BMW Championship 2022
Overview
Dates: August 18, 2022 to August 21, 2022
Location: Delaware, USA
Course: Wilmington Country Club
Course Par: 71
Course Length: 7534 yards
Prize Purse: $15000000
The PGA Tour heads to Delaware for the first time, as the BMW Championship tees off at Wilmington Country Club.
Results
The FedEx cup playoffs haven’t been great for us so far and that continued at the BMW, with none of our selections delivering a return for us. Joaquin Niemann came very close, finishing just one place outside the money, while Aaron Wise gave us a good run, ultimately finishing in a tie for 15th. Tony Finau picked a bad week to have his first dreadful round in ages, albeit recovered strongly in the latter part of the tournament.
On to the season finale in the Tour Championship at East Lake, where we hope to close our first season on a high note.
Preview
The first of the FedEx playoffs is behind us, with Will Zalatoris holing a bunch of clutch putts up the stretch to finally claim his maiden tour victory following a highly eventful playoff against Sepp Straka. The fact that Straka came so close having missed six cuts on the bounce in the run-up shows just how tricky it can be to predict this game – while Straka has certainly shown his A-game is enough to win, there was nothing in his form to suggest he was anywhere close to his A-game. It’s easy to forget that WZ has only been around for a year or two, but having bagged his first it’s highly likely that more will follow before too long.
The playoffs move on with just 70 players remaining (and Cameron Smith having just withdrawn to recover from a minor injury). This week is a challenge with no course form or Shotlink data to draw on from Wilmington Golf Club. It’s likely to play long and fairly tough, which may just play into the hands of those who gain their shots from the tee, hence Rory McIlroy showing up as a clear favourite in the market.
Outrights
| Player | Points | Type | UK Odds | Places | Outright US Odds |
| Cameron Young | 4 | each way | 28/1 | 7 | +2800 |
| Joaquin Niemann | 2.5 | each way | 35/1 | 7 | +4000 |
| Aaron Wise | 2 | each way | 60/1 | 7 | +6000 |
| Taylor Moore | 1 | each way | 150/1 | 7 | +15000 |
| Tony Finau | 2.5 | each way | 16/1 | 7 | +1600 |
Cameron Young (4pts each way, 28/1, 7 places) has a similar profile to Zalatoris in that his long game is exceptional, he’s relatively inexperienced, but has plenty of form that suggests he simply must pick up his first win soon. One of the finest drivers on the tour, he has few weaknesses other than an occasionally lukewarm putter. With even a half-decent week on the greens, he’ll surely be in contention – he rates one of the more likely winners to my mind and having been talking him up all season I am determined to be on him when he does secure the first of what will surely be many wins.
Joaquin Niemann (2.5pts each way, 35/1, 7 places) is another from the middle part of the market who’s of interest, largely on value grounds as I feel he’s a shade big in the market considering his recent stats and his apparent fit for this week’s test. It’s a bonus that he’s shown he can close it out when in contention too.
Aaron Wise (2pts each way, 60/1, 7 places) appeals at even bigger odds and with a very similar profile to our first two picks he warrants inclusion to smallish stakes. With similar tee-to-green numbers as Rahm, Spieth, Im and Lowry in recent months, all of whom are considerably shorter in the market, he warrants a small interest as he has the solid long game we’re looking for and has in the past shown the capability to go very low on occasion.
Talor Moore (1pt each way, 150/1, 7 places) has made a leap forward in his TTG stats in the last month, with two top tens in his last three starts. That alone is enough to convince me to invest a little on him at the prices available, which I don’t think do justice to how he’s playing at the moment, albeit this week is obviously about as tough as it gets in terms of strength of field.
Finally, we’ll give ourselves some cover on Tony Finau (2.5pts each way, 16/1, 7 places), who is finally fulfilling his potential, has found a way to win, and in the last month has been playing as well as anyone in the world. His current form reminds me of that shown by Scottie Scheffler earlier in the year and they are the same price despite there being clear daylight between them in the last month in particular.
Few in the field can be comfortably written off for this event. It’ll be interesting to see whether Joohyung Kim can hold his form through to the end of the season – perhaps with this being a course that none of the field have much experience of, he may find himself with a more level playing field than when he’s been contending (and winning recently) – another good showing certainly wouldn’t surprise. I was half inclined to include Straka at a ridiculous price given that when he was in top form earlier in the season (picking up a win along the way), he maintained that form for several weeks before it completely deserted him. But the playoff defeat (and the manner in which it happened) will be tough to get over.
The FedEx cup playoffs haven’t been great for us so far and that continued at the BMW, with none of our selections delivering a return for us. Joaquin Niemann came very close, finishing just one place outside the money, while Aaron Wise gave us a good run, ultimately finishing in a tie for 15th. Tony Finau picked a bad week to have his first dreadful round in ages, albeit recovered strongly in the latter part of the tournament.
On to the season finale in the Tour Championship at East Lake, where we hope to close our first season on a high note.