BMW Championship
FedEx Cup Playoffs ā Event No. 2
BMW Championship
Caves Valley Golf Club
Owings Mills, Maryland
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Thoughts on Chalk (odds via Bet365.com)
Scottie Scheffler (+220): With 20 fewer golfers in the field, his odds drop to a season-low figure, and thatās with Rory McIlroy playing. The book has determined this to be a two-horse race. Saddle up correctly! The ONLY note of bother is Ted Scott WILL NOT be on the bag this week.
Rory McIlroy (+750): The rest is over. The roar is over about him missing the event last week. His Ryder Cup place is sealed, and he will NOT be a playing captain in the future. His problem lies just above. There is only one focus this week.
Xander Schauffele (+1800): Heās No. 43 in the standings. The top 30 qualify for East Lake. He will need T21 or better to advance. Sounds pretty straight forward!
Ludvig Aberg (+2500): Now, weāre talking! T23 or better in his last three includes a pair of top-10 paydays. Gaining strokes off the tee is a massive deal this week and next.
Patrick Cantlay (+2000): HE PLAYS WELL WHERE HE PLAYS WELL. Loading up on Top 20 and Top 10 plays too after T9 last week.
Tommy Fleetwood (+2500): Too much golf course for me. Too much scar tissue as well. It would be one hell of a story, but it is an extra 300-plus yards he didnāt have to deal with last week.
Cameron Young (+2200): He is on a serious heater! After closing with 64, the round of the day Sunday in Memphis, he picked up solo fifth after winning for the first time at the Wyndham Championship. Bomberās course and he qualifies.
Justin Thomas (+2500): Only Young put together a better round last Sunday in Memphis. Heās close.
J.J. Spaun (+2800): Only shows up in BIG EVENTS, apparently! What a story! Californian riding a SERIOUS wave!
Others for Top 5 and Top 10 action are mentioned in Prop Bets (Odds Outlook) at PGATOUR.com
Quick note, Hovland did NOT make a hole-in-one here in 2021. It was the following season in Delaware. My mistake (thanks Gator!).
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Caves Valley Golf Club |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,601. Longest Par-70 on TOUR in 2025 and third-longest overall. |
| Par: | 70 (35-35). |
| Greens: | Pure distinction Bentgrass; 5,200 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 12 feet. |
| Rough: | 4 inches of Bluegrass and Tall Fescue. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | N/A. |
| Architect(s): | Tom Fazio (1990); Logan Fazio (2020). Tom Fazio (2023). |
| Tournament Record: | 261 (-27); Patrick Cantlay & Bryson DeChambeau (ineligible), 2021. |
| Course record (last): | 60; DeChambeau. |
| Defending Champion (course): | Cantlay. |
| Defending Champion (event): | Keegan Bradley (2). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Cantlay (2021, 2022); Bradley (2018, 2024). |
| Facts of the Week: | Better watch the video below before falling in love with the results and history of 2021! |
Recent Winners ā BMW Championship
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2024 | Keegan Bradley (-12) | Wins by two over Aberg and Burns at The International outside Denver. |
| 2023 | Viktor Hovland (-17) | Wins by two over Scheffler and Fitzpatrick at Olympia Fields (North Course). |
| 2022 | Patrick Cantlay (-14) | Knocked off Scott Stallings by one shot at the Wilmington CC. |
| 2021 | Patrick Cantlay (-27) | Needed a six-hole playoff to beat DeChambeau after trashing the field with 31 birdies. |
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | Sepp Straka |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Harris English |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Rory McIlroy |
| WM Phoenix Open | Thomas Detry (first time) |
| The Genesis Invitational | Ludvig Aberg |
| Mexico Open at VidantaWorld | Brian Campbell (first time) |
| Cognizant Classic | Joe Highsmith (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Russell Henley |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Viktor Hovland |
| Texas Childrenās Houston Open | Min Woo Lee (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Brian Harman |
| 89th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Justin Thomas |
| Zurich Classic | Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (first time for both) |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Scottie Scheffler |
| Truist Championship | Sepp Straka (2) |
| ONEFLIGHT Myrtle Beach | Ryan Fox |
| 107th PGA Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| CS Challenge | Ben Griffin (2) |
| Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Canadian Open | Ryan Fox (2) |
| 125th U.S. Open | J.J. Spaun |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| Rocket Classic | Aldrich Potgieter (first time) |
