The Western Open was a professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the year the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

was founded. The Western Open, organized by the

Western Golf Association Founded in 1899, the Western Golf Association (WGA) is one of the United States' oldest golf organizations. Its headquarters are located in Glenview, Illinois. The WGA sponsors six golf tournaments: the Western Junior; the Western Amateur; the Wo ...

, was first played in September 1899 at the Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois the week preceding the U.S. Open. At the time of its final edition in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, it was the third-oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after

The Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

( 1860) and U.S. Open ( 1895). The tournament was held a total of 103 times over the course of 108 years. The event was not held in 1900, nor in 1918 because of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and not from 1943-1945 because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Golfers from the United States won the tournament 77 times, and players from Scotland won it 15 times.

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tig ...

had the most victories with five wins, and 17 other players won the event at least twice. Two amateurs also won the tournament:

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a ...

in 1910 and

Scott Verplank Scott Rachal Verplank (born July 9, 1964) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. Early years and amateur career Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Verplank was a leading member of the W.T. W ...

in 1985. Beginning in 2007, the Western Open was renamed the BMW Championship, part of the

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. T ...

playoff series, and played with the PGA Tour's point system as the sole qualification standard. It is no longer open to amateurs. Title

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

was introduced in 1987, and included Beatrice,

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, Sprint,

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...

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, and

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History

The Western Open, founded and run by the

, was first played in 1899 in Illinois at the Glen View Club in Golf, a northern suburb of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Like the U.S. Open, in its early days it was almost exclusively won by immigrant golf professionals from the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, most of whom gained full citizenship to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In its early decades it was widely regarded as one of the premier golf tournaments in the USA, along with other notables of the day like the

North and South Open The North and South Open was one of the most prestigious professional golf tournaments in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century. It was played at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina, long the largest golf resort in the world, ...

, the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

and the

Shawnee Open The Shawnee Open is a golf tournament that was first held in 1912. It is played at The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The couse was completed in 1911, the first ever design by renowned architect A. ...

. The Western Golf Association was, in some ways, and for some years, something of a rival to the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

, especially in the midwestern and western sections of the country."History of the PGA Tour", by

Al Barkow Al Barkow (born 1932) is an American journalist, author, editor, lecturer, historian and golfer. College Barkow was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Western Illinois University for three years, later graduating from Roosevelt University, Chic ...

, 1989. From the event's inception through

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, it was played at a variety of midwestern locations, as well as places such as

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

(

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

(

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

) and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

(

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

). In 1923, it was held in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

at the Colonial Country Club in Beginning in 1962, the Western Open settled within the Chicago

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

and was held at a variety of courses through 1973. In 1974, it found an annual home at the

Butler National Golf Club Butler National Golf Club is a private golf club located in Oak Brook, Illinois. History Butler National was the creation of Paul Butler, an affluent entrepreneur, philanthropist, and sportsman who was also the founder of the village of Oak Broo ...

in Oak Brook, a western suburb. It was played here through

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, when the PGA Tour adopted a policy of holding events only at clubs which allowed minorities and women to be members. It moved in 1991 to

Cog Hill Golf & Country Club Cog Hill Golf & Country Club is a public golf course and country club located southwest of Chicago, in Lemont. Cog Hill hosted the PGA Tour's BMW Championship from 2009 to 2011 on its championship course Dubsdread, as well as 16 times when the t ...

in Lemont, southwest of Chicago. A 72-hole public complex, its Dubsdread Course hosted the Western Open for sixteen editions, through 2006. In 1899, the prize fund was $150, and Willie Smith's winner's share was fifty dollars. The purse in 2006 was $5 million, with $900,000 to the final winner,

Trevor Immelman Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament. Early years Immelman was bor ...

. During the second round of the 1975 tournament,

Lee Trevino Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and ...

and

Jerry Heard Jerry Michael Heard (born May 1, 1947) is an American professional golfer who won several PGA Tour events in the 1970s. Early life Heard was born in Visalia, California. He attended Fresno State College (now Fresno State University) for a sho ...

were struck by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

on the 13th green of Butler National while waiting out a rain delay. Also struck at other parts of the course were

Bobby Nichols Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964. Early years Born in April 1936 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols attended St. Xavier High School. Wh ...

, Jim Ahern, and

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captai ...

BMW Championship

In 2007, the Western Open was renamed—and changed in terms of invitational criteria—to the BMW Championship, part of the four-event

Playoff Series. The

continues to run the tournament. The BMW Championship is the last

playoff event before

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

Winners

References

External links

Official site of the BMW ChampionshipCoverage on the PGA Tour's official site
{{Former PGA Tour Events Former PGA Tour events Golf in Illinois Golf in Chicago Golf in Michigan Golf in Pennsylvania Golf in Oregon Golf in California Golf in Ohio Golf in Missouri Golf in Iowa Golf in New York (state) Golf in Utah Golf in Minnesota Golf in Arizona Golf in Texas Golf in Indiana Golf in Tennessee Golf in Wisconsin Sports in the Midwestern United States Recurring sporting events established in 1899 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2006 1899 establishments in Illinois 2006 disestablishments in Illinois