by Olympia Fields Country Club is set to host the PGA Tour’s 2020 BMW Championship on their famed North Course. The PGA Tour and Western Golf Association’s proposal to the club was approved by the Board of Governors this week with a unanimous vote. It will be the second consecutive year the event is hosted in the Chicagoland area, with Medinah Country Club’s Course #3 hosting in 2019. The 2020 BMW Championship will be hosted on an undetermined date in August and will serve as the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs with the Tour’s top 70 players in attendance.
The event will mark the return of men’s professional golf to the historic course for the first time since the 2003 U.S. Open. Since the U.S. Open, the North Course has hosted the 2015 U.S. Amateur (won by Bryson DeChambeau) as well as the 2017 Women’s PGA Championship (won by Danielle Kang).
Bryson DeChambeau celebrating his 2015 U.S. Amateur win Credit: USGA
The North Course is the crown jewel of the 36-hole Olympia Fields facility. Originally, the North Course was the final of four courses at Olympia Fields. Designed by Willie Park Jr., The North Course has hosted two U.S. Opens (1928 & 2003), two PGA Championships (1925 & 1961) and five Western Opens. The latter being the event the BMW Championship replaced when the FedExCup was introduced in 2007. Olympia Fields last hosted the Western Open in 1971. The North Course stretches to a yardage of 7,326 yards featuring two par 5’s and four par 3’s.
The four-time major championship venue has also served host to the annual Fighting Illini Invitational for the past thirteen years. This event has given a glimpse into how Olympia Fields will stand up to today’s distances. In last year’s edition, Oklahoma State’s powerful Matthew Wolff won shooting rounds of 65-69-70 (-6) at the par-70 layout. Wolff edged a stacked leaderboard, which included Cal standout Collin Morikawa and USC All-American Justin Suh.
For more on Olympia Fields’ North Course, read our in-depth profile piece here.
