It’s been a year since our last distribution of gifts — Colorado golf-style — and we’re back in the holiday mood.

We’ve studied our naughty and nice lists, and taken time to pick out that perfect something for deserving souls. Of course, given who we are, we’ll stick with a golf theme.

Time’s a wastin’, so without further ado …

To: John Ogden, head professional at Cherry Hills Country Club. Gift: Credit where credit is due after you predicted in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship that the winning score would be 264 to 268. Billy Horschel won with a 266 total.

To: Rory McIlroy. Gift: That no hole ever treats you as badly as the par-3 12th at Cherry Hills did during the BMW Championship. (He four-putted the hole twice in the final two rounds, including from 4 feet on Saturday. The result: triple bogey, double bogey).

To: Phil Mickelson. Gift: The ability to think of a better excuse for withdrawing from a tournament after pulling out of the no-cut BMW Championship before the weekend at Cherry Hills, citing a need “to rest and prepare for the Ryder Cup” — which took place three weeks later.

To: The CGA. Gift: In 2015, an unforgettable 100-year anniversary year worthy of an organization with such a rich history.

To: The CWGA. Gift: See above, except in 2016 in your case.

To: Hale Irwin. Gift: Just as your competitive career winds down, an ever-expanding impact on Colorado kids through the Hale Irwin Elite Player Program, the AJGA Hale Irwin Junior, and hopefully other things to come.

To: Former Coloradan Brandt Jobe, who has finished second four times — but has never won — on the PGA Tour. Gift: That 2015 brings a victory — either on the PGA Tour or the Champions circuit, for which you become eligible in August.

To: Colorado-based Champions Tour player Mark Wiebe, who battled injuries this year. Gift: That 2015 more resemble 2013 (two wins) than 2014 (0 top-25s).

To: New CGA managing director of operations Dustin Jensen, who is moving back to Colorado from North Dakota. Gift: A touch of winter warmth, Colorado style.

To: Officials from Coal Creek Golf Course in Louisville. Gift: A banner season in the summer of 2015 after then being closed for more than 18 months by the September 2013 flooding.

To: George Solich. Gift: A stress-free summer in 2015 after anything but in 2014 as general chairman of the BMW Championship.

To: Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale. Gift: After having so much success in Colorado in recent years — including winning titles in the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (one) and the Colorado PGA Professional Championship (two) — a top-10 finish as a member of the Champions Tour.

To: The University of Colorado women’s golf program. Gift: A top-three finish at the Pac-12 Conference Championship that you’re hosting in April at Boulder Country Club.

To: Wyndham Clark of Lone Tree, the 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State. Gift: After a lot of close calls, an individual college victory.

To: Jack Vickers. Gift: In receiving the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, satisfaction in the impact you made in graciously hosting a PGA Tour event in Colorado for 21 years, The International.

To: Ross Macdonald (left). Gift: A third consecutive CGA Junior Stroke Play title to match Scott Petersen’s remarkable feat from the late 1980s.

To: CSU-Pueblo golfer Leina Kim. Gift: An NCAA women’s Division II title in 2015 after leading the nation in stroke average so far this season.

To: Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster. Gift: A win in a national event leading into your freshman season at Wake Forest beginning in the fall.

To: Former CU golfer Emily Talley. Gift: After knocking on the door so many times as a professional, an answer in the form of an individual title.

To: Connie Gallagher of Denver, who in October aced a par-4 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Gift: A return trip to Pebble to relive the moment.

To: Kent and Janet Moore, both Colorado Golf Hall of Famers. Gift: That you both win state senior titles in the same year.

To: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton. Gift: That you don’t miss a beat in competitive golf next year despite those two recent knee replacements.

To: John Elway. Gift: A shot at winning both a Super Bowl (as Broncos general manager) and a HealthOne Colorado Senior Open (as a competitor) in the same year.

To: The late Jim Moore, former Western Golf Association educational director. Gift: That your ever-present upbeat spirit will live on in the Evans Scholarship program for caddies, including those at the University of Colorado.

To: Sherry Andonian-Smith (left), who almost made the cut in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open, and who went 3-0 for the Colorado PGA in the Taylor Cup matches. Gift: Colorado PGA Senior Player of the Year honors in 2015.

To: The guy who eagerly volunteered to caddie for a competitor in the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open, only to quit mid-round, saying he had phone calls to make. Gift: That your services are required elsewhere during the 2015 tournament.

To: Leslie Core-Drevecky, the first female president of the Colorado PGA. Gift: A marked increase in play by women and girls golfers in Colorado.

To: Eric Hoos, who got struck in the head by a competitor’s golf ball while picking his ball out of the cup at the 2014 CGA Senior Stroke Play. Gift: A military-style helmet for the 2015 tournament.

To: Part-time Colorado resident Jonathan Kaye, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. Gift: After competing very little since 2010, some success on the Web.com Tour in 2015.

To: Priscilla Lind, who recently passed away. Lind was the wife of Babe Lind, who was in the first class of inductees for the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Gift: Many thanks for sharing some of Babe’s historic golf trophies and memorabilia with the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and the University of Denver.

To: Golf courses such as Broadlands, Saddleback, Park Hill, Springs Ranch and Eagle Vail which have opened part of their facilities to “footgolf”, an activity in which participants essentially play golf with their feet, using a soccer ball, much shorter holes and large cups. Gift: An “A” for effort in thinking outside the box to generate additional revenue for their golf courses.

