Photo by Jim Ross Courtesy eagle102.net

BMW Championship – Players Not Happy With Course

 

This week may be the last time the BMW Championship is played at Cog Hill, and some of the players will not be sad to see it go. The course has undergone a major renovation and the changes are not positive according to some of the world’s best golfers.

Cog Hill was redesigned in 2008 where the greens were raised, the bunkers deep end and the fairways lengthened. This has made it extremely difficult and some of the greens have been steepened so that in some areas a putt that is only slightly off line becomes a golfers worst nightmare.

The normally very polite Steve Stricker did not hold back his displeasure with the course this week. “The redo is not conducive to our tournament,” Stricker said. It is a shame for the Jemsek family who own the course as they did not get the US Open and now it seems that the BMW is leaving.

Rees Jones was the man who redesigned the course is not a favourite among the world’s top players and it was Phil Mickelson who said “I’d love to see Gil Hanse or a Crenshaw-Coore or Kyle Phillips or David Kidd – or guys that really know what they’re doing – come in and create something special here because I think that’s what the family and this facility deserves.” This is not good news for the Jemsek family who may now have to spend millions of dollars on another redevelopment if they are going to get these big tournaments back.

The BMW Championship is the third FedEx Cup Playoff and begins this Thursday and will see 70 players cut down to 30 who will then play the final round for a $10 million prize.

There is one thing for sure, the players will be tested and everyone has to cope with it. You definitely want to be there on the last day so that you can have a crack at a $10 million prize. It should be fascinating golf to see who can cope with a ridiculously difficult course. It may come down to who putts well on those steep greens.

For more information and a breakdown on some of the odds for the tournament click here

Filed under: Stuff From John

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