Fifty golfers have made the 284-mile trek from Memphis to St. Louis to compete in this week’s BMW Championship.

The host course, Bellerive Country Club, was designed by Robert Trent Jones and is known to be a bit of a brute.

As a result, it even has its own nickname: The Green Monster of Ladue.

Bellerive has hosted three major championships—the 1965 U.S. Open, where Gary Player completed the career Grand Slam; the 1992 PGA Championship, won by Nick Price; and the 2018 PGA Championship.

2018 was the last time golf fans saw this course, and it was a doozy.

If you recall, that PGA Championship was won by some guy named Brooks Koepka, while some other guy named Tiger Woods tried to chase him down with a 64 on Sunday.

Koepka answered with a 66 and took home the hardware.

Neither of them is in the field this week, eight years later, but man, Tiger’s highlights from that final round are still fun to watch.

 

Brooks won with a score of 16-under that year.

This week, the books are projecting the winning score to land around 262, which would be 18-under since Bellerive will play as a par 70 for these guys—and a par 72 for the rest of us.

Moving from the past to the present, the top 30 in the FedExCup standings after this week will advance to the TOUR Championship at East Lake.

Read: The Minimum Finish Required for Each Player to Earn a Spot in the TOUR Championship

 

Key Stats for the BMW Championship

Based on 2018 PGA Championship data*

• Prioritize bombers. Bellerive strongly favored longer hitters in 2018, making driving distance and power a much more important filter than accuracy off the tee.
• Approach play was the biggest separator. Strokes Gained: Approach accounted for 41.7% of scoring variance, well above the TOUR average of 34.9%. Look for players combining length with elite iron play.
• Don’t over-weight putting or short game. Putting and around-the-green play accounted for less scoring variance than normal. With a 1.05 skill slope, better players also held a modest advantage—pointing toward big-name, high-end ball strikers rather than short-game specialists or pure longshots.

 

The Details

Previous Winners

How to Watch

Featured Groups

ESPN+ has featured-group coverage of the BMW Championship.

→ View all featured groups and tee times here

Weekly Bets: BMW Championship

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew.

If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% off.

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Keith Stewart’s Picks

Viktor Hovland (+3000, FanDuel)

If anyone can compete with Scottie Scheffler on approach, it is Viktor Hovland.

A proven winner at the BMW Championship in 2023 on a course that draws strong comparisons to Olympia Fields, I’m backing an aggressive player who fell out of contention in Memphis because the driver went awry.

Bellerive gives him a little more room off the tee, and I love the bounce-back potential for the 2023 FedExCup champion.

Hovland ranks fifth in the field on approach over the last few events and fourth in Birdies or Better Percentage.

Firepower, elite iron play, and the overall trend—I’m all in.

Wyndham Clark (+3300, DraftKings)

There’s a ton of talk surrounding Jake Knapp this week.

I’ll take the shorter odds and, in my opinion, a better chance at winning with Wyndham Clark.

Why?

Very few players have beaten the world No. 1 head-to-head this year, and Clark did it at the CJ Cup.

I also like TPC Craig Ranch as a comparison course—albeit with less scoring at Bellerive—and Clark’s approach play this season separates him from many of the other driver-and-putter-heavy players.

Coming off a fifth-place finish at the St. Jude, if scoring and power are what we need this week, Wyndham can win.

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Caddyshanks Picks

Hideki Matsuyama (+3000, DraftKings)

I have a friend who reads this newsletter every week just for the picks, and he constantly makes fun of me for how often I pick Hideki.

I don’t care one bit.

He has four top-10 finishes in his last four starts.

That is the definition of knocking on the door.

Si Woo Kim (+2700, DraftKings)

Si Woo has played so well all season but hasn’t been able to cash in.

Besides Scottie, Si Woo has the most top-10 finishes this season.

Can he—or Hideki—finally get one across the finish line?

Scottie Scheffler (+350, DraftKings)

Wouldn’t you know it?

Last week was the first week I didn’t write about the “Bet Scottie Every Week” strategy—which has not exactly been a profitable endeavor—and then he goes out and wins.

He’ll probably go back-to-back now.

For the third week in a row, an American under the age of 25 has won on the PGA TOUR.

Has that ever happened before?

It turns out that yes, it has—but only once.

Way back in 2017, Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau, and Grayson Murray actually made it four weeks in a row.

Murray won the Barbasol Championship, which was played as an opposite-field event during The Open.

