The BMW Championship dates back to 1899 when it debuted as the Western Open, making it the third-oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR schedule, behind only the Open Championship and U.S. Open. BMW has sponsored the tournament since 2007, when it became the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs.

Past champions include nearly all of golf’s legends, including Chick Evans, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

In recent years, champions adding their names to the event’s historic J.K. Wadley Trophy include Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Keegan Bradley and Scottie Scheffler.

Indeed, McIlroy’s 2012 BMW Championship victory is included among his seven top-10 finishes in 15 prior starts at this week’s event.

McIlroy is also competing in his 16th BMW Championship, the most of any player since the FedExCup began in 2007 AND with a win, would become the first player since Tiger Woods (1997) to win the Masters Tournament and the BMW Championship in the same year.

McIlroy’s BMW triumph was his sixth of currently 30 PGA Tour sanctioned wins (see image).

As well, McIlroy has the most wins of any player in the field and nine wins more than the next best Scottie Scheffler.

RORS SEEKING A DOUBLE @BMWchamps FIRST …

As former champ @McIlroyRory looks not only for second BMW backed but also join @TigerWoods as winner of both @TheMasters & @BMWchamps in the same season

Read: https://t.co/npHd5xorgU

BMW/Getty

✅ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/6Dz8JYU0aR

— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) August 18, 2026

* Pre-Tournament Information – 2026 BMW Championship * 

Player Interviews (all times CT; subject to change)

Tuesday, August 18

9 a.m. – Ryan Fox

9:30 a.m. – Viktor Hovland

Wednesday, August 19 (9-hole pro-am)

After 8 a.m. pro-am – Scottie Scheffler

After 8:22 a.m. pro-am – Rory McIlroy

After 10:12 a.m. pro-am – Matt Fitzpatrick

After 10:25 a.m. pro-am – Adam Scott

*Visit www.pgatourmedia.com for the latest interview schedule

 Scottie Scheffler (No. 1)

• Eight-shot victory at FedEx St. Jude Championship marks his 21^st PGA TOUR title and second this season (The American Express)

• World No. 1 making his seventh consecutive appearance at the BMW Championship (T20/2020, T22/2021, T3/2022, T2/2023, T33/2024, Won/2025)

• With a win, would become the 10^th player to claim back-to-back BMW Championship titles (most recent: Patrick Cantlay/2021, 2022)

• Enters the week with 17 top-25 finishes in 18 starts with only one missed cut on the season (Genesis Scottish Open)

• Leads the TOUR in Greens in Regulation (72.94%), Top-10 finishes (12), Scoring Average (68.61) and Official Money ($20,511,275)

• One of five players with more than two wins in the FedExCup Playoffs events (Dustin Johnson/6, Rory McIlroy/6, Tiger Woods/4, Patrick Cantlay/3, Scottie Scheffler/3)

Rory McIlroy (No. 13)

• 2012 BMW Championship victory is included among his seven top-10 finishes in 15 prior starts at this event

• Competes in his 16^th BMW Championship, the most of any player since the FedExCup began in 2007

• With a win, would become the first player since Tiger Woods (1997) to win the Masters Tournament and the BMW Championship in the same year

• 30-time PGA TOUR winner has the most wins of any player in the field (next: 21/Scottie Scheffler)

• Four top-10s in 12 starts this season (Won/Masters Tournament, T2/The Genesis Invitational, T7/PGA Championship, T7/Genesis Scottish Open)

• Most recent player to defend a title on TOUR (2026 Masters Tournament)

• Nine consecutive seasons with a win, the longest active streak on TOUR

• Seeks his fifth consecutive season with multiple PGA TOUR titles (3/2021-22; 2/2022-23; 2/2024; 3/2025)

• Only player with three FedExCup titles (2016, 2019, 2022)

 Matt Fitzpatrick (No. 2)

• Two top-10s in five appearances at the BMW Championship (T2/2023, T6/2020)

• Low round at this event is 66 (three times, R1, R3 and R4 at Olympia Fields in 2023)

• With victories at Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage and Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with brother, Alex), is one of five multiple winners on TOUR this season: Chris Gotterup (3), Wyndham Clark (2), Cameron Young (2), Scottie Scheffler (2)

