2026 BMW Championship Preview: Everything To Know About Bellerive Country Club
The BMW Championship heads to St. Louis to continue the PGA Tour’s 2026 FedEx Cup Playoffs at Bellerive Country Club. The top 50 qualify for the field, a change from the usual rules of the top 70. Find longer golf odds at the best sports betting sites to increase your potential BMW Championship payouts. Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy are the favorites for this year’s BMW Championship.
We have reached the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, as the 50-best remaining players this 2026 PGA Tour season will head to St. Louis Missouri for the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club. Bellerive is an exciting venue, set to host the best players in the world for the first time since the 2018 PGA Championship.
The BMW Championship has a reputation of extreme scoring, with a mixed bag of stern tests and pure birdie fests over recent years. While it remains to be seen how exactly the scoring will play out with the field of 50 seeing this course in a tournament setting for the first time since 2018, I expect this to factor somewhere in between. Amongst all PGA Championship hosts over the last decade, the scoring average at Bellerive Country Club in 2018 was the second-easiest behind only to Valhalla Golf Club. That was influenced in part by stormy weather and soft conditions, so I do expect Bellerive to put up more of a fight in 2026.
In short, Bellerive should continue to reward in-form players who excel at total driving, mid-to-long-iron approach play, and short game on and around fast Bentgrass greens. Ahead, we’ll go through everything you need to know about Bellerive Country Club in preparation for the 2026 BMW Championship.
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: THE FAVORITES
Here are the favorites with odds shorter than 20-1 this week. Click on the odds and navigate to the sportsbook for longshots.
THE FIELD AT A GLANCE
For the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the field has been cut down from the top 70 in the FedEx Cup Standings to the best 50 players remaining. With no cut, we will once again see four rounds from all 50. The BMW Championship has historically hosted a field of 70, so players will perform in more exclusive company this week.
As expected in the playoffs, it will be a loaded field once again. All eligible OWGR top-25 players on the PGA TOUR will be teeing it up in St. Louis this week. All players will vie for a top-30 position in the FedEx Cup standings after this week in order to qualify for both the TOUR Championship and full suite of PGA Tour Signature Events on the 2027 season.
As of this writing on Sunday morning, the top-50 bubble remains to be determined. Presently, Matt McCarty, Keith Mitchell, Maverick McNealy, Harris English, Sungjae Im, and Jordan Spieth each sit squarely on the top-50 bubble, with consequential Sunday rounds in store to punch their tickets to St. Louis.
It is the absence of star players from the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club that will draw headlines this week. 2018 champion Brooks Koepka failed to qualify for the 2026 FedEx Cup Playoffs. Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, and Tyrrell Hatton contended here in 2018, but eight years later, none are playing on the PGA Tour. Of the 2018 competitors, Adam Scott (3rd), was the best player who remains in the 2026 field. Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland also finished top-10 at Bellerive in 2018 and will be back in the field this week.
Scottie Scheffler is your defending BMW Championship winner, prevailing over Robert MacIntyre at a more challenging version of Caves Valley Golf Course, which compares well to the test that will be in store at Bellerive Country Club this week. Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, and Justin Rose join Scheffler as past winners.
INTRODUCTION TO BELLERIVE COUNTRY CLUB
Bellerive Country Club’s history dates back to the late 19th century, opening in 1897 as The Field Club. The name “Bellerive” is a nod to the French influence in St. Louis’ history, named after an officer who served as the last French governor of Illinois Country in 1765.
Bellerive Country Club, as we know it today, dates back to 1957, when the property moved to its current location in Town and Country, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis. From there, Robert Trent Jones Sr. got to work designing the layout as it currently stands: A long, Bentgrass-based, parkland golf course on a visually stimulating backdrop in the heartland of Missouri.
Bellerive Country Club hosted the Western Open in 1953, the former identity of the BMW Championship, and since Jones took over, has hosted three majors: The 1965 U.S. Open (won by Gary Player) and 1992 (Nick Price) & 2018 PGA Championship (Brooks Koepka).
Bellerive has also hosted the 1981 U.S. Mid-Amateur, the 2004 U.S. Senior Open, the 2008 BMW Championship (won by Camilo Villegas), and the Senior PGA Championship.
Learnings from 2018
Eight years have passed since we last saw the PGA Tour’s best compete at Bellerive Country Club. What is there to be learned from the 100th PGA Championship back in 2018?
The leaderboard tells the story of a modern, long, parkland major championship test. Brooks Koepka dominated on Sunday, picking up his third career major championship win, and his second of 2018 after winning two months earlier at Shinnecock Hills. Koepka prevailed by two strokes over Tiger Woods, who did his best in the role of chaser, firing the round of the day at 6-under-par. Adam Scott played alongside Koepka in the final pairing on Sunday, carding a solid round of 3-under-par and claiming 3rd place.
