BMW has that Western 'feel'
The calendar doesn't say July and the tournament isn't the Western Open, but there will be a familiar feel this week at Cog Hill for the BMW Championship.
Visually, the biggest change at Cog Hill is the gallery seating on No. 18, which has been given quite an upgrade.
The lawn seating has been reduced significantly behind the green. In its place is stadium seating for nearly 700. It offers some of the best seats in the house, but claim your spot early, especially if you want to see the final pairing finish on Sunday.
Also on No. 18, all of the corporate tents from the fairway to the green are larger and pure white. There is less room for players to miss the green long and to the right, and the tents could become a factor in the visibility of approach shots.
• Straying away from tradition, a player getting a hole-in-one on the 192-yard 14th hole will not be awarded with a brand new car. Instead, BMW has partnered with the Western Golf Association's Evans Scholars and will award a four-year scholarship for an ace.
"One of the most rewarding aspects of teaming with the Western Golf Association to sponsor the BMW Championship is involvement with their Evans Scholars program," BMW chairman Tom Purves said.
• Technology was taken up a notch as far as the leaderboards go. Manually operated leaderboards like the one on No. 18 are a thing of the past.
You will now find larger and more colorful video screens that provide all of the latest scores and weather updates.
• BMW has made its name visible in just about every nook at Cog Hill from the merchandise to the cars the players are shuttled in.
Walking in from the main entrance, you will notice a large inflated globe. Inside you'll find BMW's hydrogen car display, which doubles as a nice spot to sit in the air conditioning.
• The tournament is as fan-friendly as in years past. You will be able to hunt for autographs outside of the driving range as well as sit in the bleachers and watch your favorite players warm up. There are a few more refreshment stands as well as places to get your official BMW Championship gear.
• The field has been cut down to 70 players (66 after withdrawals) for the third round of the FedEx Cup playoffs, meaning Thursday's and Friday's rounds will feature half as many groupings as opposed to a regular PGA Tour event.
Saturday and Sunday will be business as usual since there's no cut being made.
• The PGA Tour schedule shifted this event at Cog Hill from July to September, and temperatures are expected to be in the 70s all week.
• The real changes at Cog Hill will come after the tournament, as course alterations are planned before the BMW Championship returns in 2009.