Conducted by the Western Golf Association to benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, the BMW Championship is the third of four events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup and determines the final field of 30 for the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The 2013 championship at Conway Farms will be held the week of Sept. 9-15. Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., is hosting the 2012 BMW Championship the first week of September, and Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colo. will host the 2014 BMW Championship.
"We’re excited to be returning to the Chicago area and especially for this opportunity to conduct our first professional championship on the North Shore since 1972," said Vince Pellegrino, Western Golf Association Vice President, Tournaments. "Many of our volunteers and contributors to our championships and scholarships live in the city’s northern suburbs, and this gives us the opportunity to reward their support by showcasing the world’s top golfers on a course in their own backyard."
Conway Farms hosted the 2009 Western Amateur and also has been a champion of the Evans Scholars Foundation, the WGA’s charitable arm that sends more than 820 caddies to college annually. "Conway Farms proved to be a worthy venue for the world’s top amateurs in 2009, and we expect the world’s top professionals also will find the course to be a demanding, fair test of golf," said Pellegrino. "And we’re confident from our experience there in 2009 that the club’s membership and staff will meet the challenge of hosting a world-class championship."
PGA TOUR star and Conway Farms member Luke Donald is looking forward to welcoming the elite BMW Championship field to his home course. "I’m very excited about Conway Farms being announced as the site for the 2013 BMW Championship," said Donald, the world’s No. 2-ranked golfer. "As a long-time member at Conway Farms, I feel like it offers one of the best all-around tests of golf in the Chicago area and will be a course that my fellow pros really enjoy. For a relatively young golf course, Conway Farms has quickly become a prestigious club, and because it provides such a different test every time you play it, is sure to make the BMW Championship a thrilling event for players and fans alike."
Donald will be appearing in a public service announcement in support of the Evans Scholars Foundation, the sole beneficiary of the BMW Championship, the TOUR also announced today. The PSA will run during several upcoming PGA TOUR tournament telecasts in which Luke is playing, and will encourage fans to support the Evans Scholars program. Click here for a sneak preview of the PSA.
"Conway Farms Golf Club, with an outstanding golf course and growing tradition of hosting top-level competitive championships, will be an excellent venue for the 2013 BMW Championship," said Andy Pazder, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations. "We appreciate the enthusiasm the club already has shown for the tournament. Golf fans in the Chicago area are among the best in the country, and we’re excited to partner with BMW, the Western Golf Association and Conway Farms to bring the BMW Championship back to the area in 2013."