To: The golden oldies who play golf at Heather Gardens. Gift: Good health, good friends and great fun hitting the links well into your 90s.

To: All Colorado golfers. Gift: Happy holidays.
 

The BMW Championship earned the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year honor in both 2012 and ’13, and it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if Cherry Hills Country Club made it a trifecta this year.

Total attendance figures for the week weren’t finalized as of Sunday afternoon, but tournament general chairman George Solich expects numbers to be in the 125,000 neighborhood for the six days the site was open to fans.

“I know (Saturday) we had 30,000 people here and today was more,” he said. “My sense is we’ll be close to 125,000 for the week. It was a great, great attendance. All around the golf course, there was a sea of people wherever you went — which is why this is an incredibly great golf course to host this. There are so many great places to watch golf on the course.”

If the attendance exceeds 125,000, the BMW Championship will be at least the fourth big golf tournament Colorado has hosted in the last decade to draw more than that figure for a week. The 2005 U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills lured more than 131,000 people, the 2011 Women’s Open at the Broadmoor more than 130,000, and the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor had attendance of almost 129,000. And though the total at the 2013 Solheim Cup at Colorado Golf Club was announced at 110,000, club officials say that because ticket scanners were down for an extended period, the actual number of people on hand was far greater.

In the first PGA Tour event held in Colorado since 2006 — and at Cherry Hills since 1985 — the players were impressed by the turnout all week.

“It’s been a pleasure to play in front of so many people,” said Rory McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked golfer.

“There were thousands and thousands of people out here this weekend,” added champion Billy Horschel (left, with Solich). “I hope the PGA Tour realizes what kind of fan base and what support they have in Colorado.”

Among those in attendance on Sunday was Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“I know he was absolutely thrilled,” Solich said.

Ever since Cherry Hills was awarded the 2014 BMW Championship, Solich has had a goal of making the most of the opportunity. Besides organizing a tournament that the fans and players appreciate, he wanted to raise as much money as possible for the Evans Scholars Foundation, the sole beneficiary of the BMW Championship. Since 1930, full tuition and housing Evans Scholarships have been awarded to qualified caddies who demonstrate significant financial need.

As Solich himself was an Evans Scholar at the University of Colorado (class of 1983), he appreciates what a difference the money raised at the BMW Championship can make. From 2007 through ’13, the tournament has raised more than $16 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation.

The figure for this year’s tournament isn’t yet finalized, but Solich hopes it will be the best ever for the BMW Championship.

“We haven’t added up all the marbles, but we broke every record in hospitality sales, and we broke every record for revenue from ticket sales,” he said. “We have every chance to be — knock on wood — the No. 1 BMW Championship in history in terms of revenue generated to the Evans Scholars Foundation — which was one of our goals.”

After taking part in the trophy ceremony on the 18th green Sunday, Solich reflected on the tournament to which he’s devoted so much of his time over the last three years.

“Throughout the entire week, all we heard was how good the golf course was, how great the service was, how well organized we were, and how great it was to be back in Colorado,” Solich said. “Whether it was fans or players or caddies or media, we really heard all the same echoes. Clearly, all the hard work paid off and there were lots and lots of people who came together to pull this great team effort together.

“It’s terrific to see it come to fruition after three years of work. It’s a little surreal. It goes by very fast once you’re in it. Obviously I think we proved this is a great venue for golf. That’s why we’ve been out here for so many years with so many great championships.”

Golf Channel analyst Steve Sands noted Sunday the behind-the-scenes efforts of Solich and the organizational team in making the championship come off relatively seamlessly.

“You have no idea the tireless work done by George and his staff,” Sands told fans and officials assembled for the post-championship ceremony.

The weather for the week was largely cooperative, with just a brief lightning-related delay Thursday evening that kept nine players from completing round 1 that day.

The rain did lead to some major on-the-fly changes of parking lots, but the backup plans seemed to work well, given the circumstances.

Some players nitpicked about specific holes on the course — the 526-yard par-4 fifth, which through three rounds was playing as the toughest hole on the PGA Tour this season, was mentioned more than once — but that happens at every venue.

A new competitive course record was established — an 8-under-par 62 by Morgan Hoffmann on Saturday — but Cherry Hills held up well to the best players in the world.

Meanwhile, NBC essayist Jimmy Roberts did a nice feature that ran nationally on the weekend. The story gave viewers a local angle on the Evans Scholarship. Included were segments on Solich, on current CU Evans Scholar Melyzjah Smith, and on the caddie program in which Smith worked, the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course. CommonGround is owned and operated the CGA and CWGA. The Academy is named for Solich and his older brother, Geoff, who’s also a CU Evans Scholar alum.

Looking to the future, Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway, a member at Cherry Hills, noted earlier this summer that the club would be interested in hosting the BMW Championship again down the road.

“It’s in (Cherry Hills’) charter; we’re always trying to bring tremendous tournaments here,” Elway said in July. “We’d love to get into the rotation — I’ll throw that out here — for the BMW at some point. That’s part of the heritage and tradition of this club — to be able to bring top-notch (events) — whether they be majors or the BMW/FedExCup-type tournaments.”

