BMW Championship 2020: The top 70 players on the PGA TOUR tee off in Chicago, with qualification for the season finale at stake.

Chicago/Munich. The PGA TOUR season is entering the finishing straight. The BMW Championship (25^th to 30^th August, Olympia Fields Country Club, Chicago, USA) is the penultimate Playoff tournament, with only the top 70 players in the FedExCup rankings eligible to tee off. And the field will be whittled down significantly again in Chicago: Only 30 players will qualify for the finale, the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. As with all PGA TOUR tournaments since the re-start in June, no spectators are permitted at Olympia Fields Country Club, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More BMW Championship facts.

Venue.

Olympia Fields Country Club, Chicago (US state of Illinois).

North Course (6,723 metres, par 70).

Venue for the U.S. Open (1928, 2003), PGA Championship (1925, 1961), U.S. Senior Open (1997), U.S. Amateur (2015), Women's PGA (2017).

Defending champion.

Justin Thomas (USA).

The players.

The field contesting the prestigious title at the BMW Championship 2020 includes:

• Record BMW Championship winners Tiger Woods (USA, 2007 & 2009) and Dustin Johnson (USA, 2010 & 2016), who leads both the world rankings and the FedExCup rankings.
• Justin Thomas (USA), defending champion, number two in the FedExCup rankings and world number three.
• Collin Morikawa (USA), the only major winner of the year so far (PGA Championship).
• Former BMW Championship winners: Rory McIlroy (NIR, 2012), Billy Horschel (USA, 2014), Jason Day (AUS, 2015), Marc Leishman (AUS, 2017).
• All of the current top ten in the world rankings, with the exception of the injured Brooks Koepka (USA).

Charity.

All tournament proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full college scholarships to hard-working young caddies. Since the inaugural BMW Championship in 2007, the foundation has received more than 35 million US dollars.

Prize money.

9.5 million US dollars.

History.

The history of the BMW Championship dates back to 1899, when the tournament debuted under the name Western Open. This makes it the third-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR calendar. Only the Open Championship and the U.S. Open have existed longer.

Previous BMW Championship winners and venues.

2019     Justin Thomas (USA)                   Medinah Country Club (Chicago)

2018     Keegan Bradley (USA)                 Aronimink Golf Club (Philadelphia)

2017     Marc Leishman (AUS)                  Conway Farms Golf Club (Chicago)

2016     Dustin Johnson (USA)                 Crooked Stick Golf Club (Indianapolis)

2015     Jason Day (AUS)                           Conway Farms Golf Club (Chicago)

2014     Billy Horschel (USA)                     Cherry Hills Country Club (Denver)

2013     Zach Johnson (USA)                    Conway Farms Golf Club (Chicago)

2012     Rory McIlroy (NIR)                         Crooked Stick Golf Club (Indianapolis)

2011     Justin Rose (ENG)                        Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (Chicago)

2010     Dustin Johnson (USA)                 Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (Chicago)

2009     Tiger Woods (USA)                       Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (Chicago)

2008     Camilo Villegas (COL)                  Bellerive Country Club (St. Louis)

2007     Tiger Woods (USA)                       Cog Hill Golf & Country Club (Chicago)