Woods, Mickelson tee up in Hoosier State

CARMEL — Two decades after John Daly put himself and Crooked Stick Golf Club on the minds of sports fans everywhere, the PGA Tour is returning to Central Indiana.

Beginning Thursday, Crooked Stick in Carmel is home to  the BMW Championship, the third of four events in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.

The playoffs started with the top 125 golfers, based on points earned throughout the season. It will be down to the top 70 when the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson — playing competitively in the Hoosier State for the first time  — and many other golfing greats converge on Carmel.

“Having the top 70 players in the world certainly makes the event standout amongst other PGA Tour events,” Vince Pellegrino, vice president of tournaments for the Western Golf Association said. “You have the best players in the world competing towards the end of the season against each other.”

All are battling to earn enough points to get in the top 30 for chance to win the FedEx Cup and $10 million at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta, Ga.

Since 1991, Cog Hill Golf and Country Club near Chicago served as the home of the BMW every year except one when that course was going through renovations. That year, the tournament’s profits increased drastically.

Pellegrino said the profits doubled when the 2008 event was held in St. Louis and the event was very successful. Because of that success, along with the Indianapolis area’s ability to host major sporting events, led to the WGA’s decision to take the championship on the road again.

“One of the reasons is Crooked Stick is obviously such a great golf course and it has a history of hosting major championship golf,” Pellegrino said as a reason for selecting Crooked Stick.

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