Golf
2026 BMW Championship Preview and Predictions
The FedExCup Playoffs move to Bellerive Country Club for the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 players remain and places in the Tour Championship are on the line.
Hideki Matsuyama at 22/1 and Ryan Gerard at 45/1 are the standout William Hill News selections as the PGA Tour season nears its finale.
Tournament Details
The BMW Championship takes place from Thursday 20 August to Sunday 23 August at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri.
It is the second event of the FedExCup Playoffs, and the field has been cut from 70 to 50 following the opening playoff tournament.
There is no cut, so every player is guaranteed four rounds. That rewards consistency but also gives aggressive scorers the freedom to recover from a poor opening day.
Only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings after Bellerive progress to the Tour Championship at East Lake, so the middle tier of the leaderboard has plenty to play for.
Bellerive is a long, demanding championship layout with a major-championship pedigree. Strong driving, quality long-iron play and reliable putting on bentgrass greens should all be vital, especially with a field packed with the PGA Tour’s elite.
Hideki Matsuyama – 22/1
Hideki Matsuyama is our headline selection. The Japanese star has shown a timely return to form after an inconsistent middle part of the season, posting a third-place finish at the 3M Open, another top-five at the Rocket Classic and seventh at the Wyndham Championship before the playoffs.
Those results were enough to move Matsuyama firmly into the BMW Championship field, where he arrives with the experience of 13 consecutive FedExCup Playoff appearances. He also knows how to win under playoff pressure, having claimed the FedEx St. Jude Championship in 2024.
Matsuyama is at his best on demanding, tee-to-green tests. His ball-striking gives him the tools to handle Bellerive’s length, while his touch around the greens can become a major advantage if conditions firm up and missed greens are penalised.
At 22/1, Matsuyama is not an outsider, but he looks a fair price for a player with both the class and recent results to contend. His target should be to turn his recent consistency into a serious Sunday challenge and put himself in position to reach East Lake with momentum.
Ryan Gerard – 45/1
Ryan Gerard is the value selection at 45/1. He has made a major step forward in 2026, progressing to the BMW Championship in 17th place in the FedExCup standings and establishing himself as one of the season’s most reliable players.
That position matters. Gerard is not simply hanging on in the top 50: he has given himself a realistic chance of securing one of the 30 Tour Championship places, and a high finish at Bellerive would transform the closing stretch of his season.
The key appeal is that Gerard can play without the burden carried by the market leaders. He has already exceeded expectations by reaching this point of the playoffs, but he has enough all-round quality to take advantage if conditions become difficult and the leading names fail to fire.
At 45/1, he offers a very different profile from Matsuyama. This is a play on a golfer whose confidence is high, whose season-long consistency has earned him a place among the game’s best, and who could be undervalued in a no-cut format.
*Prices accurate at the time of writing – odds subject to change*
