2013 BMW Championship Preview: It's Drive Time

The clock is ticking down to one of the Chicago area’s biggest golf happenings of 2013. Next month—from September 9–15, to be exact—the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship will drive into Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest. Needless to say, the tournament has created a buzz around town.

The BMW Championship was last in the Chicago area in 2011, at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. But with the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club in September 2012, it made no sense to have the two events competing for the same dollars from both fans and corporations. Thus, the BMW moved for a year to Crooked Stick Golf Club outside of Indianapolis, where it was highly successful.

Now, though, it’s time to demonstrate once again how successful the event can be in Chicago. The BMW Championship is a major fundraiser for the Western Golf Association (WGA) and the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF). The WGA/ESF could use your support. The foundation puts some 800 caddies per year through college with full scholarships, and since tuitions aren’t getting any cheaper, the cost of this undertaking is staggering.

As in past years, the BMW Championship is part of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs. By the time of the tournament, there will be only 70 players left to compete for the trophy and the big payday that goes with it. Most of golf’s biggest names should be on hand, including defending champion Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, who’s actually a member of Conway Farms. Among the other notables will be 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott and 2013 U.S. Open winner and former BMW champion Justin Rose.

“The momentum is building,” said Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the WGA. “It started with the corporate support of the championship and the amount of hospitality that has been sold already. Conway Farms has always been a great golf course, and it should hold up for the best players in the world. We are looking forward to a great championship.” 

Conway Farms will have no shortage of quality spots for fans to view the action. For example, double-sided bleachers are being installed so that spectators can watch multiple holes or the practice range from a single location.

“You can’t beat being behind 18 on Sunday to see the final putt,” said Pellegrino, “but on the golf course we have bleachers in place where fans can see multiple holes. Behind the 17th green is one place where fans can watch not only 17 but turn around and watch the 13th green, plus the 14th and 12th tee all at once. Behind the 10th green are double-sided bleachers where fans can also watch the 11th hole. On the front side are great amphitheaters behind the fifth and sixth greens.” 

When it was announced that Conway Farms would host the BMW Championship, there was concern over whether it was sizable enough to accommodate the large crowds and everything else that comes with a major tournament.

“I think perception was because of the prairie grass growing out here, we didn’t have enough space,” said Pellegrino. “We are going to cut back some of that and create areas where spectators can flow or sit down and watch golf. There is plenty of room out here to see the championship.” 

There will be a shortage of onsite parking spaces, but fans can take a short shuttle ride to the golf course.

“The main parking will be on Everett Road just on the west side of [Interstate] 294,” said Pellegrino. “It is between St. Mary’s Road and Riverwoods Road. The Grainger company was kind enough to donate a parcel of land for the tournament that is over 80 acres in size.” 

In 2012 Conway Farms hosted the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship. Staging major events in successive years is no easy task, so the members of Conway Farms should be applauded for giving up their course.

“The membership and the staff here at Conway Farms are very excited for the opportunity to showcase our venue to the world,” said Todd Marsh, the club’s general manager. “We feel the club is a special place and a fair test of golf. We feel the pros will really enjoy the conditioning of the golf course. Plus, the atmosphere should be exciting.” 

Marsh reiterates that Conway Farms is spacious enough for fans to circulate freely and enjoy the tournament.

“Conway has 209 acres, and we feel there is enough space to move around the fans and the players,” he said. “Tournament week we are expecting over 125,000 fans. The biggest thing with this championship is making sure we have the traffic patterns down. The city of Lake Forest and Lake County have been terrific, and we feel like it’s a very short shuttle ride into the championship. There will be easy access out of the parking lots to both the north and south entrances on 294.” 

As for the course itself, it has undergone some changes from architect Tom Fazio.

“The course made some improvements after the Mid-Amateur Championship last year,” said Marsh. “The seventh hole had the fairway narrowed and some bunkers added to make the players either lay up or go over. The hole is now more risk-reward. On 13 the fairway bunkers were moved more into play. The 15th hole is a drivable par 4. It had two sod-faced bunkers, and we added a third. There is a new tee box on the 11th hole that will play 162 yards. That will make the pros have to hit a different club on all of the par-3 holes.” 

Since Conway Farms is a walking-only golf club, it promotes the use of caddies. Some 800 caddies need your help to earn Evans Scholarships. So support one of the great charities in the Chicago area by buying tickets for the BMW Championship. For more information, go to BMWChampionshipUSA.com or call the WGA at
(847)-724-4600.