Solich reiterated that thought late Sunday afternoon.

“We really want to be in the conversation (to host such tournaments), and I think it’s absolutely clear we’re now in the conversation,” he said. “That’s all you can hope for. We don’t have a contract. There’s no guarantee to come back, but certainly we’re in the conversation.”

Ogden Right on the Mark: From the department of “give credit where credit is due”, it’s worth noting that Cherry Hills head professional John Ogden predicted in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship that the winning score would be 264 to 268.

Billy Horschel won with a 266 total.

Stadler’s Season Comes to End: Kevin Stadler wore a big Denver Broncos logo on his shirt Sunday, but that mojo wasn’t enough to extend his best PGA Tour season. The part-time Denver resident failed to conclude the BMW Championship in the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, meaning he won’t advance to next week’s Tour Championship.

Stadler finished 50th at Cherry Hills Country Club, shooting 74-69-70-71 for a 4-over-par 284 total. That left him 38th in FedExCup points.

“It was obviously a goal (to advance),” said Stadler, winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. “It was a frustrating week overall. I felt like I played really well and my scoring was just horrendous. I feel like I struck the ball well enough to contend and to win and I finished almost dead last. It was frustrating around the greens and my scoring was really non-existent this week.”

For the record, Gary Woodland earned the last spot in the Tour Championship (29th since No. 30 Dustin Johnson is taking a leave of absence from the Tour.)

Dreaded 12th Strikes Again for McIlroy: Suffice it to say the green at the par-3 12th hole won’t go down as one of Rory McIlroy’s favorites.

He’s four-putted a total of seven times in his PGA Tour career, and two of them have come at No. 12 at Cherry Hills. After four-putting from 4 feet for a triple bogey there Saturday, he inexplicably four-jiggled again Sunday, this time from 19 feet for double bogey.

On the weekend, he played the 204-yard hole in 5 over par, needing eight putts in two days.

“Two four-putts on the same green? It’s not my worst,” McIlroy noted. “I have five-putted before. But it’s one of those things that at least I can laugh about it and move on.”

McIlroy admits he thought about what happened at 12 on Saturday while over his second putt Sunday.

“I said to myself, ‘Let’s not give any more shots away to this hole,'” he said. “So I maybe put a little bit too much pressure on myself to hole that second putt. On the third putt, I’m thinking, ‘OK, you don’t want to four-putt again’, and I actually held a decent length putt for a four-putt.

“It sort of shows everyone out there that we do the same things as they do every weekend.”

Lucky No. 7 for Sergio: Sergio Garcia took quite a liking to the dogleg-left 395-yard seventh hole at Cherry Hills this week. On Sunday, for the second time this week, the Spaniard holed out for eagle, this time from 35 yards. On Friday, his eagle on that hole came from 126 yards. In case you’re wondering, Garcia played the hole in birdie and bogey on the other two days, making him 4 under on No. 7 for the week.

Rory McIlroy also made a deuce on the par-4 seventh Sunday, holing out from 56 yards.

Garcia shot a 5-under-par 29 and McIlroy a 30 on the front nine.

Notable: Henrik Stenson won’t be around to defend his FedExCup Playoffs title next week at the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Stenson finished 23rd at the BMW Championship and ended up 52nd in the FedExCup standings (CLICK HERE). … Billy Horschel, 27, became the 16th different player under 30 to win on the PGA Tour in the 2013-14 wraparound season. Those 16 players have accounted for 21 victories. … Horschel’s wife, Brittany, is scheduled to give birth to their first child on Sept. 27. … In case you were wondering: Horschel sprinted up the 18th fairway after hitting his second shot Sunday because nature called.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

For the second time in the same week, Billy Horschel has put himself in position to win a PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff event.

He came up short on Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship near Boston, where he bogeyed the relatively easy 18th hole and squandered an opportunity to win or force a playoff with Chris Kirk.

But if the second-place finish on Labor Day was a big blow, Horschel isn’t showing it this week at the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club.

“It was just a bad swing at the wrong time” on Monday, Horschel said after shooting a 7-under-par 63 on Saturday and grabbing a three-stroke lead at Cherry Hills. “I’ve got some really thick skin, so nothing really bothers me too much. I’m a better player than I showed with that golf shot. But you can’t dwell on things like that. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Apparently not.

Horschel, who competed in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in Aurora in 2008 when he was one of the top-ranked amateurs in the world, has gone 68-66-63 at Cherry Hills for a 13-under-par 197 total for three days. After his bogey-free 7-under-par round Saturday, he’ll have a bit of a cushion heading into the final day.

“I thought I played good (66) and he beat me by a few,” noted Saturday playing partner Bubba Watson. “He’s a great ball-striker and when he gets his putter going, he can really score. And that’s what he did today.”

Ryan Palmer has carded scores of 64-67 the last two days, but he’s three behind going into the final 18 of the penultimate FedExCup Playoff event.

Two 2014 major champions, Watson (Masters) and Martin Kaymer (left, U.S. Open), are five back of Horschel after three rounds, with Kaymer losing ground despite his 64 Saturday. Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia, two other members of golf’s elite echelon, are next best, with Fowler at 203 and Garcia at 204.

Even though the greens were relatively soft in the wake of Thursday evening’s rainstorm, a 63 to take the lead wasn’t too shabby.

