WILMINGTON, Del. — The top 70 professional golfers in the world have descended upon the Delaware Valley this week for the BMW Championship, the second of three playoff tournaments to determine the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoff Champion.
It’s not a first for the region – Newtown Square’s Aronimink Golf Club hosted this event in 2018 – but it is a first for the First State. In fact, this the first PGA Tour event ever held in the state of Delaware.
“I am jumping out of my shoes excited about having the BMW Championship here,” Delaware Gov. John Carney said.
With a $15 million purse and an invite to next week’s Tour Championship at stake for the top-30 finishers, the stakes could hardly be greater. It is a lofty scenario for a venue like Wilmington Country Club.
“To showcase the world’s best golfers is nothing short of thrilling for our club,” Wilmington CC president Melissa Riegel said.
Wilmington Country Club has hosted a half-dozen USGA Amateur Championships over the years, as well as the Palmer Cup in 2013. But this is a whole different level.
“It’s a challenge for every golf course hosting an event like this,” Tournament Chairman Tom Humphrey acknowledged.
The planning has been in the works for well over two years, and there have been some unique challenges along the way, including a global pandemic and a scary act of God in the form of a tornado. And the timing couldn’t have been worse.
The Western Golf Association founded the tournament in 1899. It was called the Western Open for 123 years until it became the BMW Championship in 2007.When Wilmington C.C. showed initial interest in hosting the 2022 BMW, Western Open executives first visited the South Course in early March of 2020. Less than a week later COVID restrictions went into place across the nation.
“We were pretty confident it would be (a worthy test),” Humphrey said. “It’s a course that the really good players in the Golf Association of Philadelphia recognize as a very hard test.”
Due to pandemic restrictions, the PGA Tour’s Gary Young (Chief Referee), Paul Vermeulen (Director of Championship Agronomy) and Milan Moore (Head Architect) were unable to make a follow-up visit until mid-July of 2020. They liked the course’s narrow fairways, and were impressed with original architect Robert Trent Jones’ signature: large, rolling greens, with lots of potential pin placements.
The PGA recommended adding some back tees in order to lengthen some holes, and add fairway bunkers about 325 yards out.
“That’s the only thing that is going to make (PGA Tour pros) think, because they are just going to blow right over the (bunkers) you have there now,” Humphrey said. “We were thinking, ‘that’s not so bad, we can do all of that.’”
Then in the first week of August, a rare tornado touched down on the South Course. Well over 300 trees were knocked down, and most of the course’s bunkers were destroyed.
The next day, Humphrey surveyed the damage along with Wilmington Country Club’s Director of Golf Jon Urbanski, and GM/CEO Phil Iannelli.
“I remember standing with Phil and Jon and saying, ‘oh my goodness, what are we going to do now?’” Humphrey said.
Technological advances in golf equipment necessitated the tee and bunker changes in the first place, but modern technology also helped in solving the issues in the wake of the tornado. Enter course architect Andrew Green.
“It was heartbreaking to see the damage from the tornado,” he said. “The pictures don’t do it justice – (the downing of) these massive, gorgeous trees that have been a part of the club’s entire history.”
But Green quickly came up with a plan to try and turn a potential disaster into an opportunity. His resume was impressive as he’s previously worked on getting courses like Congressional Country Club, Inverness Club, Oak Hill Country Club and East Lake all ready for major professional tournaments.
“(Green) has received a lot of accolades and awards, but for us Andrew is our MVP because when we were in trouble and (he) saved the day,” Humphrey said.
A prime example was a toppled 250-year-old white oak located behind the green on the third hole, a par-5 dogleg. Green decided to use advanced technology to scan the existing green and then move it back where the tree once stood.
“We were trying to figure out if there was something good we can bring out of a tough set of circumstances,” Green said. “(Hole No. 3) was always a bit troublesome because technology changed where the fairway bent.”
With the green further back, it brought the fairway bunkers back into play for elite players. And also necessitated a longer approach shot.
“All of the sudden it started to make (par) four-and-a-half into a really strong (par) five,” he added.
A new identical green complex was built while the old was still in play. And then technology enabled Green and his crew to lift the same sod from the old to the new. He also added a few additional tweaks, like shifting the landing zone off the tee with a few elongated new bunkers.
“It just really changes the way the hole plays and makes it a better test for the BMW Championship, and for the membership,” he said.
He also altered Nos. 5 and 17 so that if players decide to use driver off the tee, there are more potential pitfalls for even a slightly errant shot. And the club’s existing driving range was insufficient, so a new complex was built on the adjacent North Course that is incorporated with the finishing hole.
“It was a challenge, but it worked great,” Green said.