• Three additional top-3 finishes this season include THE PLAYERS Championship (2^nd), RBC Canadian Open (2^nd) and Genesis Scottish Open (T3)

• Englishman missed the cut at 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive CC with rounds of 72-70 

Viktor Hovland (No. 22)

• Norway native won the 2023 BMW Championship with a final-round 61 to win by two strokes over Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick at Olympia Fields Country Club; only other top-10 in six prior starts at this event: T7/2025

• 2023 FedExCup champion is one of four players who have won the BMW Championship en route to claiming the FedExCup (Tiger Woods/2007, 2009; Billy Horschel/2014, Patrick Cantlay/2021)

• Defeated World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the 2026 Travelers Championship to claim his eighth PGA TOUR title

• Seeks ninth PGA TOUR victory in his 150^th start; won at least once each season on TOUR, except for 2024 when his best result was T2 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship

• Father, Harald, picked up golf while he was living and working in St. Louis as an engineer; brought golf clubs back to Norway and taught Viktor to play at age 11

Ryan Fox (No. 25)

• 2026 Open Championship winner finished 43^rd in his only prior appearance at the BMW Championship (2025)

• Attempts to become the fifth player to win The Open Championship and the BMW Championship in the same year: Scottie Scheffler (2025), Nick Price (1994), Tom Watson (1977), Arnold Palmer (1961)

• Enters this week at No. 25 in the FedExCup standings and seeks to advance to the TOUR Championship for the first time

• Owns eight top-10s in 95 starts on TOUR, including three wins (2025 ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, 2025 RBC Canadian Open, 2026 Open Championship)

• Shot 68-70-68-68 to finish T27 in the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club

 Adam Scott (No. 27)

• Owns seven top-10 results in 14 appearances at the BMW Championship, including top-5 finishes in his two most recent (T5/2022, T2/2024)

• Only player in the field who also played at Bellerive Country Club in both the 2018 PGA Championship (3^rd/70-65-65-67) and the 2008 BMW Championship (T50/69-71-69-72)

• In his 443^rd start, 14-time PGA TOUR winner seeks to win for the first time since the 2020 Genesis Invitational

• Owns 109 sub-70 rounds in the FedExCup Playoffs, the most of any player since the Playoffs began in 2007

• Three top-10s in 17 starts this season: The Genesis Invitational (4^th), Cadillac Championship (T4), The Open Championship (T9)

Additional player notes

• Si Woo Kim (No. 4) is the highest-ranked player in the FedExCup standings without a victory this season on TOUR; has 11 top-10s in 22 starts this season, highlighted by three runner-up finishes (Farmers Insurance Open, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, FedEx St. Jude Championship)

• Reigning FedExCup Champion Tommy Fleetwood (No. 8) seeks to become first back-to-back winner of the FedExCup

 BMW Championship notes

• The BMW Championship is the oldest non-major on the PGA TOUR schedule, dating back to 1899

• The BMW Championship returns to Bellerive Country Club for the second time and first since 2008 when Camilo Villegas won by two strokes over Dudley Hart with 15-under 265 when the course measured 7,324 yards

• One player in this week’s field competed in the 2008 BMW Championship held at Bellerive CC: Adam Scott (T50)

• 17 players in this week’s field competed in the 2018 PGA Championship held at Bellerive CC, including Adam Scott (3^rd), Justin Thomas (T6), Gary Woodland (T6), Rickie Fowler (T12) who all finished in the top-15; notables who missed the cut that week: Alex Noren, Matt Fitzpatrick,  Si Woo Kim

• Akshay Bhatia is the most recent player to card an ace at the BMW Championship, making his first hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR with a 227-yard 5-iron on the 17^th hole in the third round at Caves Valley last year; ace provided a full four-year Evans Scholarship in his name to a deserving young caddie, Juliya Tabaka, presented by BMW of North America; he was also awarded a BMW iX for his achievement

• Three lefthanders in the field (Akshay Bhatia, Robert MacIntyre, Matt McCarty) with each seeking to become the second lefthander to win a FedExCup Playoffs event (Phil Mickelson)

