BMW Championship – who are the favourites?
Published:Odds and preview ahead of the BMW Championship on Thursday
Olympia Fields hosts the penultimate tournament of the PGA Tour season, as 70 players battle for a spot in next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake.
Only 30 players will qualify for the final tournament of the season, so competition will be tight throughout this no-cut event.
With Brooks Koepka’s injury ending his season early and Rory McIlroy’s faltering form, our four favourites take in the world’s current top three, plus one American golfer who has previous at this course. They are…
Dustin Johnson
A joint-second at the PGA Championship, followed by a completely dominant 11-stroke win at the Northern Trust mean Dustin Johnson is both the world No. 1 and favourite going into the BMW Championship.
Despite that excellent form, Johnson struggled at this event in 2019, with a score of 3-under landing him 57th place, although he has won it on two previous occasions – in 2010 and 2016.
Frankly though, on a course that will be unfamiliar to many – it hasn’t hosted a PGA Tour event since 2003’s US Open – form is perhaps a better guide. Johnson’s 30-under score at the Northern Trust was just one away from breaking a Tour record and if he can carry momentum from that and remain consistent, he’s likely to challenge again here.
Jon Rahm
The Spaniard sits in second in the world rankings and has some of the best approach play on Tour, but has been steadily finishing near the top, without truly wowing.
It’s consistency that has found him so high in the rankings, with three top-20 finishes in his last four events, including a T-12 in the PGA championship followed by a T-6 finish at Boston last week.
That kind of form coupled with his relative youth means Rahm is certainly one to watch and is expected to win an event sooner rather than later on the US PGA Tour.
Justin Thomas
Winner of last year’s event, Thomas faltered at last week’s Northern Trust, with two even-par scores leading to a T-49 finish.
However, his St Jude Invitational win at the beginning of August, where he overtook defending champion Brooks Koepka on the final round, showed his ability to keep up the pressure and cool under calm.
With three PGA wins this season and 13 overall, Thomas has matched the winning pace of legends Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus and at just 27 years of age, there could be a lot more to come.
Bryson DeChambeau
As mentioned at the top of this article – while the Olympia Fields course hasn’t been seen in the PGA Tour for 17 years, one player has previous here – Bryson DeChambeau. Back in 2015, he won the US Amateur here, meaning he may possess an advantage in course knowledge and it may also be a course where his explosive power can be put to good use.
DeChambeau has attracted plenty of attention for his bulked up post-lockdown physique but is yet to convince that it’s a sustainable way to play. However, the longer course here could suit those record-breaking, accurate drives that form the core part of his game and he looks set for a quick, aggressive start here.
Who do you think will win? Let us know on our Twitter poll @Coral.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