| John Deere Classic | Brian Campbell (2) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Chris Gotterup |
| The Open Championship | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| 3M Open | Kurt Kitayama |
| Wyndham Championship | Cameron Young (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Justin Rose (oldest modern Euro) |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace) |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Childrenās Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre (2) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Xander Schauffele (2) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | Scottie Scheffler (7) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Wyndham Championship | Aaron Rai (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Hideki Matsuyama (2) |
| BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| The TOUR Championship | Scottie Scheffler (8) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Patton Kizzire |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Kevin Yu (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Matt McCarty (first time) |
| Shriners Childrenās Open | JT Poston |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Nico Echavarria |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Austin Eckroat (2) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Rafa Campos (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Maverick McNealy (first time) |
Horses for Courses
The BMW Championship returns to Caves Valley Golf Club outside of Baltimore for the second time since 2021 and for the second time in the history of the event. Identifying the champion is the first order of business. The second is shaving the field of 49 down to the 30 players who will advance to the FedExCup Playoffs TOUR Championship next week in Atlanta. Patrick Cantlay (+2500), the course defending champion and two-time winner of the BMW Championship, highlights a field of 49 players. Sepp Straka withdrew from the event on Monday.
Cantlay put on a master class with the flatstick to produce 27-under 261 on the Par-72 in the 2021 championship. Gaining 3.644 strokes against the field on the greens, he still needed a six-hole playoff to close the deal. The 2025 edition will play and feel brand-new tee-to-green and on the putting surfaces. The Par-72 has been reduced to a Par-70 but has been expanded by almost 60 yards to 7,601 yards, an increase from 7,542 yards in 2021. Watch the changes here. The owner of four top-10 paydays at the BMW Championship, seven of eight registered T15 or better.
Keegan Bradley (+4500) joins Cantlay as the other two-time BMW Championship winner playing this week. The 2025 Ryder Cup captain is also the defending champion of the event, held outside Denver in 2024. Bradley also knocked off Justin Rose in a playoff in the 2018 edition at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia, his first of two top-10 paychecks from 12 attempts.
Top Finishers – 2021 BMW Championship
Players listed below are competing this week; Odds presented by FanDuel Sportsbook
| Position | Player | Odds |
| 1 | Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
| 3 | Sungjae Im | +8000 |
| 4 | Rory McIlroy | +750 |
| 8 | Sam Burns | +3500 |
| T17 | Viktor Hovland | +3500 |
| T22 | Scottie Scheffler | +220 |
| T22 | Corey Conners | +4500 |
| T22 | Justin Thomas | +2500 |
| T26 | Harris English | +5000 |
| T26 | Daniel Berger | +125000 |
| T26 | Shane Lowry | +7000 |
| T29 | Brian Harman | +8000 |
| T29 | Si Woo Kim | +6000 |
Rory McIlroy (+750) is making his 15th career start and owns seven top-10 finishes, including a victory in 2012. Finishing fourth in 2021, he was one of six players who topped 20-under-par for the week in the first event at Caves Valley. The World No. 2 owns six FedExCup Playoffs victories, including three FedExCup championships at East Lake Golf Club, another demanding Par-70 layout measuring over 7,400 yards. The Northern Irishman feasts this time of year, owning finishes of T19 in 11 of 14 career events.
Sitting at No. 43 entering the week, Xander Schauffele (+1800) also enjoys the last two events of the FedExCup Playoffs. Searching for his first victory, he will enjoy the new-look layout at Caves Valley. In eight BMW Championships, he collected seven paydays of T20 or better, including top-10 paychecks over the last three editions. The only outlier? T49 in 2021 at Caves Valley.
Sungjae Im (+8000), conversely, wishes Caves Valley had produced a carbon-copy layout in 2025. The Korean posted four rounds of 67 or better to post 23-under and occupy solo third. Making his seventh trip to the BMW Championship, he owns five T15 or better finishes and a pair of results inside the top seven.
