The first round of the FedExCup playoffs gifted us a playoff matchup between former FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay and resurgent PGA Tour veteran Lucas Glover, culminating in an intense series of putts on the 18th green that saw Glover secure his second outright win in a row. Yes, Cantlay, who normally has an accurate driver, drove his tee shot down the left-hand side parallel with the water, resulting in his shot bouncing slowly into the hazard for a penalty.
Glover, who shifted to his unique putting style recently, has seen it pay massive dividends. The 42-year-old South Carolina native had to pull off the outright win at the Wyndham Championship to qualify for the St. Jude Championship and he kept his momentum going, drilling tee shots, approach shots, and putts for the vast majority of the weekend. Even during the final few holes of regulation on Sunday, when Glover found the water, he managed to convert a bogey that wound up granting him the chance to beat Cantlay in a playoff on the first hole.
Shifting our focus to this week, we will see players gather to compete at Olympia Fields Country Club North Course for the second event of the FedExCup playoffs. Located just south of downtown Chicago, the top 50 golfers in the current FedExCup rankings will compete without a cut line enforced for the second week in a row as they jostle to produce a scorecard low enough to wind up ranked inside the FedEx top 30. Ranking 30th or better by the end of the BMW Championship results in a trip to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia for a massive purse and all of the bragging rights until 2024.
Before we get into our picks for the BMW Championship, make sure to check out the offers from OddsChecker below, which will see you claim $1000s in first bet bonuses ahead of the 2023 BMW Championship.
At this stage, all 50 golfers can contend and secure an outright win against the field. We saw Rory McIlroy save his best round for last, going -5-under-par to finish one stroke behind Glover and Cantlay, while Tommy Fleetwood joined him with a T3 finish, despite producing his highest score (-2) of the tournament on Sunday afternoon. Patrick Rodgers brings up the rear, ranked 50th, while Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm remain atop the FedExCup rankings due to their dominant regular season performances that include six outright wins and numerous T5 and T10 finishes.
Let's find out when the opening tee times will be at the 2023 BMW Championship and how to watch it. Then, we’ll check out the outright betting odds. Afterward, we'll conduct an overview of the course, finishing with the top players to bet outright in PGA Tour betting markets to help us narrow down who deserves our confidence and coin during the second leg of the 2023 FedExCup playoffs.
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING ODDS
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING PREVIEW
Previous Winners
- 2022 - Patrick Cantlay (-14)
- 2021 - Patrick Cantlay (-27)
- 2020 - Jon Rahm (-4)
- 2019 - Justin Thomas (-25)
- 2018 - Keegan Bradley (-20)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Strokes Gained Approaching the Green
- Total Driving
- Birdie Average
- Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green
- Hole Proximity
- Sand Save percentage
- Greens in Regulation percentage
- Scrambling
COURSE LAYOUT
Olympia Fields CC North Course is a stock par 70 that runs 7,333 yards with some unique features that abound. It's a course that leans heavily into rewarding ball strikers, as the greens are smaller than average, creating an incentive to convert greens in regulation. Golfers who excel at scrambling can also go a long way toward producing red scorecards. There is a brutal par 3 that runs 290 yards on the eighth hole, while the first par 5 is almost 630 yards in length on the first tee box.
Water hazards aren't nearly as frequent compared to TPC Southwind, however, there are a couple of creeks that run across fairways located at inconvenient spots. Doglegged fairways and straight fairways are balanced evenly, with big sand bunkers that protect the greens and punish errant tee shots and approach shots alike. Heavy tree-lined fairways reinforce the importance of clean tee shots and approach shots in order to avoid battling around trees to save par.
Predict the top four finishers at this week's BMW Championship for a chance to win this Golf Monthly x OddsChecker free-to-play golf contest.