“Obviously, today was a great round,” said Horschel, a 27-year-old Floridian who has won once on the PGA Tour. “This is a real challenging golf course. Even though it’s playing a little softer than Thursday’s round, you’ve got to be smart out there. You can easily make bogeys if you get out of position. So that was probably one of the top three, top five rounds all year (for me).”

Horschel birdied four of the last five holes, capping things off with a 32-foot birdie on the tough 18th.

Palmer likewise drained a long birdie on 18 — from 30 feet in his case — to stay a little more within striking distance of Horschel.

“Take your hats off to Billy for shooting 7 under today; that was awesome,” said Palmer, who’s won three times on Tour, though not since 2010. “I’m just proud of the way I fought and hung in there today. I’m not used to playing with Rory (McIlroy) and Sergio in the final group with that kind of crowd.”

Asked if he was flying under the radar Saturday, Palmer said, “Obviously you heard a lot of ‘Rorys’ and ‘Sergios’, but I had my few ‘Ryans’ and ‘Palmers’. I had my 10, 15 people yelling for me.”

But NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller went so far as to call Palmer “the most improved player on Tour.”

As for Horschel, coming off the Deutsche Bank runner-up, he figured he’d be in the mix at the BMW Championship.

“I’m a momentum player,” he said. “I knew coming into this week I was going to play well.”

Morgan Hoffmann’s competitive course-record 62 and Horschel’s 63 were the best scores of the bunch on Saturday, but the majority of the field (35 players) broke par. But not among them were two crowd favorites who were paired in the final group with Palmer on Saturday. World No. 1 McIlroy and Garcia (left, with Palmer) matched 72s, leaving Garcia seven behind and McIlroy nine.

McIlroy, winner of the British Open and PGA Championship this summer, fell back with a triple-bogey on the par-3 12th hole. For just the sixth time in his PGA Tour career, McIlroy four-putted a hole. But this might have been the worst of the bunch, as the first of the four putts was from 4 feet. Not surprisingly, he subsequently swatted the ball to a watery grave.

“The 12th hole really derailed me,” he said, noting that it wasn’t until his third putt that he lost concentration. “Obviously, to go from being right there in the tournament (then) dropping three shots in one hole wasn’t what I wanted.”

For BMW Championship scores, CLICK HERE.
 

For Sunday’s final-round pairings, CLICK HERE.

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BMW Championship: The Essentials

What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.

Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.

Schedule
Sept. 7: Sunday tee times from 9:35-11:15 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.

Gates Open — 8 a.m. 

TV Coverage — Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).

Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.

Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.

Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concluded on Sept. 1. There was no cut during the BMW Championship.

Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.

Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-inch-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.

Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.

Autographs and Cameras — Not permitted during championship rounds Thursday through Sunday.

Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).

For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.)         

Rory McIlroy noted the distances matter-of-factly. In 27 holes of practice and pro-am play at Cherry Hills Country Club, he’s smacked a 3-wood 370 yards, hit 3-wood more than driver off the tee in taking aim at the 346- and 333-yard first and third holes, and gone 3-wood then 8-iron into a 526-yard hole.

Such is the way it is for the No. 1 golfer in the world — and player No. 3 in the PGA Tour driving distance statistic, averaging 310.4 yards.

“It’s funny: This course doesn’t really allow you to hit it that far,” McIlroy said Wednesday after participating in the pro-am for the BMW Championship, which begins Thursday. “There’s not many opportunities where you can just hit driver and see how far it goes. You really need to place your ball in the fairway here.

“But the fall is going forever (because of the mile-high altitude). Because of my high ball flight, it’s going a good 15 percent further than it usually does.”

Which is a remarkable feat considering how long the Irishman normally hits it.

The winner of the last two major championships, McIlroy is not only the player to beat each time he tees it up these days, but he’s a crowd favorite. At 25 years old, he’s the third-youngest player — behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus — to have won at least four majors as the Grand Slam events are currently configured.

But McIlroy is far from the only 20-something to be excelling these days. In fact, there are a half-dozen players under 30 currently residing in the top 20 in the World Rankings: 1. McIlroy (25 years old); 6. Jason Day (26); 11. Rickie Fowler (25); 12. Martin Kaymer (29); 14. Jordan Spieth (21); and 18. Hideki Matsuyama (22).

“I think (young players consistently being in contention and/or winning), that sort of makes (other young players) believe that they can do the same thing,” McIlroy said. “I think it’s great to see that there’s younger guys winning on Tour, and it only bodes well for the future of this game. I’m glad I’m the leader of that pack, and hopefully I’m the leader of the pack for the next 20 years as well.”

Added Keegan Bradley, another 20-something (28) who’s won a major championship: “We are part of the generation that (grew up) watching Tiger Woods play, and we watched him only talk about winning and coming out on Tour and wanting to win right away. I think you’re seeing now the influence of Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour and my generation of golfers. We didn’t come out on Tour scared of anybody. We were very respectful of the players, but Tiger kind of taught us to come with a mindset of winning.”

And, so far anyway, McIlroy is the most special of the 20-somethings.

Despite his skill and length — and that of other top players — McIlroy doesn’t see Cherry Hills getting ripped-up, score-wise, this week.