The rest of the top-12 included in-form, future major champions like Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Francesco Molinari, Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland, and Jordan Spieth. Distance proved to be slightly more correlated with success than accuracy in 2018, but approach play was ultimately the deciding factor.
With the course’s overall length, grown out rough, and tucked pins, players could truly only separate with their iron play, as approaches from the rough effectively eliminated birdie chances.
Looking ahead to 2026, I’m focused on great total drivers who can pop on approach. Bellerive is fairly generous off the tee but there is a significant penalty for big misses. The rough is very penal and makes holding the greens very difficult if not playing from the fairway. In that regard, it should continue to play similarly to Muirfield Village.
Course superintendent, Nick White, has confirmed this course will look exactly the same to the pros eight years later. That isn’t from a lack of work, however. There have been ample “under the hood” upgrades at Bellerive since 2018, upgrading the course’s drainage systems, reinforcing the greens, and replacing the greens with a new layer of T1 Bentgrass.
Watch the weather
Late summer is storm season in St. Louis, which features high heat and humidity while sitting between two major rivers. Last we were here for the 2018 PGA Championship, the tournament was hit by thunderstorms on Friday, which required a temporary stoppage. The softer conditions from the rain and humidity resulted in the second-easiest scoring average for a PGA Championship over the last 10 years (second only to Valhalla Golf Club, which also featured heavy rain during the tournament).
2018 was the last year the PGA Championship was played in August, so we’ll see the exact same climate eight years later. As of this writing one week out, the forecast calls for high heat and humidity, thunder showers on Monday and Wednesday, and clearer conditions from Thursday through Sunday. It will be crucial to monitor the forecast throughout the week, but as of now, expect a softer, and therefore more playable version of Bellerive Country Club.
How It Breaks Down
Bellerive Country Club plays as a very long 7,448-yard course. Both par-5s measure over 600 yards. The shorter par-4s are doglegged and cannot be driven. That is what makes approach play so crucial here. There really are not any “Scramble for Birdie” opportunities; birdie looks will need to be generated with great approaches from 100-200 yards.
While there is some water on the property, it will be the combination of thick rough and tight treelines that present the greatest test for the field this week, in addition to its sheer length. Driving accuracy is not a must here, as the fairways are generous enough by PGA Tour standards, but wayward misses will go severely penalized here. So, while distance is absolutely advantageous at Bellerive, it should remain immune to a reckless bomb-and-gouge approach.
BELLERIVE COUNTRY CLUB COURSE SPECS
- Yards: 7,448
- Par: 70 (4x 3s / 12x 4s / 2x 5s)
- Greens: T1 Bentgrass
- Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr.
- Comp Courses: Caves Valley, Valhalla GC, Wilmington Country Club, Riviera CC, Olympia Fields, Muirfield Village, Bay Hill
- Hole-by-hole Breakdown:
EVENT HISTORY AND COURSE COMPS
With limited course history to speak of at Bellerive Country Club, we can instead look to BMW Championship Event history to approximate those who step up to the plate at this stage of the FedEx Cup playoffs. While there is not a directly correlated pattern that connects the recent array of BMW Championship venues, it is still worth referencing performance under pressure.
Looking at results over the last five years, the top-10 in Event History at the BMW Championship are: Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacINtyre, Patrick Cantlay, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland, and Matt Fitzpatrick. Cantlay’s name has become synonymous with the BMW of late, picking up victories at both Caves Valley and Wilmington Country Club over that span.
Course Comps
With just four rounds of course history to lean on since the mid-2000s, I will be putting a much heavier emphasis on comp courses this week that embody many of the same characteristics as Bellerive Country Club. Those defining characteristics include long par-70s, bentgrass-based parkland courses, and mid-to-long iron approach emphasis.
There is no perfect comp course on the regular PGA Tour rotation, however I would define Bellerive Country Club as a mix between Muirfield Village, Caves Valley (2025 version), and Wilmington Country Club. All three share in common moderate scoring conditions, bentgrass agronomy, and a premium on approach play over driving precision.
On a secondary basis, Olympia Fields, Valhalla GC, Riviera CC, and Bay Hill have offered a similar distribution of approach shots from beyond 125 yards, feature moderate scoring conditions, and offer a slight advantage to the longer hitters in the field.
Combine performance across this list, and the top-10 players in Comp Course History here are Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, and Alex Fitzpatrick.
KEY STATS TO CONSIDER WITH BMW CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
- Recent Form (SG: TOT L16)
- SG: T2G
- SG: APP / Prox: 125-200 & 200+
- Driving Distance
- Scrambling Gained / SG: ARG
- Bogey Avoidance
- SG: P (Bent) / SG: P (Firm & Fast greens)
- BMW Championship Event History
- Comp Course History
When in doubt, start modeling with SG: T2G to prioritize the top-trending players leading into the week. I’ll be doing just that in a week like this with such limited prior course history data. The top-10 players in SG: T2G are Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tom Kim, Cameron Young, JJ Spaun, Patrick Cantlay, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, and Alex Fitzpatrick.
