Check out our BMW PGA Championship tips, predictions and analysis as we preview one of the big events on the golfing calendar.
The DP World Tour heads to England after last week’s Irish Open. A strong field for this Rolex status event is headlined by Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.
Below you’ll find everything you need to know ahead of this week’s action.
BMW PGA Championship Key Info
When is the BMW PGA Championship?
The 2024 BMW PGA Championship will start on Thursday, September 19th and run through to the final day on Sunday, September 22nd.
Where is the BMW PGA Championship?
The Wentworth West Course, Wentworth Club in Surrey near London.
Who is the Defending Champion?
Ryan Fox is the defending champion of the BMW PGA Championship after beating out Englishmen Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton by a shot.
BMW PGA Championship Purse
The total purse for this tournament is $9 million with $1,530,000 on offer for this week’s winner.
Course Analysis
Undoubtedly among England’s greatest non-links golf courses. Wentworth’s West Course is a classic tight tree-lined parkland course. It is a par 72 playing to a length of 7,267 yards.
Water hazards aren’t much of a factor until the 18th. The final hole is a 523-yard par 5 with a creek running across the front of the green to catch errant shots, particularly when players are aggressive and go for the green with their second shot.
Recent tournament winners and winning scores
2023: Ryan Fox (-18)
2022: Shane Lowry (-17)* 54 holes
2021: Billy Horschel (-19)
2020: Tyrrell Hatton (-19)
2019: Danny Willett (-20)
All of the 5 most recent winners of this event finished top 8 in scrambling. 3 of those 5 finished in the top 2 in GIR (Greens in Regulation).
Importance of course form
Course form does tend to bear weight around Wentworth although Ryan Fox proved that it’s not the be-all and end-all last year. Prior to winning his previous best finish at the event in 6 attempts was 20th.
2022 champion Shane Lowry logged 4 top 10s (4th, 2nd, 6th, 6th) before his maiden victory at Wentworth.
The 2021 champion Billy Horschel finished 4th in his only prior appearance. Tyrrell Hatton had a 7th-placed finish along with two consecutive missed cuts in the previous two years before his win in 2020. Finally, 2019 winner Danny Willett had two top 5s (5th and 3rd) at the BMW PGA Championship before logging his victory.
So is course form important? In short, yes. Guys who win here tend to have previously performed well on this course. However, Ryan Fox’s win last year and Hatton’s victory after 2 consecutive missed cuts suggest that it doesn’t count for everything.
Weather Forecast
Good weather is expected throughout the week with highs of 24 degrees on Thursday, 22 on both Friday and Saturday and 20 degrees on Sunday.
Winds are expected to be moderate on Thursday and Friday with highs of 12 mph on Thursday and 11 mph on Friday.
There’s a decent chance of rain on Friday with a 40% chance at 10 am, rising to 60% at 1 pm and dropping back down to 30% at 4 pm.
Overall weather shouldn’t be a major factor in this one if the early forecast proves to be accurate.
2024 BMW PGA Championship Betting Odds
Player | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Rory McIlroy | 11/2 | 15.4% |
Tommy Fleetwood | 9/1 | 10% |
Shane Lowry | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Adam Scott | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Billy Horschel | 14/1 | 6.7% |
Aaron Rai | 18/1 | 5.3% |
Byeong Hun An | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Rasmus Hojgaard | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Robert MacIntyre | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Alex Noren | 20/1 | 4.8% |
Matt Fitzpatrick | 22/1 | 4.3% |
Si Woo Kim | 25/1 | 3.8% |
Sepp Straka | 25/1 | 3.8% |
Matt Wallace | 25/1 | 3.8% |
Justin Rose | 30/1 | 3.2% |
Bar | 33/1 | 2.9% |
The above odds are for 8 places at 1/5 of the odds for the BMW PGA Championship. You can pick your places with BoyleSports between 6 places, 8 places, 10 places and 12 places.
BMW PGA Championship Tips
Shane Lowry Outright E/W @ 12/1
The 2022 BMW PGA Champion is rounding into shape nicely for this year’s event. Lowry is yet to win this year despite playing some of the best golf of his career and recording multiple top-10 finishes. Last week at the Irish Open he logged another solid effort with his T12 finish. That came off the back of a T9 finish at the Tour Championship and a T13 finish in the BMW Championship stateside.
We know that Lowry has the game to win around Wentworth as he has already gone and done it. We also know that the Irishman is one of the best scramblers in the world of golf and he put in another great performance around the greens last week in Royal County Down where he finished 8th in scrambling.
Aside from his win here in 2022, this is a course in which Lowry has a runner-up finish alongside multiple other top-10 outings. With some improvement on his approach game from last week Lowry will be there or thereabouts come Sunday afternoon.
Rory McIlroy Top 5 Finish Including Ties 11/8 NOW 13/8
Sticking with the Irish theme I’m tipping Rory McIlroy to make another top 5 finish at this week’s BMW PGA Championship.
Heartbreak last Sunday after just falling short in the Irish Open at Royal County Down. Despite the disappointing finish, McIlroy is playing some great golf right now evidenced by his last three starts (T11th, T9th, 2nd). He now returns to a course in Wentworth where he has multiple top 10 and top 5 finishes along with a victory here in 2014.
The current form is great while the course itself obviously suits his eye so odds of 13/8 on McIlroy cracking the top 5 this week appear generous to me.
Bet on BMW PGA Championship Odds at BoyleSports
*Prices are subject to fluctuation.
Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly.
