The Stakes at Bellerive

The BMW Championship takes place from Thursday 20 August to Sunday 23 August at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. As the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs, it features the top 50 players in the FedExCup standings competing over four rounds for a $20 million purse. Only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings after Bellerive progress to the Tour Championship at East Lake, so the middle tier of the leaderboard has plenty to play for.

There is no cut, so every player is guaranteed four rounds. That structure changes the calculus for aggressive players willing to take risks knowing they won't miss the weekend, but it also intensifies the pressure on bubble players fighting to crack the top 30.

What Bellerive Demands

Bellerive will play as a par-70 course measuring 7,448 yards, providing a challenging test for the 50-player field. Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the course, with Rees Jones later overseeing significant renovation work. It hosted the PGA Championship in 1992 and 2018, as well as the 2004 U.S. Senior Open and the 2013 Senior PGA Championship.

Strong driving, quality long-iron play and reliable putting on bentgrass greens should all be vital, especially with a field packed with the PGA Tour's elite. Fairway bunkers can affect the preferred landing areas, while water comes into play on several holes and can punish poor positioning. The BMW Championship returns to to Bellerive for the first time since 2008, when Camilo Villegas won the event.

Length matters, but precision matters more. Players who can control trajectory with mid-irons and avoid positional mistakes will have an advantage over those who rely purely on distance.

Players to Watch

Scottie Scheffler won for the first time since January, this time by eight strokes, in the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Scottie Scheffler won the 2025 BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, MD. After that dominant performance at TPC Southwind, Scheffler enters as the prohibitive favorite. His all-around game fits Bellerive's demands, and he's shown no sign of slowing down in the playoff format.

Rory McIlroy arrives looking to repair a game that produced an 8-over finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He has only played Bellerive competitively once, finishing T50 at the 2018 PGA Championship. McIlroy's struggles last week were uncharacteristic, but he remains dangerous with his ball-striking ability when the swing feels right. His position at 13th in the standings gives him some breathing room.

Sam Burns is perhaps the strongest alternative among the shorter prices. He finished T3 at the St. Jude after a T2 at The Open, and his recent run places him firmly in the group of golfers with the form profile associated with previous BMW winners. Burns climbed to sixth in the FedEx Cup standings with that Memphis result, and his consistency across multiple courses suggests he can handle Bellerive's variety.

Viktor Hovland to win (3.7%) – The former FedEx Cup champion finished T-19 last week after struggling over the weekend. Tommy Fleetwood showed how much that can change the championship race in 2025. Fleetwood entered the TOUR Championship without a PGA Tour victory that season but won at East Lake to claim the FedEx Cup. Both Hovland and Fleetwood understand playoff golf, and both have the skills to contend at Bellerive if their ball-striking cooperates.

Pool Strategy for a No-Cut Event

The no-cut format alters traditional pool strategy. Players who might fade after a poor first round can't be written off, since they'll play all 72 holes and aggressive scorers can recover. Focus on consistency metrics rather than hot starts. Players with strong second-half-of-tournament scoring averages become more valuable when everyone plays Sunday.

The field quality is exceptional (all 50 are playoff-qualified), so avoid reaching for long shots simply because a player had one good week. Better to stack proven performers who won't implode over four rounds. Stuck between players? Our player comparison tool uses real PGA Tour strokes-gained data and weights each category by what this course rewards, then names the pick with a probability score.

Pool Setup and Viewing

The BMW Championship offers one of the season's most competitive fields and the added drama of 20 players seeing their seasons end on Sunday. The par-70 course will measure 7,448 yards for the tournament, which carries a $20 million purse and awards 750 FedExCup points to the winner.

Ready to run your own BMW Championship pool? Set up a pool in under two minutes with customizable scoring, automated leaderboards, and prize structures that keep every participant invested through Sunday. Or explore all our PGA Tour event pools to see how the platform handles playoff scoring and FedEx Cup implications.