BMW Championship gets underway with Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am.

+++ US sports stars to open BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club (Chicago, USA) +++ Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am in support of the Evans Scholars Foundation +++ 50 world class golfers to tee off at the PGA TOUR playoff tournament +++ Hole-in-One Award: an all-electric BMW i5 for both the player and his caddie +++

Chicago. The BMW Championship is the penultimate playoff event in the FedExCup, only the top 50 pros of the PGA TOUR season are eligible to play. The field of players scheduled to play at Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago (Illinois) this week is arguably of the highest quality that golf fans will ever see. Two-time defending champion Patrick Cantlay (USA) will compete to become the event’s first-ever three-time winner since BMW became the title partner in 2007.

With almost all the top 20 in the world rankings taking part, the task of defending the title once again could not be more difficult for Cantlay. Jon Rahm (ESP), the FedExCup leader, reigning Masters champion, and winner of the only BMW Championship held at Olympia Fields Country Club (2020) to date, world number one Scottie Scheffler (USA), world number three Rory McIlroy (NIR), and reigning major winners Wyndham Clark (USA, U.S. Open) and Brian Harman (USA, The Open) are just some of the world-class pros to watch out for.

The tournament week got underway on Wednesday with the traditional Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am. The amateurs reaching for their golf clubs in Chicago included US sporting greats such as CC Sabathia, former baseballer and World Series winner, former American footballer and Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz, as well as BMW Motorsport works driver Conner De Phillippi.

The Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am is the largest annual fundraiser for the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF). All proceeds from the 2023 BMW Championship benefit the ESF, a charity which funds full college tuition and housing scholarships for deserving caddies across the country. Since 2007, the BMW Championshp has raised more than $45 million in support of the ESF, helping more than 3,300 students achieve their dreams of attending college.

Once again, BMW will contribute a four-year Evans Scholarship, covering full college tuition and housing, in the name of the first PGA TOUR player to record a hole-in-one on any hole during tournament play. BMW has awarded six such Hole-In-One Scholarships, with the most recent coming after Viktor Hovland’s (NOR) ace in the final round of the 2022 tournament.

If a pro succeeds in getting a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, both the player and his caddie will have plenty to celebrate. The reward for this feat is two all-new, fully electric BMW i5 Sedans. Since all proceeds from the BMW Championship benefit deserving young caddies through the Evans Scholars Foundation, it’s only fitting that when a player wins a new car, so does his caddie.

In addition to the sporting battle for one of the most prestigious titles on the PGA TOUR, a total prize fund of 20 million US dollars, and one of the 30 starting places at the season final TOUR championship, the Ryder Cup also plays a role at the BMW Championship. This week is the last opportunity for the Americans to pick up points to qualify for the team of captain Zach Johnson (USA). The six best players in the rankings have secured their place in the defending champions’ squad. Johnson will use Captain's Picks to complete the squad with six other pros; the team will face the European selection in Rome (ITA) from 25th September to 1st October 2023. BMW will be part of the legendary team competition as Worldwide Partner.