THE BUFFALO GROVE GOLF & SPORTS CENTER, is open today Saturday from 7 AM to 10 PM, rates start at just $12 for 30 minutes. It’s not too late to get the 5 hour pass for $85, or a season membership for $525. 801 McHenry Road in Buffalo Grove call (847)-459-2321 or visit on line Bgparks.org. Customer Appreciation Day is Feb. 7th from 11 AM to 2 PM.
BY: RORY SPEARS, EDITOR & SR. WRITER
In the Chicago area golf fans would love to see the PGA Tour be in town every year, but since the Fed Ex Cup Playoff’s have been around the BMW Championship has stayed on the move and in 2014 that was the case again.
In 2008 the BMW Championship drove off to St. Louis, in 2012 it went over to Indianapolis, and now the Denver Colorado area in 2014. This next year in 2015 the championship will return to the newly revamped Conway Farms in Lake Forest.
But now with the final numbers in for 2014, the picture becomes a little more clear why the championship stays on the move. The picture is more than Black and White like the color of some BMW models, it is green like a golf course and the color of cash that it takes to keep some 800+ Evans Scholars in school.
The 2014 BMW Championship played at Cherry Hills Country Club and won by Billy Horschel, poured a record amount of $3.5 million dollars into the coffers of the Evans Scholars Foundation. That will keep a lot of scholars hitting the books at various schools mostly around BIG 10.
This past September over 125,000 spectators poured into Cherry Hills to see the BMW be played in the state of Colorado for the first time. The $3.5 million broke the record amount raised in 2008 at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, that figure was $3.4 million. Since BMW came on board in 2007, they have helped raise $ 19.6 million dollars for the Evans Scholars Foundation.
“The 2014 BMW Championship would not have been the success it was without the support of the Denver-area golf fans, the greater Denver corporate community, the Cherry Hills Country Club members and staff and the leadership of the event’s general chairman George Solich,” said Vince Pellegrino, WGA Senior Vice President of Tournaments. “From local celebrities to our corporate hospitality patrons, to thousands of area golf fans, the entire Denver community rallied around this event.”
Last month the tournament was named the 2014 PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year for the third straight year. It also received honors for for “Best On-Site Staging” and “Best Advertising Campaign/Promotional Idea.”
The PGA Tour has named the Evans Scholars Foundation as one of the five finalists for the 2014 PGA Tour Charity of the Year Award.
The 2015 BMW Championship will be played from September 14th thought the 20th at Conway Farms Golf Club, in Lake Forest Illinois. Where Illinois golf fans will have the chance to break the $3.5 million dollar record raised for the scholars.
The Links and Tee’s Golf Dome is located on lake Avenue in Addison Call (630)-233-7275 Ext 4 for more information or see addisonparks.org.