Support for BMW Championship ‘Unprecedented’

This August, the top 50 PGA Tour golfers of the year will fly into Denver for a week, and the region is already clearly excited

Two years ago the Western Golf Association announced the 2024 BMW Championship would be held at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock. The tournament is the second leg of the PGA Tour’s year-end FedEx Cup playoff series; in addition to a lucrative purse, the top 30 on the leaderboard on Sunday will earn the right to advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. It’s a big deal.

So, the field that Colorado golf fans will see in Castle Rock will be up in the air until the week of the championship Aug. 19 to 25. But what is clear is they will be the best in the world.

“I think that’s what keeps it interesting on a year-round basis; people can follow the group year-round,” said Vince Pellegrino, the vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association, which runs the BMW Championship. “I think it gives people something to root for. From our perspective, from a planning perspective, we would love to know who’s going to be here but we know we’re going to get the top 50 players in the PGA Tour based on their performance this year.”

Pellegrino said they’ve wanted to bring the tournament back to Colorado ever since they held the 2014 BMW Championship at Cherry Hills CC.

“We’ve always wanted to get back into this market after Cherry Hills,” Pellegrino said. “There is incredible support – 2,200 volunteer positions filled in a matter of weeks. Ticket sales have been strong. We’re off to an unprecedented start. Corporate hospitality has been sold out 2 to 3 times (as they’ve added more inventory.) The corporate community has been tremendously supportive of the championship.”

Pellegrino said that a boom in golf interest and participation is partly what is driving the enthusiasm from Colorado golf fans. But he said even taking that into account, what they’re seeing in Colorado is unique.

“As far as for ticket sales and volunteerism it’s unprecedented,” he said. “We have not seen the volunteer positions fill up like this.”

Tournament planners are still working out on-course elements to help fans get the best experience. Being Colorado there will of course be – this may shock you – food trucks. But also they have a natural amphitheater to use on the grounds of the club for displays, and excellent viewpoints throughout the course for fans to see great play, he said.

In addition, the WGA will use the tournament drive funding for the national caddy scholarship program, the Evans Scholars. The tournament will likely help fund around $5 million in contributions back to the Evans Scholars fund. The national program funds four-year scholarships at universities including around 58 currently at the University of Colorado.

 

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Jim Bebbington is the Director of Content at Colorado AvidGolfer. Contact him at [email protected]