BMW Championship To Be Held Without Fans This Year

OLYMPIA FIELDS, IL — The BMW Championship, scheduled for Aug. 27-30 at the Olympia Fields Country Club, will go on without fans in attendance. The PGA Tour announced this decision Monday morning, citing the safety of the players, volunteers and staff at the tournament due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

All four rounds of the golf tournament, the penultimate event of the PGA Tour's FedExCup playoffs that showcases the tour's top 70 golfers, will be broadcast live on NBC and the Golf Channel as planned, Western Golf Association Senior Vice President of Tournaments Vince Pellegrino said.

“We greatly appreciate the support of BMW, Olympia Fields Country Club and the PGA TOUR in conducting the 2020 BMW Championship,” Pellegrino said. “We will continue to work with them and follow the recommendations and regulations of county, state and federal officials to ensure the safety of the players, volunteers and staff essential to conducting the BMW Championship.”

The top 30 golfers from the event will move on to the PGA Tour championship in September at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The winner in Atlanta will be crowned the FedExCup champion.

This is the sixth time the second to last tournament of the tour has been held at Olympia Fields and the first time since 1971, when the event was still known as the Western Open.

It will once again benefit the vent's sole charity, the Evans Scholars Foundation, which sends deserving caddies of modest means to college. Since 2007, the event has raised more than $34 million for the scholarship.

Many of the PGA Tour tournaments this year have been canceled due to the pandemic, but Pellegrino said the BMW Championship team has been "working tirelessly" over several months due to develop a plan to move forward with the event.

“We understand the challenges and concerns that COVID-19 has created and recognize the decision to proceed without spectators is in the best interest of everyone involved," he said.

Fans who already bought tickets will automatically get a refund within 30 days.