“All you need to do for a difficult golf course is get the greens firm and get the rough up — which they have done here,” he said. “You won’t see guys going crazy under par. You’ll still see some pretty low scores out there … but they can make it as tough as they want. There’s still a bit of bite there. … I think you’re going to see maybe 63, 64s, (but) I don’t think you’re going to see much lower than that this week.”

Contest Winners Paired With Holmes in Pro-Am: Andy Harwood and Pete Knutson of Denver, and Mike Stolze of Greenwood Village — winners of a CGA-run contest for BMW Championship pro-am spots (CLICK HERE) — were paired together for Wednesday’s Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am at Cherry Hills with PGA Tour player J.B. Holmes. The pro-am spots the players (left) won were worth $12,000 apiece.

Holmes, winner of three PGA Tour events including the 2014 Wells Fargo Championship, is No. 5 on the Tour in average driving distance at 307.4 yards.

Also among the amateurs playing in the pro-am Wednesday were Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway (paired with fellow former Bronco John Lynch and professional Russell Knox), former Denver Nuggets standout Chauncey Billups (with Ernie Els), and CGA executive director Ed Mate (with three-time 2013-14 PGA Tour winner Jimmy Walker).

With many Evans Scholar alumni caddying in the pro-am and donating their earnings to the scholarship, among the loopers Wednesday was BMW Championship general chairman George Solich. Solich, a 1983 Evans Scholar alum from CU, caddied for Elway. (At left, Elway and Solich chat with contestant Jordan Spieth on Wednesday.)

According to the Western Golf Association, one contestant tipped his caddie $10,000, an amount that was subsequently given to the Evans Scholars Foundation.

Mahan Enthused about Evans Scholars: Hunter Mahan, whose hole-in-one last year in the BMW Championship resulted in a BMW Hole-in-One Scholarship being awarded to Melyzjah Smith, spoke Wednesday about playing a part in a caddie receiving an Evans Scholarship. Smith, from Aurora, is a sophomore at the CU Evans Scholar house (READ MORE HERE). 

“I got to meet the Evans Scholarship winner (Smith) and the fact that she’s going to (CU) and getting four years of college and housing paid for, it’s just amazing,” Mahan said. “It’s just an incredible offering by BMW to do that. The Evans Scholar Foundation, they had a board (on the 18th hole) of all the kids that are in the program and then the alumni, and there are some really outstanding people who are a part of that. So it’s a really neat thing.”

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BMW Championship: The Essentials

What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.

Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.

Schedule
Sept. 4-7: Championship rounds, with Thursday and Friday tee times from 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. off the first and 10th tees, and Saturday and Sunday tee times from 9-11 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.

Gates Open — 10 a.m. Sept. 4-5; and 8 a.m. Sept. 6-7.

TV Coverage — Sept. 4-5: 2-6 p.m., Golf Channel; Sept. 6: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel and 1-4 p.m., KUSA (9); Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).

Tickets — Tickets will not be sold on site, only online. CLICK HERE. 

Thursday/Friday Tee Times: For Thursday and Friday tee times, CLICK HERE.

Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.

Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.

Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concludes on Sept. 1. There will be no cut during the BMW Championship.

Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.

Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-inch-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.

Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.

Parking — Free parking is available at 1 Highfield Parkway in Englewood, with free shuttle service provided to the main entrance at Cherry Hills CC. Free parking for BMW owners will be provided at 6145 Happy Canyon Road in Denver, with shuttle service to the course. (At Cherry Hills, the BMW owners’ pavilion is located between the seventh and 14th holes; owners need only show their BMW key for access).

Autographs and Cameras — Not permitted during championship rounds Thursday through Sunday.

Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).

For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.) 

After the BMW Championship — and the other three tournaments in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup playoffs — received a 1-2 punch the last couple of weeks, the PGA Championship produced some very welcome positive news for the Tour stop coming to Cherry Hills Country Club Sept. 4-7.

After all, the BMW Championship will feature the winner of two consecutive major championships — the last two majors of 2014. And so if Tiger Woods didn’t qualify for the playoffs and Dustin Johnson is out after announcing a “leave of absence”, having a phenom like Rory McIlroy (left) in the field softens the blow considerably.

McIlroy on Sunday won the PGA Championship, making him the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2008 to claim consecutive men’s major titles. And, if that weren’t enough, the 25-year-old McIlroy became the third-youngest player — behind Woods and Jack Nicklaus — to have won at least four majors as the Grand Slam events are currently configured. In addition, McIlroy is a very likable character.

That adds up to some serious star power, whether Woods is on hand or not.

“The excitement level has just multiplied by 100,” Cherry Hills head professional John Ogden said Monday as the BMW Championship held its annual media day. “Obviously, you don’t see this kind of golf come around very often. Personally I can’t wait for (McIlroy) to come here and compete at Cherry Hills and in Colorado. As they keep saying on the television and in the media, it’s a passing of the torch (among golf’s all-time greats). You’re seeing something we didn’t think we’d see again in our lifetime. So I can’t be more excited.”

And it should be noted, of course, that one of McIlroy’s nine PGA Tour victories came at the 2012 BMW Championship. That event was named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year. The top 10 that week featured McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Woods, Johnson, Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Lee Westwood.

“We’ve been busy preparing for those top 70 players in the world, and now we’re starting to get a feel for who they are and what they look like,” 2014 BMW Championship general chairman George Solich said Monday. “We’re super excited about what this field looks like.”

