By Chris Havlicek
Updated 8/21/24 4:22am ET
After a thrilling week in Memphis where Hideki Matsuyama triumphed at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings will continue their season this week in Colorado at the BMW Championship. For the first time since 2006, the PGA Tour will return to Castle Pines Golf Club, situated in the Castle Rock suburb just outside of Denver.
Viktor Hovland will look to defend his title after winning at Olympia Fields. However, he has had a challenging 2024 and is still seeking his first win this season. He came close last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship but ended up with a T-2 finish.
Scottie Scheffler, who’s ranked first in the FedEx Cup standings, is the +330 favorite with Xander Schauffele (+550), Rory McIlroy (+1200) and Collin Morikawa (+1600) next in line across betting boards.
Dates/Location:
What: BMW Championship
Where: Castle Pines Golf Club, Castle Rock, CO.
When: Thursday-Sunday, August 22 – August 25th
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
The Course:
Castle Pines was formerly the host of The International, a long-running PGA Tour Stableford event, and is the longest course in PGA TOUR history, measuring 8,130 yards. With that being said, Castle Pines plays at 6,000 feet above sea level and features 400 feet of elevation change. Golf balls carry in the thin Colorado air and while still an absolute monster of a course, Castle Pines will play closer to 7,500 yards, when accounting for altitude.
The general rule at this elevation is that a 300-yard drive at sea level travels 332 yards at Castle Pines, and a stock 7-iron shot of 180 yards goes nearly 200. In other words, it’s about a club-and-a-half difference from sea level. Add in the enormous elevation changes at Castle Pines, and the tour caddies will have their hands full.
The Field:
The field of 50 features 18 tournament winners from this year. There are also five former FedEx Cup champs at Castle Pines Golf Club, each hoping to stay in the top 30 and advance to the season-ending Tour Championship.
The golfer ranked No. 1 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs points list is Scottie Scheffler and a FedEx Cup title is about the only thing the two-time Masters champ and now Olympic gold medalist has yet to achieve.
Odds: Top 10 (Courtesy of FanDuel):
Scottie Scheffler +330
Xander Schauffele +550
Rory McIlroy +1200
Collin Morikawa +1600
Patrick Cantlay +1800
Hideki Matsuyama +1800
Viktor Hovland +1800
Ludvig Aberg +2200
Tommy Fleetwood +2500
Wyndham Clark +2800
Keys To Victory:
It’s all about the altitude at Castle Pines. But there are other factors that will determine who walks away victorious.
The bent-grass greens, averaging 5,600 square feet, will be cut down to 1/10 inch for the tournament and roll at around 13.5 on the Stimpmeter. That’s Augusta-like and will emphasize precise approach shots on greens that offer all sorts of not-so-subtle contours. The course is littered with “false fronts” and closely cropped greenside areas that lead to bunkers, ponds and steep waste areas.
With 27 acres of fairway, the landing areas are not expansive and will require precise tee shots to narrow landing areas 300-330 yards from the back tees. Streams, ravines, ponds, massive fairway bunkers, and the occasional signature tree further intrude upon driving lanes and provide long hitters reason to use caution.
This course, almost more than any other course on Tour, requires precise shot-making and clear communication between player and caddy. It should be noted that when players at this time of year get hot, they tend to stay hot, and approach shots are the best indicator of current form. This Jack Nicklaus design tends to reward the best iron players
Players who control their approach shots, putt well on the tricky bent-grass greens and have deep trust in their caddie’s distance projections, will fare well in this tournament.
