Colorado community gears up for BMW Championship
Years of work have gone into preparing a small Colorado city to host over 100,000 people. This week, it's finally showtime, when 50 top golfers face off in the BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club.
Professional practice rounds start Tuesday and the tournament will take place Aug. 22 to 25.
"It's been a labor of love over the past two years planning for the PGA," Castle Pines Mayor Tracy Engerman said.
While the golf club technically lies on unincorporated Douglas County land, it's nestled between the towns of Castle Pines and Castle Rock.
The tournament will bring an estimated $30 million to the local economy.
"Every dollar that gets spent in the area is gonna continue to loop around two, three, four times in Douglas County," Engerman said.
It's also shining a national spotlight on Douglas County.
"We are a thriving community that loves our recreation. Hopefully, people that visit here may say, 'oh, this might be an opportunity to relocate or come to Castle Pines or Douglas County,'" Engerman said.
Engerman wants visitors to check out the parks, open spaces, local businesses and restaurants that Castle Pines has to offer.
Behind the scenes, a lot of work has gone into preparing the local infrastructure and mitigating safety concerns.
In the last month, Castle Pines finished construction on a new roundabout at Happy Canyon and Lagae Roads.
"It was definitely a quick turnaround trying to get it ready before the event is here and will definitely improve safety from what we had in the past," Engerman said.
During the championship, Happy Canyon will be closed between the roundabouts at Lagae and Santa Fe, and there will be no public parking available near Castle Pines Golf Club. Instead, tournament attendees will need to park off-site and take shuttles to the course. While the measures should curb the event's toll on local roadways, neighbors and attendees should still expect delays in the area.
Douglas County sheriff's deputies will control traffic and secure the event. They have emergency preparedness plans in place, including partnerships with local fire and emergency medical services and evacuation routes.
The sheriff's office has been preparing to keep visitors and locals safe at the event for years. A DCSO captain and bureau chief even traveled to last year's championship in Illinois to learn about logistics, things to anticipate and accommodations for weather and heat.
Traffic flow is also being managed on the course.
"Being a new venue for us, we certainly have to map out the spectator flow, where all the hospitality venues are gonna be, not to mention the operational elements of the championships," said Vince Pellegrino, senior vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association.
Organizers are prepared for altitude, heat and the course's terrain to challenge players and spectators.
"I think that's one of the biggest things that the players are gonna have to get used to is the altitude. Not just physically, but how far does a golf ball go? I think it's gonna test them physically," Pellegrino said.
All of the championship's proceeds benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full-tuition scholarships to caddies with limited financial means. Pellegrino hopes to raise $6 million for the fund this week.
Duffy Solich was once a recipient of that scholarship.
"It was an opportunity that I can never repay. I didn't know if my family had the wherewithal to send me to college," Solich said. "I grew up in Colorado Springs and caddied at The Broadmoor, so for me, it was a great opportunity to go to CU where I wanted to go anyway."
Now he's the chairman of the 2024 BMW Championship and lives just feet from the golf course in Castle Pines Village.
"This is really coming full circle and an opportunity to pay back what was given to us," said Solich.
Now the next generation of caddies are hard at work.
"I'll be out there carrying the bag if the player needs it while helping out with the caddy," said CU Boulder student and Evans Scholarship recipient Kyle Murray.
Murray says the scholarship is invaluable to his future.
"Just having all these emotions in that moment of receiving that. It opens up a lot of pathways for sure," Murray said.
This week he'll caddy his biggest event yet and meet some of the best golfers in the world while he continues to pay forward the same opportunities he was given.
"Being around these professional players and their caddies, it's definitely a moment where I feel nervous! It's just a wonderful opportunity," Murray said.
Championship organizers say everyone attending should prepare to allow extra time to shuttle to the course, stay hydrated and wear appropriate footwear. Spectators will need to register and pay for parking ahead of time. There will be a designated area for rideshare drop-off.
For more information, visit the BMW Championship's website.