How to Enter the $10,000 BMW Championship Free-to-Play Game
1. Make your selections using the widget above - Ensure you have selected each player in your chosen finishing position e.g. 1st) Rory McIlroy, 2nd) Scottie Scheffler, 3rd) Patrick Cantlay, 4th) Jon Rahm
2. Enter your email address
3. Check your inbox and follow the instructions to create your Oddschecker account
TOP PLAYERS TO BET IN THE OUTRIGHT MARKET: BMW CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER
Viktor Hovland (+1600) (Bet $100 to collect $1,700) DraftKings has the best Viktor Hovland odds
Viktor Hovland had a chance to contend down the stretch at the St. Jude Championship, but his ineffective putting kept him on the sidelines. I think the Norwegian golfer figured it out at Olympia Fields, where he logged -6-under-par during his final round of the 2022 BMW Championship. He’s ranked ninth in strokes gained tee-to-green, eighth off-the-tee, 13th approach, and sixth total driving. Hovland’s putter even ranks 77th in strokes gained, which is much better than what we witnessed at TPC Southwind. I’m willing to re-invest in Hovland at +1600, which is only slightly more expensive than his 20/1 odds entering the first round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Max Homa (+2500) (Bet $100 to collect $2,600) Go to DraftKings for the best Max Homa odds
Yes, Max Homa didn’t prevail late last week, but he’s already won twice on the PGA Tour this season and has six career wins. The California native is well-documented for not dominating tournaments as much outside of his home state; however, he’s won twice outside of California, and Olympia Fields should be a good test for him. Homa went T23 at the 2022 BMW Championship, starting +1 but finishing -5-under-par. He’s another golfer who ranks highly in strokes gained metrics, ranking 16th tee-to-green, 23rd approach, and 25th around the green. Plus, his putter ranks ninth in strokes gained putting, which is a huge asset. I like Homa’s outright odds at 25/1 this week, so let’s go ahead and wager a unit accordingly.
Jordan Spieth (+2800) (Bet $100 to collect $2,900) For the best Jordan Spieth odds head to FanDuel
One of the most enigmatic players on the PGA Tour in terms of performance has to be Jordan Spieth. He shows flashes of greatness with his scrambling and chipping ability around the greens, but Spieth can miss some easy putts that set him back on the leaderboard. His driver can get cold too, but when Spieth is in a rhythm, there’s little anyone can do to keep up. The Texas native logged a T19 at Olympia Fields in 2022, improving from a T34 finish in 2021. He’s won the FedExCu before, so this isn’t new territory. Let’s wager half a unit on Spieth at +2800.
Lucas Glover (+3300) (Bet $100 to collect $3,400) Head over to FanDuel for the best Lucas Glover odds
It’s betting malpractice to avoid wagering on Lucas Glover at this point in the PGA Tour season. The 42-year-old is playing with extreme confidence and contains a complete game from tee to green while relying on his unique putting grip that helped resurrect his career. Glover has won back-to-back events with maximum pressure surrounding him, so now that he sits fourth in the FedExCup rankings, perhaps we’ll see an even better version of Glover than we’ve seen during the last few weeks. He hasn’t dipped below a T6 finish in five of his past six events, so at 33/1 odds, we can wager half a unit on Glover to attempt going three-in-a-row against the best competition on the PGA Tour.
Corey Conners (+5000) (Bet $100 to collect $5,100) FanDuel has the best Corey Conners odds
I’ve never been overly bullish on Corey Conners in terms of outright betting markets, but the Canadian golfer does have a strong game that complements Olympia Fields. Conners ranks 14th in strokes gained tee-to-green, 16th off-the-tee, and 20th approaching the green. It’s his inability to be a consistent putter that keeps Conners from climbing up my rankings on a weekly basis. Still, the 31-year-old Canadian finds greens in regulation at over 68 percent while averaging 4.01 birdies per round. Still not convinced? Last year, Conners went T5 at the BMW Championship, starting -7-under-par in the first two rounds before faltering a bit. Therefore, let’s wager half a unit on Conners’ lucrative +5000 odds this week.
