The BMW Championship
Preview for the BMW Championship: We now enter the 2nd leg of the playoffs with the BMW Championship next up on the schedule with the top 50 players on the FedEx Cup point list competing this week, and the top 30 players after this event will have the honor of playing in the Tour Championship next week to finish off the PGA Tour 2022-2023 season. The best score to date at this tournament is held by Patrick Cantlay who shot a -27 in 2021, and Tiger Woods won the inaugural edition of the BMW Championship in 2007 with a score of -22. BMW Championship winners over the last five years include Patrick Cantlay in 2022, Patrick Cantlay in 2021, Jon Rahm in 2020, Justin Thomas in 2019, and Keegan Bradley in 2018.
Tournament purse: The prize money for this week’s event is $20M, the winner collects $3.6M and also earns a whopping 2,000 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, IL, is 7,366 yards in length, is a par 70, and the greens are bentgrass. The winning score at this event over the last five editions ranges from -4 to -27, but the event was played on five different courses with Olympia Fields CC used in 2020 and Jon Rahm won that tournament with a score of -4, so clearly this is a difficult track. In order, some key stats to focus on this week are strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: off the tee, proximity between 175 to 200 yards, par 4’s between 450 to 500 yards, and strokes gained: tee to green.
The 2023 BMW Championship: We are concluding the 2022-2023 campaign, and just the top 50 players in points in the FedEx Cup remain this week. Much the same as last week, there is no cut line again this week, so every golfer will play all four rounds barring any withdrawal(s). We have the vast majority of the world’s top players in this week including Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and many other superb golfers. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A+.
DFS PGA Tour Golf Picks
Make the most of this article’s data, predictions, and insights to help with your fantasy golf picks for the BMW Championship. And check out our PGA Projections and Optimizer tools to make more informed player selections for your DFS DraftKings lineups. Best of luck this week!
Three questions that are relevant to the BMW Championship this week:
- Which 10 players have gained the most strokes total over their last 24 rounds? Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim, and Collin Morikawa.
- Which 10 players does my custom model like the most? Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Si Woo Kim, Viktor Hovland, Lucas Glover, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele.
- Which 10 players gained the most strokes total (minimum 6 rounds) at this event since 2018? Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Sam Burns, Hideki Matsuyama, Scottie Scheffler, and Corey Conners.
All the best in your journey to win or at least be in the money in some contests this week – here are (in no particular order) 15 DFS golf picks on DraftKings (DK), plus I also include player salaries for DK. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performances at the event over the last five years, and add in some valuable data.
15 Players Who Are Either High-Potential or Solid-Value Plays This Week – Get Them Into Your DFS Lineups
Rory McIlroy (Salary: DraftKings – $12.1K) – I believe that everything points towards Rory winning this week from his incredible recent form to his superb results at this tournament, to his stats, confidence and everything else. He now has eight straight top 9’s including winning the Scottish Open, finishing 2nd at the U.S. Open, and he’s coming off a T3 last week. He has double-digit strokes gained ball-striking in four out of his last five starts, and has been solid with his short game since early May. He will be highly owned this week but you can find pivots further down the board – don’t miss out on the McIlroy train while it’s chugging along with such force! BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T8, 2021 – T4, 2020 – T12, 2019 – T19, and 2018 – T5.
Jon Rahm (Salary: DraftKings – $11.2K) – He was off last week but I expect him to rebound nicely this week, and what better place than the one he won at three years ago gaining strokes across the board and 11.26 total. He has finished no lower than T9 over the last four years at this event, and I expect that streak to extend to five years this week. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T8, 2021 – T9, 2020 – Won, 2019 – T5, and 2018 – T24.
Patrick Cantlay (Salary: DraftKings – $10.5K) – Cantlay has won the last two BMW Championship tournaments because of strong ball-striking last year and unreal putting two years ago where he gained 14.58 strokes to the field at Caves Valley, MD. He had a T12 here in 2020 and was 2nd in 2019. He lost in a playoff last week, has two top 4’s in his last four starts and hasn’t lost strokes ball-striking since January at the Tournament of Champions. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – Won, 2021 – Won, 2020 – T12, 2019 – 2nd, and 2018 – T55.
