Jon Rahm returns to Olympia Fields for BMW Championship, which he won in 2020
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (CBS) – The greens were a little softer for practice rounds of the BMW Championship after all the rain on Tuesday.
Players hope things dry out before the first round on Thursday. CBS 2's Matt Zahn caught up with the PGA's best on Olympia Fields.
The top 50 players in the Fed Ex Cup standings are at Olympia Fields and most of them were getting in work on Tuesday, including Jordan Spieth, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, and FedEx points leader Jon Rahm.
Rahm won the 2020 BMW Championship in Olympia Fields in thrilling fashion by making an over 60-foot putt to capture the title on the first playoff hole.
Zahn: "Where does that moment rank in your career?"
Rahm: "At that moment, I think if there were crowds and I made that putt, it probably would be a unanimous No. 1, but because there was nobody there and there was really no reaction besides mine, it's not that it's anticlimactic, but it's a little bit. It's a bit lackluster because of what you're used to seeing when you make a good putt like a moment like the U.S. Open. It wouldn't be No. 1, but it's definitely top three."
Having fans at Olympia Fields this year may not be the only difference from 2020. The winning score was four-under, the highest winning score on the tour that year, but rain has softened things a bit on the course.
"It's a great layout. It's a great test, especially last time, actually getting to see it basically as a U.S. Open setup, right?" Rahm said. "We don't usually get, at this time of year, events where four-under goes into a playoff. That was unbelievable to see. It's going to be a little bit different because we're not going to get that. It's wet and rainy. So we'll see how it plays. It's going to play a lot longer, let me tell you."
The top 70 players were at Olympia Fields in 2020. This year, it'll just be the top 50 competing.
Rahm noted that players 51 through 55 still had a really good year, including Northbrook's Nick Hardy, who just missed the cut sitting at No. 52.
The final two rounds of the competition will air on CBS 2.