That group has gone on to collect seven major championships so far.

Maybe we should start sprinkling a few futures on Jackson Koivun, Michael Thorbjornsen, and Michael Brennan while we still can.

The Wyndham Championship

There must be something in the water at PGA TOUR U, because these kids are making birdies in bunches.

Yesterday, Michael Brennan made five birdies in a row on Nos. 4-8.

That stretch separated him from Beau Hossler, his closest pursuer, and combined with the 63 he shot on Saturday, it was enough to win him the tournament.

Brennan went on to birdie the 72nd hole and win by three strokes.

In the process, he vaulted himself inside the FedExCup top 50.

He was the only player to move into the top 50 from outside the bubble.

Jackson Koivun, who started the week at No. 70, remained there.

Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, and Keegan Bradley saw their seasons come to an end.

What’s Next?

The FedExCup Playoffs kick off this week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.

FedEx St. Jude Championship Odds

• Scottie Scheffler: +450
• Rory McIlroy: +1200
• Xander Schauffele: +1800
• Sam Burns: +2000
• Tommy Fleetwood: +2000
• Cam Young: +2200
• Ludvig Åberg: +2200
• Matt Fitzpatrick: +2200
• Collin Morikawa: +2500
• Hideki Matsuyama: +2800
• Chris Gotterup: +3000
• Patrick Cantlay: +3000
• Viktor Hovland: +3000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, Jackson Koivun won the 3M Open in dominant fashion at the ripe old age of 21.

In the process, he held off a Sunday charge from Scottie Scheffler, set the tournament scoring record at 25-under, and joined a very short list of the youngest winners in PGA TOUR history.

It was an incredible performance, and golf social media has been on fire talking about him.

A reminder that @DataGolf had Koivun ranked as their best amateur golfer since 2010 ahead of some massive, massive names.

Now a win by 3 shots in his 3rd pro start as a 21 year old.

And by 5 shots over everyone that isn’t the number one player in the world.

SHEESH. pic.twitter.com/f9rXI3fto1

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 26, 2026

If you’re a casual golf fan, you’d be forgiven for thinking he’s already been anointed as the next “chosen one.”

The truth is, nobody knows.

Sports fans love fortune telling. We love believing we can spot greatness before everyone else. Sometimes we can.

If you watched Derrick Henry run over high school defenders, you knew he was going pro one day. LeBron James was on national television before he could legally buy a lottery ticket. Bryce Harper landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16.

But there are plenty of times when fans and prognosticators get it wrong.

For every LeBron, there’s a Greg Oden. For every Bryce Harper, there’s a Todd Marinovich. For every can’t-miss prospect who becomes exactly what everyone expected, there are dozens who looked every bit as inevitable… until they weren’t.

Golf is no different.

Peter Uihlein was the No. 1 amateur in the world for longer than several eventual PGA TOUR winners. After winning the U.S. Amateur in 2010, many people thought he was the next great American star.

He’s never won on the PGA TOUR.

Matthew Wolff looked destined to become one of the game’s biggest names after winning on TOUR at 20 and finishing runner-up in both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship before turning 22.

Today, he’s trying to rebuild his career.

Even Jordan Spieth reminds us how dangerous expectations can be, to a certain degree.

Spieth won on the PGA TOUR at 19. By 23, he had already won three majors.

At the time, it felt almost impossible that he’d go through the next decade without adding another one.

Yet here we are.

Today is Spieth’s 33rd birthday, and those three majors are still the only ones on his résumé.

Golf has a funny way of humbling predictions. So, we won’t make any about Jackson Koivun.

Jackson Koivun might become the next Tiger Woods.

He might become the next Jordan Spieth.

He might become the next Peter Uihlein.

Or he might carve out an entirely different career that none of us could possibly predict today.

The only thing we know for sure is this:

Winning a PGA TOUR event at 21 while staring down Scottie Scheffler is ridiculously impressive.

What’s Next?

The Rocket Mortgage Classic, which has a loaded field this year.

Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds

• Cameron Young (+1000)
• Xander Schauffele (+1650)
• Chris Gotterup (+1800)
• Si Woo Kim (+1850)
• Wyndham Clark (+1850)
• Patrick Cantlay (+2150)
• Jackson Koivun (+2300)
• Russell Henley (+2400)
• Ben Griffin (+2800)
• J.J. Spaun (+3400)

Let’s just get this out of the way – my predictions last week couldn’t have been more wrong. They were bad – laughably bad, even. And let that be a lesson to all of us: never bet on England, or an Englishman, for anything. They’ll always come up short. Tommy Fleetwood, as kind and likable as he is, is sort of the poster child for the phenomenon, and I’m not sure what it will take for the English to break their funk. But the funk is real, it is ongoing, and hopefully the Gulf Stream keeps it on that side of the pond. Back to America we go.

