BMW Championship to have new title sponsor for 2020 playoff event
The BMW Championship — one of the most important stops on the PGA Tour each year — is no more.
The annual golf tournament, which marks the second of three events in the FedExCup Playoffs, will have a new title sponsor starting in 2020, according to the Chicago Tribune. BMW’s deal with the Tour and the Western Golf Association will expire following the event in August, which will be held at Medinah Country Club in Chicago on Aug. 15-18.
The playoff event hosts the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings each year, with the top 30 players advancing to the tour championship the following week.
"We are thankful for the impact BMW has made," Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour's chief competitions and tournament officer, told the Golf Channel. "Beyond 2019, the PGA Tour and WGA are in active discussions with several companies and are very confident we'll have a long-term agreement in place starting in 2020."
Title sponsorship of a FedExCup playoff event can cost anywhere $16 million to $18 million, per the report. A new sponsor is expected to be announced in the near future, well before the event in 2020 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago.
The PGA Tour adjusted its schedule this season, cutting down from four playoff events to just three and — most notably — moved the playoffs up to August so as not to compete with the NFL. That, along with the tournament’s more than 100 year history in the Chicago area, makes it “one of the most sought-after sponsorships in golf,” an industry source told the Tribune.
BMW, which took over sponsorship rights at the event in 2007, will not abandon golf with the departure of the tournament. Instead, per the report, the company will turn its attention to the 2020 Ryder Cup, which will be held at Whistling Straits near Sheboygan, Wisconsin, next September.
More from Yahoo Sports:
