Western Open
| Location | Greater Chicago area (1962–2006) |
|---|---|
| Established | 1899, 118 years ago |
| Course(s) |
Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, Dubsdread Course (1991–2006) |
| Par | 71 in 2006 |
| Length | 7,326 yards (6,699 m) |
| Organized by | Western Golf Association |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Prize fund |
$5 million (2006) $150 (1899) |
| Final year | 2006 |
| Defunct | renamed BMW Championship in 2007 |
 Trevor Immelman
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The Western Open was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, first played in September 1899 at the Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois the week preceding the U.S. Open (golf). At the time of its final edition in 2006, the Western Open was the third oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open (1860) and U.S. Open (1895).
Beginning in 2007, the Western Open was renamed the BMW Championship, part of the FedEx Cup playoff series, and played with the PGA Tour's point system as the sole qualification standard. It is not open to amateurs.
Western Open title sponsors have included Beatrice, Centel, Sprint, Motorola, Advil, Golf Digest, and Cialis.
The Western Open, founded and run by the Western Golf Association, was first played in 1899 at the Glenview Golf Club in Golf, Illinois. Like the U.S. Open, in its early days it was almost exclusively won by immigrant golf professionals from the British Isles, most of whom gained full citizenship to the United States. In its early decades it was widely regarded as one of the premier golf tournaments in the USA, along with other notables of the day like the North and South Open, the PGA Championship and the Shawnee Open.
From the event's inception until 1961, it was played at a variety of midwestern locations, as well as places such as Arizona (Phoenix), Utah (Salt Lake City) and California (San Francisco, Los Angeles). In 1923, the Western Open was held at the Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee.
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