The PGA Tour is returning to Maryland for the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, and if the most recent trip to Caves Valley Golf Club is any indication, expect the Tour’s top 50 to go very, very low.
The BMW Championship returns to Owings Mill, Md., for the first time since 2021, as the 50-player field vies for a spot in the Tour Championship at East Lake. The last time Caves Valley hosted the BMW, it was highly entertaining if not a little bit silly. Patrick Cantlay outdueled Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff on his way to winning the FedEx Cup.
The price of admission into that two-man playoff? A staggering 27-under over 72 holes.
BMW Championship Returns to Cave Valley After 2021 Birdiefest
The course played pretty soft that week, and there wasn’t much wind. That is a recipe for Tour pros to take it real low. Even so, 27-under is a bit ridiculous. As such, Caves Valley underwent a sizable but speedy renovation in between. In fact, the work begun even before the 2021 tournament, but went into overdrive with a lot of the work being done over a 100-day period in 2023.
Maryland native Denny McCarthy said the quiet part out loud during the media day in June.
“It seems like they don’t want 25-under to win this year,” he said at the time.
So, how did they go about fixing that? For starters, the course now plays to a par-70 after it went off as a par-72 in 2021.
Additionally, the Tour itself noted some of the changes on its weekly preview.
“Many holes were reworked, while every green complex was newly built, with some looking entirely different from their previous iterations,” the preview reads. “Different grass types were planted to help promote firm and fast conditions, while 10 miles of a new drainage system was installed underneath.”
The hope is those grass types, the drainage system and the PrecisionAire system can defend the course to keep it firm and fast, while also improving the general consistency of green speed, which was an issue the last time Caves Valley hosted the BMW Championship.
“I know there’s going to be some elevation change,” McCarthy added. “I’ve got some — I’m sure they’re going to have some deep rough. The PrecisionAire, like you said, it seems like they redid some greens and have taken the steps to make it a challenging golf course.”
Which Players Will Contend at Caves Valley for 2025 BMW Championship?
The big question is whether it will be enough. Maryland in August can be soupy, and even the PrecisionAire will probably struggle to keep the greens dry and firm enough for it to have teeth.
As for the type of player who could get in the mix for the BMW Championship this time around, it’s probably more of the same from the past. Cantlay isn’t the longest player on Tour, but he can move it, and the top 10 also featured bombers like DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Erik Van Rooyen.
Given that they’ve made the course longer while also reducing par, it’s certainly sensible to expect bombers to reign supreme again. The usual suspects dot the top of the betting board, with Scottie Scheffler (+250), Rory McIlroy (8-1) and Xander Schauffele (18-1) the favorites.
If it’s not just a total bomber’s paradise, the work around green complexes and fairways accentuates ball-striking, and it could ultimately come down to a putting contest.
Or, put another way, it’s likely to be your typical PGA Tour tournament, with scores slightly closer to par than the 2021 birdiefest.
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