PGA First Look: BMW Championship

The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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Event Preview

Bryson DeChambeau joined some elite company by winning back-to-back events, let alone back-to-back FedExCup events with some of the strongest fields that the golfers see all season. The PGA Tour now heads to Pennsylvania and if a vampire bat were to come to America, it would make sense for it to come to a sylvania. Little joke from The Office, which will forever be my favorite TV show. The BMW Championship rotates courses each year and this year Aronimink will host the event. This is the first time we’ve seen the course on the PGA Tour since 2011 at the AT&T National.

The course is a Par 70 that measures 7,267 yards. Judging by the look of the course on the PGA Tour website, it looks to be in immaculate condition. It is held in such high esteem that it will host the 2027 PGA Championship. The course has undergone some major changes since 2011. The fairways were widened, the green sizes were increased, and they added a ton of bunkers. It’s hard to put any stock into course history this week. Not only was the course drastically different, but the golfers are drastically different as well.

With such wide fairways and a lengthy Par 70 on tap, I’m definitely giving an edge to distance over accuracy off the tee. Ideally, we want the golfers that can hit it long and stay in the fairway, which is something the best golfers in the world have gotten very good at over the years. We will see plenty of long irons into these greens and while many will talk about the importance of scrambling in the 2010 and 2011 tournaments at this course, the bigger greens should lead to a higher green in regulation percentage. The greens themselves are made of bentgrass and can measure up to 12 on the stimp when they get rolling.

With only two par fives on the course and many long par fours, I don’t expect to see this turn into a birdie fest. It was one of the hardest courses on tour back in 2010 and 2011 and with added length and more bunkers, I’m predicting the winning score to be in the 13 to 15-under range. I will be leaning heavily on ball striking, par four scoring, and bogey avoidance. I will also be giving a large weight to recent form since we’ve seen so many golfers go on runs in the FedExCup Playoffs in the past. Keep in mind that there are only 69 golfers in the field and that there will not be a cut. While that takes some fun out of the Friday afternoon cut sweat, at least all of your lineups will still be live for the weekend.

Cut Rule: There are only 69 golfers in the field this week, so there will not be a cut.

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Strokes Gained Off the Tee
3) Birdie or Better Percentage
4) Par 4 Scoring
5) Bogey Avoidance

Hole by Hole Breakdown

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)