Approach play is pivotal on any given week. Even though these greens are slightly above average in size, the most precise players with their irons can still capitalize on some expected tight pin locations. The top-10 players in SG: APP entering this week are Tom Kim, Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, Alex Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, JJ Spaun, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Young, and Aaron Rai.
Total Driving — a weighted average of Driving Distance and Accuracy — is crucial in weeks like these where a driver-heavy approach is required and the thick rough around the fairways can be so penal. There are just seven players who rank above average in terms of both Driving Distance and Driving Accuracy: Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Kristoffer Reitan, Alex Fitzpatrick, and Bud Cauley.
The ideal player for this week should be above average in Comp Course History, Total Driving, SG: T2G, and SG: APP. Only four players meet each of those criteria: Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Ludvig Aberg, and Wyndham Clark.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: VIKTOR HOVLAND
The BMW Championship may rotate across different courses each year across the country, but it tends to be played on courses that loosely follow the same rubric: Bentgrass-based, long, parkland, and major-caliber. That is how I would describe Olympia Fields, site of the 2023 BMW Championship, where Hovland emerged victorious, and it’s not far off from describing last year’s host, Caves Valley Golf Club, where he finished T7.
It has been a true journey for Hovland to rediscover his game in 2026, but I believe he’s truly found it now at the end of the season, highlighted by his win over Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship. He has now finished top-15 in four of his last six starts leading into the 2026 BMW Championship.
Brooks Koepka showed us the blueprint to scoring at Bellerive is nothing more than elite ball-striking, distance, and capable putting. Hovland’s game in 2026 is reminiscent of Koepka’s in 2018, as both players are above-average in both driving distance and accuracy, and assassins with their mid-to-long irons.
Hovland has been excellent on this style of long, parkland moderately challenging course, ranking 3rd in Comp Course History behind only Scheffler and McIlroy. Muirfield Village is the top comp course that comes to mind for Bellervie Country Club, and Hovland has had no issues there, winning the Memorial Tournament in 2023.
Ranking 12th in the field in SG: APP and 2nd in Prox: 125-200, Hovland is capable of winning his second career BMW Championship this week on the basis of his approach form alone.
New DraftKings Customers Make a $5 Deposit and Get a Free Ticket for Week 1 Fantasy Football Millionaire Contest
T&Cs Apply. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
To Claim: Click Play Now
2026 BMW CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: DFS PLAYER POOL
With all the course-fit profiles in mind, I’m leaning early toward the below player pool. Naturally, I’m looking their way in the 2026 BMW Championship odds as well. I’ve broken the list down by projected pricing/odds tier for DraftKings.
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: MODEL RESULTS & BREAKDOWN
2026 BMW Championship Model Breakdown
In my model, I’m emphasizing SG: T2G, SG: APP, Comp Course History, Prox: 125-200, Weighted Putting (L36, Bent, and Firm & Fast Conditions), followed by a more balanced mix of Driving Distance, Bogey Avoidance, and Scrambling Gained.
Model Favorites
To no surprise, Scottie Scheffler remains the man to beat, according to my model this week. While his win total may not be what he’d hoped for in 2026, you can’t play defense in golf, and his game has been good enough to win most weeks he’s teed it up this season. The reigning BMW Championship winner comes in hot after a great performance at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week.
After Scheffler, the rest of my model’s top 10 features Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, and Hideki Matsuyama.
When the odds open on Monday, I’ll look to center my card around Sam Burns, Cameron Young, and Viktor Hovland, depending on where the odds ultimately fall.
Check back in later this week for more updates, and best of luck navigating the 2026 BMW Championship odds!
Top Options for Golf Trading
Sign Up & Unlock Your Offer at FanDuel Predicts
Make Predictions on Real World Events Right in Your Phone
Trade on Sports to Culture, Financials, Crypto and More
Deposit $10, Get a $20 Trading Bonus
Live Trade with the Biggest Payouts at the Largest Prediction Market in the World
Use Bonus Code: LINEUPS
America's #1 Sports Prediction Market
Same Sports Moments, Bigger Payouts
Choose from Straights, Player Props, Parlays & More
Use Exclusive Code: LINEUPS
Complete a Task in the Crypto.com App to Unlock up to 1 Bitcoin Worth of CRO Rewards
America’s All-In-One Trading Platform
Manage Your Crypto, Stocks, Predictions & Card Spend Seamlessly
Get $150 in Bonuses Paid Over 14 Days
DraftKings is Now Available Nationwide
Browse Markets like Sports, Crypto, Tech & More