Quick 3M Open Preview

TPC Twin Cities is a far cry from the links golf we watched over the last two weeks, but they’re calling for some wind, and there is water on 15 of the 18 holes, so maybe the course will put up a little fight. With that being said, the wide fairways and benign rough set this course up to be a bit of a birdie fest, and it usually benefits the accurate drivers. Last year, Kurt Kitayama won with a score of 23-under. Right now, Vegas has the winning score line set at 261.5, which gives you an indication that scoring will likely end up in the 15- to 20-under range this year. Typically, the field for the 3M Open isn’t so top-heavy, but this year the world No. 1 is competing, and the odds reflect the disparity in talent. Scottie’s odds are just +250 to win, which, as you already know, is gross. Those are peak Tiger odds, despite the fact that he’s only won once this year. The next closest player on the odds board is Kurt Kitayama at +2500, but recent winner Tom Kim, along with major champions Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland, and Lucas Glover, highlight the field.

Key Stats For The 3M Open

• Prioritize accurate drivers over bombers. TPC Twin Cities has consistently favored players who keep the ball in play, and 2025 strongly rewarded driving accuracy. With water lurking throughout the course, avoiding penalty strokes is often more valuable than chasing extra distance.
• Target elite iron players. Nearly 40% of the scoring separation at TPC Twin Cities comes from approach play, making Strokes Gained: Approach one of the most predictive stats. Golfers flushing their irons tend to separate themselves here.
• Expect a birdie fest, not a survival test. TPC Twin Cities routinely plays well under par, and calm conditions can push winning scores into the 20-under range. Lean toward players with high Birdie or Better rates who can stay aggressive for four straight days.

The Details

Previous Winners

How To Watch

Featured Groups

More Details Here

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Weekly Bets: 3M Open

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community. Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% OFF.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Jackson Suber (+5000 BetMGM)

In his last seven starts, Jackson Suber has three top-6 finishes. In contention again at The Open Championship, it didn’t work out, but consider the moment. Suber has been great in these weaker-field events, gaining a ton of shots tee-to-green. That DNA is exactly what we need for the 3M. Compound his competitive play with a FedExCup rank of 79. Jackson can’t take a week off after The Open. Suber needs to push himself if he plans to make the playoffs.

Max Homa (+6000 Fanatics)

Max Homa is gaining an average of 5.9 strokes on the field over his last five starts. Now Homa heads to a venue where he has played well. Max finished T3 here in 2020 and has played the weekend in every 3M start (3) of his career. When Homa is excelling tee-to-green, he keeps the ball in play, and that’s a major key at TPC Twin Cities. Positive vibes at this venue and a ball-striking trend that cannot be ignored. Looking for a former PGA TOUR winner with odds value in Minnesota? You’ll be happy with Homa.

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Caddyshanks Picks

Scottie Scheffler (+250 FanDuel)

The “bet Scottie every week” strategy will likely be unprofitable – I will go down with this ship.

Emiliano Grillo (+10000 DraftKings)

Alright, there’s an element to this pick that is… unscientific. The man’s wife just gave birth to a baby boy, which is good vibes (see how well Sam Burns played last week?), and he has a history of playing well at this course specifically, with multiple top-10 finishes.

Lucas Glover (+10000 FanDuel)

Lucas Glover has been heating up, with top-5 finishes in each of his last two starts, and the number on him provides a lot of value. I also love him as a Top 20 if you’re not feeling the outright market.

Well, that Open Championship had a little bit of everything, huh?

Rules snafus, drama, disparaging commentary, and most importantly – great golf.

Overall, it was quite an enjoyable watch for the 154th edition of The Open.

First, let’s start with Ryan Fox.

His performance over the weekend was stellar. In fact, his final two rounds (62-68) matched the lowest 36-hole score in Open Championship history.

The 62 that got him into contention on Saturday was a lot of fun to watch, but the round he played on Sunday was nothing short of gutsy and championship-worthy.

Yes, his putter was awesome. Yes, his iron play was crisp. But it was the way he accepted the bad breaks and kept grinding that stood out most.

