Western Open
- For a detailed history of this event, including a list of its champions, see Western Open.
The Western Open was first played in 1899. At the time of its final edition in 2006, the Western Open was the third oldest active tournament on the PGA Tour schedule (and the oldest PGA Tour event) after the British Open (began 1860) and U.S. Open (began 1895). For many years, the Western was played in and out of the state of Illinois, before eventually settling down in the greater Chicago area itself. From 1991 to its final year, the event was played at the Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, Dubsdread course in the Chicago suburb of Lemont.
The Western Golf Association (WGA) ran the Western Open throughout its entire history (1899–2006), and has a hand in the running of the BMW Championship. This is probably the only real link between the Western Open and BMW Championship. These are, however, two entirely different events in terms of playing format and invitational criteria. The Western Open was like any other regular PGA Tour stop -- although it was once considered to be one of golf's majors. Its invitational criteria mirrored the PGA Tour Exemption Categories with one exception - the winner of the Western Amateur, another WGA sponsored event, was invited to play in the Western Open. The BMW Championship is part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, and only the top 70 FedEx Cup points leaders at the start of the BMW event will be eligible to play.
Read more about this topic: BMW Championship (PGA Tour)
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