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Scottie Scheffler Eyes Title Defense, Back-to-Back Playoff Wins at BMW Championship

Robert Theodorson
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The world’s number one golfer finally broke his winless streak of nearly seven months last week with a win at The St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs. 

Defeating second-place Si Woo Kim by a whopping eight strokes, Scottie Scheffler is back and better than ever, and with a chance to pull off a rare feat in St. Louis this weekend. Scheffler has the rare opportunity to win two playoff tournaments in a row, and simultaneously defend his title at The BMW Championship. 

Last season Scheffler was electric, winning six tournaments including two major championships in The PGA Championship and The Open. Scottie’s second-to-last win occurred at The Caves Valley Golf Club outside Baltimore, MD. Scheffler bested then-hot Robert MacIntyre by two strokes at the 2025 BMW Championship. 

Scheffler and the field head to St. Louis, MO for the next iteration of The BMW Championship, hosted at Bellerive Country Club, a venue which has not hosted the tournament since 2008 when Camillo Villegas recorded his first-ever PGA Tour victory.

The most recent pro tournament to be held at Bellerive was the 2018 PGA Championship. The win marked Brooks Koepka’s third major championship of his then-young career. In true PGA Championship form for those days, Koepka won with an astonishing 16-under par score, beating Tiger Woods by two strokes.

While Koepka did not qualify for the playoffs in his first season back from LIV Golf, and Tiger Woods’ absence is likely to go on for some time, several members of the field from that 2018 PGA Championship will be present, some more in form than others. 

Then 3rd-place finisher Adam Scott, who is currently 27th in the playoff standings will look for his first PGA Tour win since 2020, when he won the Genesis Invitational. 

Gary Woodland and Justin Thomas, ranked 31st and 44th respectively, will also look to stay alive in the playoffs, with Thomas needing a strong finish much more so than Woodland who has been significantly better as of late. Both men finished T6 with a final score of 10-under par in 2018.

Fortunately for Scheffler, and others in the Top 10 including multi-tournament winners like Matt Fitzpatrick (2nd), Cam Young (3rd), and U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark (5th), the BMW Championship can be played with zero pressure, as those golfers and others have an automatic bid into The Tour Championship based on current playoff points and rankings. 

This isn’t to say that Bellerive is a waste of time for the elite of the game by any stretch of the imagination.

Last week, Scheffler became the first lock for the 2026 Presidents Cup (September 22 – 27) based on points earned. Si Woo Kim, who is 4th in FedEx Cup points, became the first committed member of the International Team.

For players like Min Woo Lee, who are playing this weekend but have not locked up their Presidents Cup spot, the BMW Championship can be an important stepping stone to achieving that goal. 

The BMW Championship begins Thursday, August 20th and will conclude on Sunday evening.

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About the Author: Robert Theodorson

Robert has covered a number of sports including hockey, football, soccer, and baseball for Bleacher Report, Hockey’s Future, and AS Roma 360 since 2011.

Robert attended his first golf event, LIV Golf DC at Trump National in his native Northern Virginia and has been hooked as a player and fan since. 2024 has kicked off in full swing with golf trips to Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Hilton Head including taking in the sights and sounds of
the 2024 RBC Heritage.

View all posts by Robert Theodorson