The top 125 players in the FedExCup season-long point standings following this week’s Wyndham Cup will qualify for the The Barclays in Paramus, N.J., Aug. 21-24. The top 100 after The Barclays will go to the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton Mass., Aug. 29-Sept. 1. The top 70 after that advance to Cherry Hills, and the top 30 following the BMW Championship make the Tour Championship Sept. 11-14.

Through the PGA Championship, the top five players on the FedExCup points list are McIlroy (2,582 points), Jimmy Walker (2,493), Masters champion Bubba Watson (2,172), Matt Kuchar (1,921) and Jim Furyk (1,851).

Other notables in the top 70 currently are Sergio Garcia (seventh, 1,699), Jordan Spieth (eighth, 1,692), U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer (13th, 1,525), Scott (14th, 1,479), Rickie Fowler (15th, 1,471), Kent Denver graduate Kevin Stadler (30th, 1,066), Mickelson (42nd, 921) and Henrik Stenson (67th, 720).

Walker led the FedExCup standings for 30 consecutive weeks, but McIlroy took over the top spot with his victory Sunday at the PGA Championship.

But there’s obviously plenty of juggling that will take place in the weeks leading up to the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills. To prove the point, McIlroy moved from 42nd place less than a month ago to first now thanks to three consecutive victories (British Open, Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship).

Officials Say BMW Championship Could Attract 140,000 Fans for the Week: Even though spectators can’t attend BMW Championship activities until a Tuesday (Sept. 2), and that ticket sales for any given day are limited to 27,000, tournament officials are hoping that the event at Cherry Hills draws more than 140,000 fans for the week.

“We do expect to see maybe over 140,000 fans for the week,” general chairman George Solich said.

Tickets are still available for the event (CLICK HERE). But as Vince Pellegrino, the senior vice president for tournaments for the WGA, which runs the BMW Championship, noted, “Especially after this past weekend (at the PGA Championship), people are buying them up left and right, which is great.”

How Cherry Hills Will be Set Up for BMW Championship: Various details about how Cherry Hills will play for the BMW Championship have been solidified. Though yardages will vary slightly day to day, the course will play about 7,352 yards for the tournament. It will be a par 34-36–70 layout, with no par-5s on the scorecard until No. 11. Holes 5 and 18 (left), which play as par-5s for members, will be par-4s for the PGA Tour players.

The rough will be 3 inches deep, albeit very thick Bluegrass. Greens will run about 11-11.5 on the Stimpmeter. And eight holes will feature fairways that are “pinched-in” compared to how they played for the U.S. Amateur in 2012: Nos. 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 14, 16 and 18.

“Three inches (of rough) is going to present them a lot of problems,” Ogden said. “It’s just so dense. I’ve had lies out there this year where you just barely miss the fairway … I don’t care who it is — Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, whoever — you’re going to have a hard time hitting the ball anywhere out of that stuff. The ball has a tendency to go to the bottom. That’s always going to be a challenge.”

Added Solich: “With all the rain we’ve had, (the rough) has got some teeth. There’s no doubt about it.”

Ogden predicts that if weather is typical for that time of year, the winning score will be between 264 and 268, or 12-16 under par.

Hoping for Hefty Bottom Line for Evans Caddie Scholarship: The Evans Scholars Foundation, which sends needy and qualified caddies to college with full tuition and housing scholarships, is the sole charitable beneficiary of the BMW Championship. Just since 2007, when BMW became the title sponsor of the event, more than $16 million has been raised for the Evans Scholarship. Overall, the proceeds from the BMW Championship represent between 15-20 percent of the revenue raised for the Evans Scholarship, which currently has 14 scholarship houses nationwide, including one at the University of Colorado.

“So it’s a very important event from a charitable standpoint as well,” noted Solich, an Evans Scholar alum who graduated from CU in 1983.

Notable: Pellegrino said during tournament week, play will run from roughly 11:15 a.m.-6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. On each day of the event, rounds will begin off both the first and 10th tees. … With this being the BMW Championship, BMW automobile and motorcycle owners will have access to preferred parking (6145 Happy Canyon Road) and to a BMW owners tent on the course, near holes 8 and 14. … A total of almost 2,600 people have signed up as volunteers for the BMW Championship, with all openings having been filled. Ninety percent of the volunteers are from Colorado, though 40 other states and two other countries are represented. A wait-list for volunteer openings has been established at BMWChampionshipUSA.com. … Military personnel have been offered free tickets to the BMW Championship, with active duty, Reserve, military retirees and veterans able to obtain a complimentary ticket valid for any one day of the championship following advance verification of their military status. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, a total of 14,000 complimentary military tickets will be available: 5,000 for each of the practice rounds on Sept. 2-3 and 1,000 each day of the tournament rounds Sept.  4-7. The tickets may be ordered online at birdiesforthebrave.sheerid.com. The military tickets are complimentary, but a $1 verification fee does apply. 

The former Colorado State University golfer, who had been having a poor PGA Tour season by his standards, turned things around in emphatic fashion by winning Sunday at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

A victory in the last tournament before the Masters was the only way left for him to gain an invitation to the first major championship of 2013, and Laird made the most of that narrow window of opportunity by punching his ticket with a stellar performance.