• With victories in 2021 and 2022, Patrick Cantlay is one of seven players in the last 100 years to win the BMW Championship in consecutive years: Nick Price (1993/1994), Jack Nicklaus (1967/1968), Billy Casper (1965/1966), Sam Snead (1949/1950), Ralph Guldahl (1936/1937/1938), Walter Hagen (1926/1927)

• Since 2007, when BMW assumed the title of the BMW Championship, there have been three playoffs (2018, 2020, 2021) and three wire-to-wire winners: Camilo Villegas (2008), Jason Day (2015), Marc Leishman (2017)

• The field includes:

  • Seven FedExCup Champions: Tommy Fleetwood (2025), Scottie Scheffler (2024), Viktor Hovland (2023), Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019, 2022), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Justin Rose (2018), Justin Thomas (2017)

  • Six past champions of the BMW Championship: Scottie Scheffler (2025), Viktor Hovland (2023), Patrick Cantlay (2022, 2021), Justin Thomas (2019), Rory McIlroy (2012), Justin Rose (2011)

  • Ten players will make their debut at the BMW Championship this week: Michael Brennan, Nico Echavarria, Alex Fitzpatrick, Ryo Hisatsune, Nicolai Højgaard, Jake Knapp, Min Woo Lee, Matt McCarty, Kristoffer Reitan, Michael Thorbjornsen

  • 17 players seeking to advance to their first TOUR Championship appearance: Ryan Gerard, Min Woo Lee, Kristoffer Reitan, Alex Fitzpatrick, Alex Smalley, Ryan Fox, Kurt Kitayama, Bud Cauley, Nicolai Højgaard, Alex Noren, Jake Knapp, Michael Thorbjornsen, Nico Echavarria, Ryo Hisatsune, Michael Brennan, Eric Cole, Matt McCarty

 PGA TOUR season notes

• Every player in the field at the BMW Championship has qualified for all Signature Events on the 2027 PGA TOUR schedule and the 2027 PLAYERS Championship.

• A pool of nearly $100 million in FedExCup bonus money will be distributed to the top 125 players in the standings following the BMW Championship, with the points leader earning $23 million. Players will then compete at the TOUR Championship for a $40 million purse in official money, including $10 million to the FedExCup Champion

• With 4,873 FedExCup points, Scottie Scheffler enters the FedExCup Playoffs with a 1,447-point lead over Matt Fitzpatrick in the FedExCup standings

• Of the eight first-time winners in 2026, five qualified for the BMW Championship: Jacob Bridgeman (The Genesis Invitational), Alex Fitzpatrick (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Kristoffer Reitan (Truist Championship), Bud Cauley (RBC Canadian Open), Michael Thorbjornsen (Rocket Classic)

• Two PGA TOUR rookies qualified for the BMW Championship: Kristoffer Reitan (No. 19), Alex Fitzpatrick (No. 20)

• Of the 12 international winners of the 36 of the FedExCup Regular Season events, 10 qualified for the BMW Championship: Justin Rose, Nico Echavarria, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Alex Fitzpatrick, Kristoffer Reitan, Aaron Rai, Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim, Ryan Fox

• Six PGA TOUR University alumni advanced to the BMW Championship: Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Aberg, Jacob Bridgeman, Alex Fitzpatrick, Michael Thorbjornsen, Michael Brennan

FedExCup and the FedExCup Playoffs

• The 2026 PGA TOUR Season marks the 20^th edition of the FedExCup (established in 2007). The FedExCup is a season-long points competition which culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs, a series of three events to determine the FedExCup Champion

• The top 70 players in the FedExCup standings are eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs with the three events featuring a progressive cut with fields of 70 (FedEx St. Jude Championship), 50 (BMW Championship) and 30 (TOUR Championship)

• Sungjae Im is the only player to move inside the top 50 of the FedExCup standings and into the BMW Championship following last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship:

Top 30 bubble – Following the BMW Championship, the top 30 players in the FedExCup will advance to the TOUR Championship: Ryan Fox (No. 25), Tom Kim (No. 26), Adam Scott (No. 27), Kurt Kitayama (No. 28), Bud Cauley (No. 29), Rickie Fowler (No. 30), Gary Woodland (No. 31), J.T. Poston (No. 32), Nicolai Højgaard (No. 33), Alex Noren (No. 34), Jake Knapp (No. 35)