Tommy Fleetwood (Salary: DraftKings – $9.7K) – He has been all over leaderboards since mid-June but just can’t seal the deal for a win. He has a 2nd, a T3 (last week), a T5, a T6, and a T10 over his last six starts thanks to being consistent throughout his bag. He hasn’t competed in this event since 2019 but does have two top 11’s in as many starts. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T11 and 2018 – T8.
Max Homa (Salary: DraftKings – $9.5K) – Homa is heating up again after two missed cuts with four straight top 21’s and each result getting better leading up to last week’s T6. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T23, 2021 – T63, 2020 – T59, and 2019 – T61.
Lucas Glover (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – You’re likely as surprised as I am that Glover has won his last two events over the last two weeks gaining more than 16 strokes ball-striking and almost 8 strokes putting between both starts. He actually has five top 6’s over his last six starts and is the hottest player in the world at the moment. Will he keep the good times rolling this week?! Hard to say, but don’t sleep on him – just don’t expect a third straight victory. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T66, 2021 – T38, and 2019 – T7.
Russell Henley (Salary: DraftKings – $8.2K) – Henley was consistently putting up teen-something finishes since April and over the last two weeks had a T2 at the Wyndham Championship and secured a T6 last week. He was good here three years ago and could certainly find his way into the top 10 again if his putter remains hot because we pretty much know his approach play will be strong as per usual. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T35, 2021 – T60, and 2020 – T25.
Cameron Davis (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – The Aussie has been blazing over the last three weeks with three straight top 10’s including last week’s T6. He’s peaking at exactly the right time and could lock down another top 10 this week if he can find fairways from the tee blocks. His length will certainly help him this week on this big boy course.. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T35 and 2021 – T29.
J.T. Poston (Salary: DraftKings – $7.7K) – Poston has four top 7’s over his last six starts thanks to a hot putter, but his approach play has also gained in five consecutive starts. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T35, 2020 – T59, and 2019 – T16.
Emiliano Grillo (Salary: DraftKings – $7.4K) – He won eight starts ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and has four top 20’s over his last five starts including a T6 at The Open Championship. He keeps getting it done through solid ball-striking and putting, which is exactly what you want to see as a DFS user. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T19, 2021 – T46, 2019 – T31, and 2018 – T61.
Brendon Todd (Salary: DraftKings – $6.6K) – Todd has long been one of the most accurate drivers of the ball on the PGA Tour, and that will certainly come in handy this week given the fairways are narrow and there are strategically placed fairway bunkers that will give players fits. He had a top 10 here three years ago, and has two top 7’s over his last four starts including a T2 at the John Deere Classic. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T8.
Adam Schenk (Salary: DraftKings – $6.5K) – Unbelievably, Schenk has three top 7’s over his last five starts and also had a T7 at the Memorial Tournament and a 2nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge in a two-week stretch in late May/early June. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: none.
Hideki Matsuyama (Salary: DraftKings – $9.4K) – Matsuyama has consistently been in the teens for finishes since early April and he also has four other top 30’s since, as well. His T3 here three years ago was because of good off-the-tee play and around-the-green play, and could do something similar this week. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T35, 2021 – T46, 2020 – T3, 2019 – T3, and 2018 – T15.
Corey Conners (Salary: DraftKings – $8.9K) – He has two top 9’s over his last four starts, and has finished anywhere from T6 to T31 in seven out of his last ten events played. He also won in early April at the Valero Texas Open, was decent here three years ago, and has a pretty nice-looking record at the BMW Championship over the years. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T5, 2021 – T22, 2020 – T33, and 2019 – T7.
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $8.1K) – Harman has been spectacular over his last five starts with a win at The Open Championship, a T2 at the Travelers Championship, a T9 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and a T12 at the Scottish Open. He narrowly missed out on a top 10 here three years ago, and I believe he’s capable of something similar this week if his complete play continues. BMW Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T35, 2021 – T29, 2020 – T12, and 2018 – T68.
