Australian Marc Leishman (-23) is in a league of his own in Chicago, as he wins the prestigious BMW Championship by 5 shots.
Lowest score ever at the BMW Championship.
Jason Day hits a hole-in-one to win a BMW M760i, which he donates to the Evans Scholars Foundation.
The top 70 players on the PGA TOUR assembled for the BMW Championship at Conway Farms Golf Club (Chicago), to contest the third Playoff event on the PGA TOUR. However, even in such a world-class field, nobody could keep pace with 33-year-old Marc Leishman, who produced a sensational performance to win the tournament with a record score of 261 strokes.
Another Australian, Jason Day, also thrilled the spectators: the 2015 BMW Championship winner aced the 17th hole on day two to win the Hole-in-One Prize, a BMW M760i (fuel consumption: 12.8 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 294 g/km) , which he then donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation.
Leishman dominated the BMW Championship, which was being held to the north of Chicago for the third time after 2013 and 2015, from day one. He laid the foundation for his third title on the PGA TOUR with two extraordinary rounds (62 and 64). The Australian hit no fewer than 18 birdies on the first 36 holes.
He continued to play virtually flawless golf over the course of the weekend, giving even his most dogged rivals Justin Rose (ENG, -18, T2), Rickie Fowler (USA, -18, T2) und Jason Day (AUS, -16, 4) no chance. This is Leishman’s first victory in a Playoff event, and sees him climb from seventh to fourth place in the FedExCup ranking.
“I feel awesome about this win,” said Leishman. “It’s just nice to put four good rounds on the board in a really big event. Going wire to wire, it’s first time I’ve done that on a PGA TOUR event. It makes me proud.”
Bernhard Kuhnt, President & CEO BMW of North America, said: “Congratulations to all of the players, staff and volunteers on another great BMW Championship – and congratulations to Marc Leishman on an impressive performance. Marc played with a lot of skill and determination to secure this well-deserved victory.”
Leishman’s dominant display was reminiscent of 2015, when the BMW Championship was also held at Conway Farms. Back then it was Jason Day who dominated and led from start to finish. The former world number one was in sparkling form again this year, and thrilled fans with the shot of the tournament. He aced the 17th hole on his second round to win the BMW Hole-in-One Prize, a BMW M760i. Day donated the car to the Evans Scholars Foundation. The foundation, which receives all the proceeds from the BMW Championship, funds college scholarships for caddies. Since 2007, when BMW became title partner of the tournament, more than 24 million US dollars have been raised.
Qualification for the season finale – the TOUR Championship, at which only the top 30 pros in the FedExCup ranking are eligible to play – was also at stake at the BMW Championship. Jordan Spieth (USA, -13, T7), Justin Thomas (USA, -5, T47), and world number one Dustin Johnson (USA, -8, T33) defended their top positions. Leishman and Jon Rahm (ESP, -15, T5) round off the top five, each of whom can secure overall FedExCup victory with a win in Atlanta, regardless of the results of their rivals.
One thing is certain: there will be a new FedExCup champion again this year. Last year’s winner, Rory McIlroy (NIR, -2), ended the BMW Championship tied in 58th place, and thus misses out on qualification for the season finale. No player has ever been able to defend his title since the Playoff system was introduced in 2007.
Next year, the BMW Championship will be held at the Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia for the first time, before returning to Chicago and the Medinah Country Club in 2019.
