E-notes: BMW Championship returns to Missouri

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The BMW Championship will return to Missouri for the first time since 1953 when this week's event gets underway at Bellerive. This will be the sixth time the tournament has been held in Missouri with the last time coming at the old Bellerive CC in '53.

Littler

This will be the first PGA TOUR co-sponsored event in Missouri since the 1973 St. Louis Children's Hospital Classic won by Gene Littler.

The BMW Championship had been played in Illinois since 1962, but prior to that, it was played in 16 different states.

No less than 24 different World Golf Hall of Fame members have won the BMW Championship.

Vijay Singh became the second player to pass the $60 million mark in career earnings with his victory last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, while Phil Mickelson became the third to hit the $50 million mark after a tie for 73rd.

One more on Singh: Since turning 40 on Feb. 22, 2003, Singh has won 22 PGA TOUR titles and has had 80 top-10 finishes. If you just took his wins since turning 40, Singh would still rank tied for 27th on the all-time list.

Singh

How tough is it to win back-to-back events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup? Consider that only three players other than Vijay Singh have finished in the top 10 in each of the first two events -- Sergio Garcia (tied for second, tied for fifth), Mike Weir (tied for seventh, tied for second) and Justin Leonard (tied for seventh, tied for seventh).

Three players who started the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup outside the Top 120 have advanced to the BMW Championship?Tim Herron (133rd to 48th), Martin Laird (128th to 61st) and Angel Cabrera (131st to 70th).

Mike Weir, the runner-up last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, was the defending champion of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship that was to be held at Bellerive Country Club in 2001 but was canceled due to the events of September 11. Weir won the 2000 CA Championship by two strokes over Lee Westwood at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain.

Vijay Singh, the winner of the first two Playoff events, looks to capture his third consecutive start for the second time in his career. In 2004, en route to nine victories, Singh won three straight (Deutsche Bank Championship, Bell Canadian Open and 84 LUMBER Classic).

Williamson

St. Louis resident and Bellerive Country Club member Jay Williamson is playing a home game this week. Williamson sits 60th in FedExCup points and safely earned a spot in the BMW Championship field despite missing the 54-hole cut last week at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Williamson's best finish this season was a playoff loss to Kenny Perry at the John Deere Classic, where he began his run of strong play down the stretch heading into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

Vijay Singh's 34th PGA TOUR victory ties him with Phil Mickelson for 13th all-time on the PGA TOUR. He is two wins shy of No. 12 on the list, held by Lloyd Mangrum (36). Singh also collected his second career title at the Deutsche Bank Championship, in turn giving him multiple titles at six tournaments: The Barclays (four), Shell Houston Open (three), Buick Open (three), FBR Open (two), PGA Championship (two) and the Deutsche Bank Championship (two).

The Dubsdread Course at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, located 30 miles southwest of Chicago and the site of the 2007 BMW Championship, is currently undergoing a re-design by Rees Jones in 2008. The tournament is scheduled to return to Cog Hill in 2009.

Following this week's tournament, the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup will observe a two-week break. The Ryder Cup will be held the week of September 15-21, along with the first event of the PGA TOUR Fall Series, the Viking Classic, with the final Playoff event, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, set for September 22-28 in Atlanta, Ga., where the FedExCup champion will be crowned.