third round is set to start later today. Be sure to check it out!


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day is playing some of the best golf of his career at the moment

2015 BMW Championship Picks

We're back from our little break this week to give you coverage of the third event in the PGA Tour Playoffs, the BMW Championship, being played this year at Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, Illinois. Since it is the third stage of the playoffs, the field only consists of the top 70 players on the FedEx Cup Rankings, as of last week, making it one of the smaller fields in golf. On the line is a $8.25 million purse as well as entry into the final playoff event next week, the Tour Championship (only open to the Top 30 in the rankings).

The BMW Championship was historically played as the Western Open, before the Tour went to the current playoff format. The Western Open was one of the oldest events on tour, first being played in 1899, and was won by many golfing greats like Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, etc.

This is the first time that the BMW Championship has been played at Conway Farms Golf Club since 2013. During that edition of the tournament, Jim Furyk set the course record with a stunning 59, which was also only the 6th 59 ever shot in PGA Tour history. The club has also hosted many amateur events in the past, like the USGA Junior Amateur, as well major qualifying events. This week, the course will measure 7,149 yards long and play as a par 71.

As for our picks, though the field is getting smaller and smaller every week, the decision for making picks becomes tougher, since the field is filled with so many quality players who earned their way into the tournament. Given that, here's our picks this week:

1) Louis Oosthuizen
2) Rory McIlroy
3) Justin Rose


Play starts Thursday morning but be sure to check out our Weekend Update post Friday evening,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Louis Oosthuizen is our top pick this week

2014 BMW Championship Picks- Weekend Update

The first two rounds of the 2014 BMW PGA Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colorado have now concluded, leaving just the two rounds of this four-day event to be played. The 36-hole leader going into the third round is Sergio Garcia with a lead of 8-under (-8). Garcia shot a 6-under 64 today, which was good enough for a one shot leader over Ryan Palmer. Canadian Graham DeLaet is also in the mix and is T5 (4-under(-4)).

As a reminder, there is no cut in this event, since the field is already so small. Scoring conditions were also good over both days. Today, the low round of the day was a 6-under 64, which was shot by Garcia and Palmer.

Australian golfer Jason Day has also withdrawn from the tournament, due to back injuries which flared up after hitting a shot on Friday. Day has been plagued with injuries all season, but is still doing surprisingly well. He started the week ranked 11th in the FedEx Cup points rankings and is expected to still compete in the Tour Championship next week, meaning he won't fall under 30th in the rankings.

Finally, here is how our picks are doing going into the final round:

1) Justin Rose: T20 at even par (E)
2) Webb Simpson: T58 at 5-over (+5)
3) Rickie Fowler: T8 at 3-under (-3)


1) Graeme McDowell: T58 at 5-over (+5)


Rose and Fowler are playing nice and consistently, but it looks like McDowell and Simpson are struggling. Unfortunately it looks like GMac won't be competing in the Tour Championship next week.

Stay tuned for out results post Sunday evening,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Can Garcia hold off his fellow players and win it all tomorrow? (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

2014 BMW Championship Picks

The third playoff event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs is set to start in just a few hours, The BMW Championship, which is being played at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colerado (7,348 yards/par72). This is the last Playoff event before the final event; the Tour Championship. This tournament features the top-70 of the FedEx Cup points ranking and due to this has no cut. Tee times also start a little later. The top-30 after this week then move on the the Tour Championship next week.

Due to there only being 70-players, the field is dense with talent and packed with skill. We will see some very good golf being played this week and next week. On that note, here are our picks for the winner this year:

1) Justin Rose: Going on a lucky guess here
2) Webb Simpson: Maybe that Ryder Cup pick might give him some confidence?
3) Rickie Fowler: It's only a matter of time with him.

And new father Graeme McDowell is also in the field, we'll be watching him of course. Stay tuned for our weekend update!

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews