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The FedEx Cup Playoffs resume at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club this week as the BMW Championship visits one of golf’s most notable Midwest outposts.
Sixty-nine of the 70 players eligible to play in the BMW are set to tee off Thursday. The top 30 in the FedEx Cup Standings following 72 holes this weekend will advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta next week.
A few players, like No. 1 Brooks Koepka and Northern Trust champion Patrick Reed, have already reserved their spots in the Tour’s 2019 finale. But many notables – led by Tiger Woods – are too close to or on the wrong side of the magical No. 30 line.
There is no 36-hole cut this weekend so each player has a chance to contend and make a run regardless of how poorly he may play early on in the tournament. The minimum payout, based on a 70-player field, is $18,500. A No. 10 solo finish is worth $249,500. The winner get $1.665 million.
The FedEx Cup scale is inflated again this week, with the winner getting 2000 points.
With such a strong field, the term “featured group” might be a little more descriptive this week than during your typical late-April Tour stop.
As is the norm in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the top-three players in the standings are grouped together at the BMW. Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy will begin at 11:48 a.m. ET on Thursday and 1:54 p.m. ET on Friday. Koepka has three victories and three runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including his victory in the PGA Championship.
Nos. 4, 5 and 6 in the FedEx Cup Standings – Matt Kuchar, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay – form another featured group at the BMW. All three have spot sealed at East Lake. Rahm finished T-3 in the Northern Trust.
That trio is followed by Xander Schauffele, Abraham Ancer, Gary Woodland, who are fittingly ranked Nos. 7, 8 and 9 this week. Ancer was runner-up to Reed last week, he earned both a spot in the Tour Championship and on the 2019 International Presidents Cup Team.
The final “featured” group consists of No. 10 Dustin Johnson, No. 11 Webb Simpson and No. 12 Justin Rose.
Tiger Woods (38th) is grouped with C.T. Pan and Billy Horschel in the first two rounds. They begin play at 12:54 p.m. ET on Thursday
Kevin Na, No. 55 in the FedEx Cup Standings, WD’d from the BMW on Monday to be with his wife, who is expecting their second child.
Here are the groupings and tee times for the BMW this week.
BMW Championship – Round 1 & 2 Tee Times
Round 1 – Thursday
(All times Eastern)
| Hole No. 1 Tee Time |
Players |
| 10:15 a.m. | J.B. Holmes, Si Woo Kim, Nate Lashley |
| 10:26 a.m. | Phil Mickelson, Keith Mitchell, Jim Furyk |
| 10:37 a.m. | Ian Poulter, Jordan Spieth, Rory Sabbatini |
| 10:48 a.m. | Francesco Molinari, Scott Piercy, J.T. Poston |
| 10:59 a.m. | Shane Lowry, Sungjae Im, Corey Conners |
| 11:10 a.m. | Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Kisner |
| 11:21 a.m. | Paul Casey, Adam Scott, Justin Thomas |
| 11:37 a.m. | Xander Schauffele, Abraham Ancer, Gary Woodland |
| 11:48 a.m. | Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy |
| 11:59 a.m. | Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Champ |
| 12:10 p.m. | Vaughn Taylor, Joel Dahmen, Graeme McDowell |
| 12:21 p.m. | Wyndham Clark, Emiliano Grillo, Joaquin Niemann |
| 12:32 p.m. | Ryan Moore, Jason Day, Adam Hadwin |
| 12:43 p.m. | Kevin Tway, Lucas Glover, Sung Kang |
| 12:54 p.m. | C.T. Pan, Tiger Woods, Billy Horschel |
| 1:10 p.m. | Ryan Palmer, Jason Kokrak, Hideki Matsuyama |
| 1:21 p.m. | Louis Oosthuizen, Harold Varner III, Andrew Putnam |
| 1:32 p.m. | Brandt Snedeker, Charles Howell III, Tommy Fleetwood |
| 1:43 p.m. | Marc Leishman, Rickie Fowler, Chez Reavie |
| 1:54 p.m. | Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Justin Rose |
| 2:05 p.m. | Matt Kuchar, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay |
| 2:16 p.m. | Troy Merritt, Dylan Frittelli, Byeong Hun An |
| 2:27 p.m. | Adam Long, Keegan Bradley, Rafa Cabrera Bello |
Round 2 – Friday
(All times Eastern)
| Hole No. 1 Tee Time |
Players |
| 10:15 a.m. | Ryan Moore, Jason Day, Adam Hadwin |
| 10:26 a.m. | Kevin Tway, Lucas Glover, Sung Kang |
| 10:37 a.m. | C.T. Pan, Tiger Woods, Billy Horschel |
| 10:48 a.m. | Ryan Palmer, Jason Kokrak, Hideki Matsuyama |
| 10:59 a.m. | Louis Oosthuizen, Harold Varner III, Andrew Putnam |
| 11:10 a.m. | Brandt Snedeker, Charles Howell III, Tommy Fleetwood |
| 11:21 a.m. | Marc Leishman, Rickie Fowler, Chez Reavie |
| 11:37 a.m. | Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Justin Rose |
| 11:48 a.m. | Matt Kuchar, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay |
| 11:59 a.m. | Troy Merritt, Dylan Frittelli, Byeong Hun An |
| 12:10 p.m. | Adam Long, Keegan Bradley, Rafa Cabrera Bello |
| 12:21 p.m. | J.B. Holmes, Si Woo Kim, Nate Lashley |
| 12:32 p.m. | Phil Mickelson, Keith Mitchell, Jim Furyk |
| 12:43 p.m. | Ian Poulter, Jordan Spieth, Rory Sabbatini |
| 12:54 p.m. | Francesco Molinari, Scott Piercy, J.T. Poston |
| 1:10 p.m. | Shane Lowry, Sungjae Im, Corey Conners |
| 1:21 p.m. | Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Kisner |
| 1:32 p.m. | Paul Casey, Adam Scott, Justin Thomas |
| 1:43 p.m. | Xander Schauffele, Abraham Ancer, Gary Woodland |
| 1:54 p.m. | Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy |
| 2:05 p.m. | Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Cameron Champ |
| 2:16 p.m. | Vaughn Taylor, Joel Dahmen, Graeme McDowell |
| 2:27 p.m. | Wyndham Clark, Emiliano Grillo, Joaquin Niemann |
BMW Championship – TV, Online Info
Thursday, Aug. 15
(All times Eastern)
Golf Channel: 3 – 7 p.m.
PGA Tour Live: 9:45 a.m. – 7 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 1 – 7 p.m. (XM 92/Sirius 208)
Friday, Aug. 16
Golf Channel: 3 – 7 p.m.
PGA Tour Live: 9:45 a.m. – 7 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 1 – 7 p.m. (XM 92/Sirius 208)
Sat., Aug. 17
Golf Channel: 12 – 3 p.m.
NBC: 3 – 6 p.m.
PGA Tour Live: 8:15 a.m. – 6 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 1 – 6 p.m. (XM 92/Sirius 208)
Sun., Aug. 18
Golf Channel: 12 – 2 p.m.
NBC: 2 – 6 p.m.
PGA Tour Live: 8:15 a.m. – 6 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 1 – 6 p.m. (XM 92/Sirius 208)