Golfer DK Salary FD Salary FDRFT Salary OWGR Odds DK Odds FD Odds FDRFT Odds Cuts 2011 2010
Dustin Johnson $11,600 $12,400 $18,100 1 8 0% 0% 0% 0/1 500 82
Justin Rose $11,200 $11,600 $17,300 4 12 0% 60% 0% 2/2 15 1
Justin Thomas $10,700 $11,800 $16,800 3 14 0% 25% 25% 0/0 500 500
Brooks Koepka $10,500 $12,100 $16,900 2 14 0% -100% -33% 0/0 500 500
Rory McIlroy $10,300 $11,500 $16,700 8 15 0% 17% 0% 0/0 500 500
Bryson DeChambeau $10,000 $12,000 $16,600 7 16 0% -100% 0% 0/0 500 500
Hideki Matsuyama $9,700 $11,000 $15,700 18 23 -43% 9% 0% 0/0 500 500
Tony Finau $9,500 $10,800 $15,800 17 23 -38% 8% -38% 0/0 500 500
Jordan Spieth $9,400 $11,400 $15,900 10 20 22% 0% 0% 0/0 500 500
Jason Day $9,300 $11,100 $15,700 11 21 20% 20% 20% 1/1 500 9
Tiger Woods $9,200 $11,300 $15,800 26 21 18% -13% -13% 1/1 500 46
Rickie Fowler $9,000 $10,200 $15,600 9 25 0% 37% 0% 1/2 13 91
Jon Rahm $8,900 $10,500 $15,400 5 29 -8% 13% 0% 0/0 500 500
Francesco Molinari $8,800 $10,800 $15,500 6 28 7% -8% 0% 0/0 500 500
Adam Scott $8,700 $9,700 $15,100 39 35 -13% 29% 0% 1/1 3 500
Tommy Fleetwood $8,600 $11,200 $15,400 12 30 6% -67% -7% 0/0 500 500
Patrick Cantlay $8,500 $9,900 $15,200 23 33 6% 30% 0% 1/1 20 500
Phil Mickelson $8,400 $10,200 $14,600 24 44 -6% 0% -6% 0/0 500 500
Rafael Cabrera-Bello $8,300 $10,200 $14,200 29 52 -37% -37% -18% 0/0 500 500
Patrick Reed $8,200 $10,700 $14,200 14 51 -20% -71% -9% 0/0 500 500
Webb Simpson $8,100 $10,700 $14,600 19 44 14% -29% 0% 2/2 8 41
Paul Casey $8,000 $10,300 $14,200 16 51 -14% -47% -14% 0/0 500 500
Billy Horschel $8,000 $8,300 $13,900 69 60 -27% 35% -4% 0/1 107 500
Marc Leishman $7,900 $9,200 $14,200 21 50 4% 23% -5% 1/2 107 7
Cameron Smith $7,800 $8,900 $14,500 32 48 20% 41% 0% 0/0 500 500
Gary Woodland $7,800 $9,400 $13,700 41 70 -28% -23% -3% 1/1 47 500
Tyrrell Hatton $7,700 $9,200 $14,300 25 48 22% 30% 0% 0/0 500 500
Brandt Snedeker $7,700 $9,300 $13,800 48 64 -7% -7% 0% 1/1 500 16
Xander Schauffele $7,700 $9,300 $13,100 20 84 -33% -33% 0% 0/0 500 500
Henrik Stenson $7,600 $10,300 $14,200 22 49 27% -29% 0% 0/0 500 500
Bubba Watson $7,600 $10,000 $13,900 13 60 10% -23% 0% 0/0 500 500
Kyle Stanley $7,500 $8,500 $13,800 27 66 6% 25% -3% 1/1 34 500
Louis Oosthuizen $7,500 $9,500 $13,500 35 68 3% -24% 3% 0/0 500 500
Emiliano Grillo $7,400 $8,400 $13,400 55 79 3% 21% 0% 0/0 500 500
Alexander Noren $7,400 $9,100 $12,700 15 92 -9% -16% 3% 0/0 500 500
Keegan Bradley $7,300 $9,000 $12,400 66 116 -22% -33% 0% 0/1 77 500
Kevin Kisner $7,300 $8,700 $12,600 28 103 -17% -17% -5% 0/0 500 500
Kevin Na $7,200 $8,600 $12,600 42 99 -5% -8% 0% 1/1 57 500
Zach Johnson $7,100 $9,300 $13,200 49 82 10% -30% 0% 0/0 500 500
Byeong-Hun An $7,100 $8,800 $12,400 46 118 -15% -29% -2% 0/1 500 117
Ian Poulter $7,100 $8,600 $12,700 33 97 0% -5% -3% 0/0 500 500
Aaron Wise $7,000 $7,600 $13,000 59 92 10% 31% -3% 0/0 500 500
Luke List $7,000 $7,700 $12,100 50 125 -10% 13% 4% 0/0 500 500
Adam Hadwin $7,000 $8,500 $12,600 57 99 5% 0% 0% 0/0 500 500
Cheng-Tsung Pan $6,900 $8,300 $13,300 98 81 24% 21% 0% 0/0 500 500
Beau Hossler $6,900 $8,100 $12,200 75 129 -4% 2% -2% 0/0 500 500
Jason Kokrak $6,900 $7,700 $11,700 107 162 -11% 6% 0% 0/0 500 500
Charles Howell $6,900 $8,300 $11,400 77 197 -16% -21% 0% 2/2 3 62
Abraham Ancer $6,800 $7,900 $12,600 121 107 12% 16% -8% 0/0 500 500
Peter Uihlein $6,800 $8,200 $12,200 65 131 2% -2% -4% 1/1 70 500
Pat Perez $6,800 $8,100 $11,400 47 201 -10% -13% -4% 2/2 38 62
Chris Kirk $6,700 $8,300 $11,800 130 151 6% -14% 0% 1/1 8 500
Austin Cook $6,700 $7,500 $11,100 103 238 -12% 2% -2% 0/0 500 500
Brian Harman $6,700 $8,600 $11,400 34 199 -2% -43% -2% 0/0 500 500
Si Woo Kim $6,700 $7,800 $11,700 51 181 2% 2% -2% 0/0 500 500
Chez Reavie $6,600 $7,600 $11,100 60 236 -2% -4% 0% 0/1 101 500
Brian Gay $6,600 $7,600 $11,000 111 243 -5% -7% 2% 1/2 77 16
Ryan Palmer $6,600 $7,600 $11,300 101 225 0% -2% 0% 0/0 500 500
J.J. Spaun $6,600 $7,100 $10,700 133 286 -16% -2% -5% 0/0 500 500
Keith Mitchell $6,500 $7,300 $11,400 137 213 8% 10% -6% 0/0 500 500
Andrew Putnam $6,500 $7,200 $10,700 90 253 -2% 2% 2% 0/0 500 500
Scott Piercy $6,500 $7,000 $10,700 245 285 -7% 4% -3% 0/1 500 104
Ted Potter $6,500 $7,100 $10,400 93 383 -13% -6% 0% 0/0 500 500
Ryan Armour $6,400 $7,100 $10,700 102 292 -3% -3% -6% 0/0 500 500
Brendan Steele $6,400 $7,400 $10,700 76 278 2% -5% -2% 0/0 500 500
Andrew Landry $6,400 $7,000 $10,600 80 317 -5% 0% 0% 0/0 500 500
Chesson Hadley $6,300 $8,000 $11,000 71 253 9% -22% -2% 0/0 500 500
Brice Garnett $6,300 $7,200 $11,100 131 250 10% 3% -5% 0/0 500 500
Patton Kizzire $6,300 $7,000 $10,200 89 489 -3% -3% 0% 0/0 500 500

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

About the Author

Notorious
Derek Farnsworth (Notorious)

Derek Farnsworth (aka Notorious) is a lead RotoGrinders Expert and one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of DFS. Before joining the RotoGrinders team, Derek received a Master’s Degree from the University of Utah. When he’s not busy providing content, he’s dominating the DFS industry as evidenced by his consistent top rankings in several sports and multiple Live Final appearances. Noto provides expert NBA, NFL, MLB, and PGA analysis for RotoGrinders Premium members on a daily basis and has also been nominated for five different Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA) awards. Follow Noto on X – @RG_Notorious