BMW Championship kicks off with the Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am

+++ 65 pros take to the course at Wilmington Country Club for the Pro-Am +++ Largest single event in aid of the Evans Scholars Foundation +++ US sport stars J.R. Smith and Victor Cruz tee off +++ BMW Championship, with the top 70 players on the PGA TOUR, begins today +++

Munich. The BMW Championship, the penultimate Playoff event in the FedExCup on the PGA TOUR, opened on Wednesday with the traditional Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am. 65 pros teamed up with amateurs and took to the course at Wilmington Country Club, which is hosting the prestigious tournament for the first time. Among those teeing off were former professional basketballer and two-time NBA champion (Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers) J.R. Smith, former NFL footballer and Super Bowl winner (New York Giants) Victor Cruz, and BMW Motorsport works driver Connor De Phillippi.

The Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am is the Western Golf Association’s biggest fundraising event for its charity the Evans Scholar Foundation (ESF). Current and former scholars accompany the pros as caddies for the day. All revenues from the Pro-Am, and all other proceeds from the BMW Championship, will support the foundation. The ESF provides full tuition and housing scholarships for hardworking young caddies. Since the tournament’s inception 16 years ago, The BMW Championship has raised over $40 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation and helped send 3,300 caddies to college. For the upcoming school year, a record 1,100 Evans Scholars will attend 22 leading universities nationwide.

The opening round of the BMW Championship begins today at 09:10 local time. Harold Varner III (USA) and Alex Noren (SWE) will tee off in the first group. The top pairing of FedExCup leader Will Zalatoris and world number one Scottie Scheffler (both USA), starts at 12:40. There is no cut at the BMW Championship, but that does not make the competition any less intense. Only the top 30 in the FedExCup ranking after the tournament will qualify to play at next week’s TOUR Championship.