Golf news: Golf gets tougher with the next-in-line golfing event BMW Championship
With the BMW championship starting today, this week has surely proved to be a difficult one for the players. Only three days after the Deutsche Bank Championship, the BMW championship is set to start today at Cog Hill, Illinois. This tour is proving to be a very tough one since the players had to compete in three consecutive weeks in very extreme golf. And for those players that competed in the Bridgestone invitational, it’s the fifth week they have been on the course.
It’s true that golf is not the most active sport out there, but playing consecutively for weeks can really get to the players head. If we look at the travelling aspect and the competitiveness of the game - it can get pretty tiring.
The tight scheduling not only troubles the players but the sponsor of the events as well. Obviously, if you have millions of dollars at stake for a competition, a break of three days doesn’t seem to be enough. If the schedule of golf is becoming a menace for so many then why not just go ahead and change it?
This notion was suggested previous year and was also supported by many. A year ago at Cog Hill, Tim Finchem who is PGA Tour commissioner said that they do evaluate the schedule after fixing it, and have had the suggestion to increase the break for the last two years. He said that they will take another look at it, but no changes have taken place so far.
The Ryder Cup can be one of the reasons for the schedule being the way it is. The Tour Championship, which is set to take place at East Lake golf course on September 23rd is not very far from The Ryder Cup which will start in Wales on October 1st. For the players who are competing in both the Tour and Ryder Cup, going from Georgia then to Wales requires a lot of travelling.
People, however, have argued that why couldn’t the FedEx cup be moved to next year since there wouldn’t be a Ryder Cup, and the President’s Cup isn’t going to start till November. That way the players could compete in Barclays and Deutsche Bank, rest for a week and then compete for the BMW and Tour Championship.
Matt Kuchar, who was victorious at the Barclay’s two weeks ago and is number one on FedEx points, thinks it’s a smart idea, reflecting that the previous week has already been very hectic. He complained of very windy conditions, which became an obstacle during practice on the course. He said that since Wednesday is the pro-am day, the week is very fast. This can especially be a challenge for the players who aren’t familiar with Cog Hill. Kuchar, however, is excited for the tournament since he won the 1997 U.S Amateur at Cog Hill and has very pleasant memories attached to the course.
The executive director of the Western Golf Association, John Kaczkowski, says that it is not the best thing to have the event at the same time as the Chicago Bears opening game. The one day loss of the tournament due to the late finish on Monday in Boston didn’t really help the situation in any way.
"I think if they do change it and make it the off week, it's a pretty sensible idea," Kuchar said. "It makes for a good position to have a break and then extra help because of the Monday finish and the short prep time."
The Championship found home at the Butler National Gold Club in 1974, and it stayed there till 1989 before moving to Cog Hill. It was made part of the FedEx cup in 2007 and was renamed the BMW championship. This year is the second last year for the BMW championship at Cog Hill, it will be held at Crooked Stick in Indianapolis in 2012.
Even though the schedule is hectic, the fatigue isn’t bringing the players down. With Charley Hoffman winning the Deutsche Bank Championship, other players are ready and on top of their game for the semi-final of the FedEx Cup.
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