2020 BMW CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD WITHOUT SPECTATORS By Brian Weis

2020 BMW CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE HELD WITHOUT SPECTATORS

By Brian Weis

The PGA TOUR and tournament officials announced today that the 2020 BMW Championship will be played without spectators, with all four rounds of the event to be broadcast live, as scheduled, on NBC and the Golf Channel on August 27-30.

"As we have said from the start, our No. 1 priority remains the health and safety of everyone in the communities where we are invited guests each week," said PGA TOUR Chief Tournaments and Competitions Officer Andy Pazder. "We appreciate the understanding of the Western Golf Association, BMW and - of course - the fans of Greater Chicago for recognizing why this decision needed to be made. We continue to be very excited about the opportunity to present the BMW Championship to a global audience as part of the three-week stretch of FedExCup Playoffs events."

Tournament officials remain committed to delivering a world-class PGA TOUR event that will again benefit the event's sole charity, the Evans Scholars Foundation, helping them send deserving caddies to college. The top 70 PGA TOUR players will compete on Olympia Fields Country Club's historic North Course vying to earn one of 30 spots in the TOUR Championship and the chance to be crowned FedExCup champion.

"We greatly appreciate the support of BMW, Olympia Fields Country Club and the PGA TOUR in conducting the 2020 BMW Championship," said Vince Pellegrino, WGA senior vice president of tournaments. "We will continue to work with them and follow the recommendations and regulations of county, state and federal officials to ensure the safety of the players, volunteers and staff essential to conducting the BMW Championship."

"Our BMW Championship team has been working tirelessly over the past several months to develop a comprehensive plan for a limited number of spectators, following guidance from the PGA TOUR and county and state officials," Pellegrino added. "However, we understand the challenges and concerns that COVID-19 has created and recognize the decision to proceed without spectators is in the best interest of everyone involved.

"While our fans won't be able to attend this year's BMW Championship," Pellegrino added, "we encourage them to stay engaged with this year's tournament by following the competition on the BMW Championship and PGA TOUR social media channels and tuning into our broadcast partners."

Fans who already have purchased BMW Championship tickets through Ticketmaster will automatically receive a full refund within the next 30 days. Those still interested in contributing to the Evans Scholars Foundation's mission of sending deserving caddies to college may make a gift through the Foundation's secure website or by calling 224-260-3746.

"With so many families impacted in so many ways this year by COVID-19, we're seeing an even greater need to help young men and women afford the high costs of earning a college education," Pellegrino added.

To learn more about the 2020 BMW Championship, please visit www.bmwchampionship.com.

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Revised: 07/14/2020 - Article Viewed 13,830 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.