An inside look at what pro golfers will face at Olympia Fields for the BMW Championship
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Olympia Fields Country Club has been hard at work getting everything ready for the BMW Championship, and a large number of fans are expected to be there this week.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn got a close-up look at the famed North Course that will, as in years past, demand the best out of the PGA's best.
"It'll be a great test for the players," said Olympia Fields director of golf Doug Farrell. "In 2020, it was actually the hardest course they played on the PGA Tour, including all the majors. Four-under was the low score. It was a pretty awesome experience. The test this year will be really good. The rough is really long. The golf course is going to play firm and fast."
Farrell took CBS 2 out on the course to get an up close look at what the players will experience, including their signature hole, No. 14.
"14 is an awesome golf hole," Farrell said. "Elevated tee shot, down to a landing area, surrounded by a creek, with an elevated second shot into the green."
Farrell added, "Here on the 14th green, this green gives players fits. It looks relatively flat and benign, but there's just a lot of slope from back to front. This is one of those greens, like most of them, you do not want to go over the back of. You can see some of thise rough out here. It gets pretty gnarly."
Zahn tried his own luck on the green to see the challenges himself.
Farrell and Zahn were both able to find the green, but as Farrell mentioned, the rough is tough at Olympia Fields and nowhere is that more punitive than behind the 14th green.
Zahn: "What's the key to getting it out?
Farrell: "You should probably ask some of the top 50 players in the world. Downhill, running away from you, like, just get it on the green, two-putt, make your bogey. Get out of there."
What about any other holes that stand out?
"The two toughest holes on the golf course they're gonna play is nine and 18," Farrell said. "Typically with a south wind, both of those holes will play straight back into the wind. Both of them are long par fours, play over 450 yards. To have one of your signature holes as your finishing hole, I think all of us at WGA, Olympia Fields, and BMW all want that all to culminate in one location." awesome finish, close
The 18th green is where it all culminates as Farrell put it. In 2020, that's where Jon Rahm sunk a putt to win the BMW Championship in thrilling fashion in a playoff.
"A 66-foot putt, in the playoff," Farrell said. "He hit it in the right rough, knocked it in the back left corner of the green and he's got this to win the 2020 BWM Championship."
He added, "What an awesome finish. A really cool experience. Unfortunately, nobody was here to experience it. We're hoping this year, that obviously everyone gets to experience a like-finish similar to what we had in 2020."
The pandemic kept the spectators away in 2020, but they're expecting big crowds this week.
Practice rounds begin Tuesday. The Tournament runs Thursday through Sunday. You can watch the final two rounds on CBS 2.