Laird tied the course record at the TPC San Antonio in Sunday’s final round with a bogey-free 9-under-par 63 to fend off Rory McIlroy, the No. 2-ranked player in the world. Laird’s 14-under 274 total was good for a two-stroke victory over McIlroy.

It was the third win of Laird’s PGA Tour career, and his first in more than two years.

“I’ve probably been asked 30 times in the last couple of weeks, ‘Are you in Augusta, are you in Augusta?'” Laird said Sunday afternoon. “Everytime I’d say ‘no’ it hurt me.”

Besides landing a berth in the Masters — which will mark his 11th staight major — the Scotsman became the first non-American to win on the PGA Tour in 2013. U.S. players had prevailed in the first 14 events of the season.

Few people would have expected Laird to win in Texas given how things had been going this season. His best official finish this year was 34th place, and he missed the cut in last week’s Shell Houston Open. All told, he made just four cuts in his first eight events of 2013.

In fact, Laird hadn’t had an official top-25 finish on Tour since last July. But a four-hour practice session while at the Houston Open apparently turned things around.

“I came in here quietly confident, even though my record this year has been poor to say the least,” said Laird, who started working with a new swing coach, Randy Smith, last September. “But golf’s a funny game. It doesn’t matter what you did two weeks ago. It turns around pretty quickly.”

The 2004 CSU graduate came into Sunday in seventh place, five strokes out of the lead. But his nine-birdie, no-bogey round vaulted him to victory.

Using his anchored putter, Laird birdied No. 8 to tie for the lead, and he grabbed the top spot outright with another birdie on 12. And he won going away with back-to-back-to-back 15-foot birdie putts on Nos. 16, 17 and 18.

“I know how good Rory is, but it doesn’t matter if it’s Rory or Jim (Furyk) or Billy (Horschel), if someone’s behind me making birdies like they were, I know I’ve got to keep making birdies,” Laird said. “That was a pretty strong leaderboard at the top there.”

Even McIlroy had to admit that Laird’s final round was just too strong to overcome. After Laird put his old putter back in the bag in San Antonio — the one with which he won the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational — the Scotsman needed just 22 putts in the final round. 

“A 63 in these conditions is phenomenal,” McIlroy said. “… Martin just played too good and holed so many putts. It was hard to keep up.”

Sunday’s victory was worth $1.116 million for Laird, who vaulted to 15th on the 2013 PGA Tour money list with $1,185,200.

For complete results from the Valero Texas Open, CLICK HERE.

If he’s playing great or lousy, and if you’re rooting for him or against him, it’s fun to watch him on the course. The size of galleries and the TV ratings confirm as much.

But it’s been a long time since Colorado golf fans have gotten a chance to see Woods compete in the state. In fact, he hasn’t played a tournament in Colorado in the new millennium. The last time he teed it up “for real” in the Centennial State was at the 1999 International in Castle Rock.

But, barring injury or a major breakdown in Woods’ golf game, what will then be a 15-year Mile High drought for Tiger will end next September.

With the top 70 players in the 2014 FedEx Cup playoff standings advancing to the BMW Championship, there should be a Tiger sighting about 17 months from now at Cherry Hills Country Club.

The buildup to the first PGA Tour event to be held in Colorado since 2006 ratchets up another notch in April as volunteer opportunities for the tournament open up. The event at Cherry Hills will need more than 2,500 volunteers for the Sept. 1-7, 2014 tournament, the third stop in the four-event Tour playoffs.

Volunteer positions open to the general public on April 15, but interested CGA and CWGA members can get a two-week head start, helping early birds land spots on the most desirable volunteer committees.

Volunteer spots will be open to CGA and CWGA members beginning on April 1. Those wishing to sign up then can register by CLICKING HERE. 

The only people who have had earlier access to volunteer opportunities are Cherry Hills Country Club members.

There are 27 volunteer committees for the 2014 BMW Championship. Here’s the rundown alphabetically: access control, admissions, caddie hospitality, child care, corporate hospitality and operations, construction and signage, information centers, marshals, marshal rovers, media center, member hospitality operations, merchandise, Monday corporate outing operations, office staffing, player hospitality, practice area and set-up operations, pro-am operations, product delivery, scoreboards, ShotLink, standard bearers, TV spotters, VIP player transportation, volunteer headquarters, volunteer party, volunteer orientation/training and uniforms, and walking scorers.

Volunteers are required to purchase the 2014 BMW Championship volunteer package, which runs $145. They will need to be available to work various shifts throughout tournament week, depending on which committee he/she is on.

Included in the volunteer package are two golf shirts, a wind jacket, a hat or visor, a commemorative pin, a water bottle, a volunteer credential valid for entry all week, an invitation to the volunteer appreciation party, and food and beverages on days the volunteer works.

But the biggest attraction at Cherry Hills will be watching a 70-player field which will include most of the top golfers in the world.

The top 15 players on the final leaderboard at the 2012 BMW Championship looked like this: Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Robert Garrigus, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Ryan Moore, Bo Van Pelt, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Chris Kirk and Zach Johnson.

Can you say “all-star tournament”?

It’s little wonder why the 2012 BMW was named the Tournament of the Year by the PGA Tour.