SG: Off the Tee
Entered this week
| Rank | Player | Odds |
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | +220 |
| 3 | Rory McIlroy | +750 |
| 7 | Chris Gotterup | +3500 |
| 8 | Taylor Pendrith | +8000 |
| 10 | Ludvig Aberg | +2200 |
| 11 | Kurt Kitayama | +3500 |
| 12 | Collin Morikawa | +3500 |
| 19 | Daniel Berger | +12500 |
| 20 | Corey Conners | +4500 |
Caves Valley has tightened up the fairways, pinched in bunkers, and increased the length of the rough upwards of four inches. Gaining shots on the field off the tee and attacking from the short grass will set the foundation for the week. The 2021 edition produced seven players in the top 11 spots on the final leaderboard from this category. Length and accuracy, now on a scorecard measuring 7,601 yards, will always play.
Oddsmakerās Extras
Scottie Scheffler (+280): After podium paydays of T2 in 2023 and T3 in 2022, the favorite this week and every week, will look to improve on his T22 result in 2021.
Justin Rose (+4500): The 2011 winner and runner-up in 2017 and 2018, the Englishman looks to add to his four top-10 paydays. He did not qualify for the 2021 edition.
Justin Thomas (+3000): The winner in 2019 outside Chicago at Medinah No. 3, it is his only top-10 result.
Sam Burns (+4500): Cashing solo eighth place in 2021, the Louisiana native owns four T19 or better finishes.
Tommy Fleetwood (+3500): The Englishman shared fifth in 2024 and continued his streak of four consecutive results T25 or better.
Corey Conners (+4000): Half of his six starts have paid off in the top 10. The Canadian led the field in Fairways in 2021 and cashed T22.
One and Done ā Spotterās Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesnāt make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Sungjae Im | 3rd | $1,360,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Russell Henley | T10 | 195,025 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | MC | |
| Farmers Insurance | Jason Day | T32 | 52,080 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Ludvig Aberg | WD | |
| WM Phoenix Open | Rasmus Hojgaard | T12 | 195,500 |
| Genesis Invitational | Will Zalatoris | T24 | 168,857 |
| Mexico Open | Patrick Rodgers | T25 | 59,350 |
| Cognizant Classic | Daniel Berger | T25 | 73,721 |
| Arnold Palmer | Keegan Bradley | T5 | 800,000 |
| THE PLAYERS | Collin Morikawa | T10 | 656,250 |
| Valspar Championship | Sepp Straka | T28 | 55,844 |
| Houston Open | Aaron Rai | MC | |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners | T18 | 113,050 |
| 89th Masters | Rory McIlroy | WIN | 4,200,000 |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler | T8 | 540,000 |
| Zurich Classic | Kurt Kitayama | MC | |
| Byron Nelson | Si Woo Kim | T15 | 136,719 |
| Truist Championship | Tommy Fleetwood | T4 | 826,667 |
| 107th PGA Championship | Bryson DeChambeau | T2 | 1,418,667 |
| CS Challenge | Jordan Spieth | T36 | 42,344 |
| Memorial | Hideki Matsuyama | 38th | 94,000 |
| RBC Canadian Open | Taylor Pendrith | T27 | 64,353 |
| United States Open | Jon Rahm | T7 | 615,786 |
| Travelers | Brian Harman | 8th | 620,000 |
| Rocket Classic | Cam Young | T46 | 27,091 |
| John Deere Classic | Denny McCarthy | T11 | 174,300 |
| Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre | T65 | 19,800 |
| The Open Championship | Shane Lowry | T40 | 68,340 |
| 3M Open | Wyndham Clark | T12 | 186,900 |
| Wyndham Champ | Ben Griffin | T11 | 198,850 |
| FedEx St. Jude Champ | Xander Schauffele | T22 | 186,666 |
LAST WEEK ā FedEx St. Jude Championship
THE CHOICE: Xander Schauffele
As I wrote last week, you canāt have rounds in the 70s here and contend unless you have a super-special loop. Posting 65 on Saturday after 72 on Friday wasnāt the tonic. He found only 31 of 56 Fairways, good for T56 in a field of 69. T38 GIR didnāt inspire, either. Needing only 103 putts, heās ready for East Lake Bermuda in two weeks.
Sigh.
THIS Week ā BMW Championship
THE CHOICE: Justin Thomas
I could have used former event winners Viktor Hovland or Patrick Cantlay. Instead, Iām running out the biggest winner in the pile who won this event in Chicago in 2019. Chasing with Chris Gotterup or J.J. Spaun is desperate, but I like it.
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