He made bogeys on the 9th and 11th holes, then caught a brutal bunker lie on the 15th, where he had to chip backward just to get out. He still managed to get up-and-down from there to save bogey.

He immediately answered with a birdie on 16, then narrowly missed another on 17 that would’ve given him the outright lead.

Standing on the 18th tee – a hole that had yielded just five birdies all day – he told his caddie he was going to play for keeps.

He mashed a drive down the right-center of the fairway, leaving himself 176 yards. He stuffed the approach to 11 feet.

He had found himself in the dream scenario every kid who’s ever picked up a club, bat, or ball has imagined.

“A putt to win The Open.”

“A catch to win the Super Bowl.”

“Bottom of the ninth. Bases loaded. Two strikes. Two outs.”

We’ve all played those moments out in our heads. Ryan Fox got to live one.

“To cap it off with a putt – everyone practices on the green, I guess, you’ve got a putt to win a major championship, to win The Open. It’s not like that in real life. It’s not a very comfortable feeling. It’s certainly very enjoyable when you see it go in.”

And it’s those moments – watching someone realize the dream they’ve had since childhood – that make sports so special.

What About Everybody Else?

A lot of names flashed across the leaderboard before eventually hitting a snag: Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Si Woo Kim, and Tommy Fleetwood among them.

They all played great golf and helped create the drama that made this such a memorable championship.

Of the chasing pack, Cameron Young impressed the most.

Young started the day tied for 20th and charged all the way to 10-under before a tough bogey on the final hole dropped him back to 9-under. He became the clubhouse leader and then had to wait more than two hours before Ryan Fox finally closed the door.

It’s been a terrific season for Cam Young. He has all the talent needed to win major championships, but that doesn’t make this one sting any less.

What’s Next?

The PGA TOUR heads to TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, for the 3M Open.

3M Open Odds

• Scottie Scheffler (+270)
• Kurt Kitayama (+1900)
• Maverick McNealy (+2100)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+2500)
• Keith Mitchell (+2500)
• Jake Knapp (+2700)
• Jackson Koivun (+2800)
• Tom Kim (+3000)
• Pierceson Coody (+3600)
• Jackson Suber (+3800)
• Gary Woodland (+4100)

 

 

 

 

Golf fans are starting to get a little too comfortable.

That’s the nicest way to put it.

The R&A is rolling out a new fan code of conduct at Royal Birkdale called The Open Commitment, and the message is pretty simple: act like an idiot, and you might get thrown out. Serious or repeated breaches can lead to removal from the grounds without a refund.

Good.

This probably should not need to be a news story. Golf fans should not need a formal reminder to avoid yelling at players, acting like their $12 three-leg parlay makes them part of the broadcast, or trying to turn every tee shot into their personal TikTok audition.

But here we are.

The R&A says fans should remain quiet during shots, avoid inappropriate comments, celebrate in a fair way, keep phones silent, avoid video recording during play, and enjoy alcohol responsibly. Alcohol is also not allowed in grandstands.

Again, none of this is exactly revolutionary.

This is basically: watch golf like a normal person.

But the fact that The Open feels the need to make this formal says a lot about where golf crowds are headed. The sport has spent the last few years trying to get younger, louder, more social, more viral, and more accessible. A lot of that is good. Golf needed some life.

The problem is that “more energy” and “more idiots” often arrive in the same Uber.

The Guardian reported that R&A staff, marshals, and officials will be monitoring the expected 300,000 fans at Royal Birkdale, and Mark Darbon said the R&A will ask people to leave rather than adopt Nick Faldo’s idea of massive fines for abusive spectators.

That feels like the right line.

You don’t need to turn The Open into a courtroom. You just need to make it clear that buying a ticket does not give you the right to be a clown six beers deep because someone missed a putt that ruined your bet.

And that’s really the bigger issue here.

Golf is now fully tied to gambling, social media, and main-character fan behavior. That combination is not going away. If anything, it’s going to get worse unless tournaments are willing to enforce standards.

The Open is doing that.

It does not mean fans can’t have fun. It does not mean everyone needs to sit there in total silence like they’re watching a piano recital. It just means there’s a difference between energy and abuse.

Golf should be loud in the right moments. It should be fun. It should have personality.

But if the choice is between protecting the atmosphere of one of the best championships in sports or letting some guy named Kyle scream at Tommy Fleetwood because his top-20 bet is dying, I think we can all live without Kyle.