It could be argued that the BMW will mark the top assemblage of golfers in Colorado since Cherry Hills hosted the 1985 PGA Championship. The International PGA Tour event at Castle Pines had some great fields in its run from 1986 through 2006, but it missed out on some big names. Woods, for instance, only competed in the tournament twice, in 1998 and ’99.

Besides what the BMW Championship offers field-wise, its proceeds also go to a good cause: the Evans Caddie Scholarship. The full tuition and housing scholarship has sent more than 10,000 caddies to school over the last 83 years. A local Evans Scholarship house, at the University of Colorado, has more than 410 alums.

Overall, tournament organizers expect the 2014 BMW Championship to have a $35 million economic impact on the area.

For more information about the tournament, CLICK HERE. 

The Bear, though not so Golden as he used to be, still owns arguably the best record in the history of golf, with 18 major championships (plus two U.S. Amateurs) and 73 PGA Tour victories.

But for a few minutes on Monday, Nicklaus went unrecognized as he and wife Barbara prepared to go out and watch his 43-year-old son, Gary, compete in the U.S. Amateur. Eventually, a few people took notice and some came up to greet him.

Nicklaus spent some time chatting with former USGA president Will Nicholson Jr., a Denver resident, and former Cherry Hills Country Club head professional Clayton Cole (they’re pictured together above). Then he became a spectator as his second-youngest son played in his first U.S. Amateur since 1991.

After Gary shot a 1-over-par 71 in the first round — he was 4 over par through seven holes but made four straight birdies in the middle of his round — the elder Nicklaus held court with the media. Here are some of the highlights:

On being a spectator rather than a player at big events: “It’s always tougher to watch your kids play. I’ve watched Gary play for about 38 years. He doesn’t have to worry about dad worrying about him. He’s quite capable of taking care of himself.

“But I wanted to be here after he didn’t have the ability to play (in the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills due to a heart-related problem, pericarditis). He qualified to play here at Cherry Hills. I was there the night that he had his episode when we were at Castle Pines. He was a pretty sad young man. … So I think it’s nice to have him come back here after all those years.”

On Gary returning to the U.S. Amateur after last playing in 1991: “I didn’t even know Gary was trying to qualify for the national amateur. I got home from overseas and they said Gary qualified for the Amateur. Fantastic. Where is it? Denver. Then we’ll go to Denver.”

On his own golf game: “I have about a 90 mph clubhead speed and hit it about 210 if I hit it flush.

“I play once a month if I have to and if I don’t have to I don’t play. I did play the other day. I had 168 yards in, and the previous hole I had the same distance and hit a 5-iron that wasn’t even close. So I ripped a 4-iron and I got it there. 4-iron is about 230 yards for these guys (at the U.S. Amateur), and I’m hitting it 168. The way I play and $10 will get you a cup of coffee most anyplace.”

On returning Tuesday to see Cherry Hills Country Club, where he finished second in the 1960 U.S. Open as an amateur, and where he won the 1993 U.S. Senior Open: “I haven’t seen Cherry Hills since I was there in ’93. I’m looking forward to it. Anyplace I win I like. I’d be pretty stupid if I didn’t, right? I’ve always liked Cherry Hills. I’ve always enjoyed the golf course. It’s a golf course of discipline. Arnold (Palmer) took a run at the first hole, but most players better have a little discipline. I had an opportunity in 1960 to play the last 36 holes with (Ben) Hogan, and you want to talk about discipline. It was just absolutely magnificent. That was a great lesson for a young guy to watch Hogan play those two rounds.”

On seeing the restoration Tom Doak did several years ago at Cherry Hills: “Cherry Hills is a nice golf course and I enjoy being there, but I’m here to watch my son, not to see Cherry Hills.”

On Rory McIlroy, who just broke Nicklaus’ PGA Championship record for margin of victory: “I like Rory a lot. He’s a nice young man. He’s a good player. He already had a pretty good record, but he’s got a great future in front of him.”

On what his two wins in the U.S. Amateur meant to him: “When I won the Amateur it was considered a major. It’s obviously changed through the years as professional golf has become more dominant on the scene. When I beat Charlie Coe down at the Broadmoor (in 1959), here I am a 19-year-old kid with an 8-foot putt to win the U.S. Amateur, and I made that putt. And that was a big putt in my career because it told me I could do what I had to do under pressure at the right time. That sort of propelled me forward.

“Once I won at Pebble Beach in ’61 there wasn’t a lot for me to do in amateur golf. It was sort of my feeling I wanted to be the best I could be at the game of golf, and the only way I could do that was to play against the best. That’s why I turned pro.”

On whether he still thinks Tiger Woods — after a four-year victory drought in major championships — will break his record of 18 major titles: “Probably. It’s getting less (likely) each time you talk about it. He’s such a good player and he’s so talented and focused, I would sort of suspect he will. Then again, he hasn’t had very good weekends in the four majors this year. Time will tell.”

On how he was never singlemindedly driven by golf: “I really enjoyed my career. I enjoyed my life. Golf did not dominate it; my family dominated my life and my career. That was far more important to me than a golf tournament. I had another golf tournament next week. But as it turned out, I did win a few tournaments and I guess I’ve got a record that somebody is shooting at. But that wasn’t my goal starting out. My goal was to be the best I could be at it, but also live a life. … I’m a pretty lucky guy.”