There will be no question which company is sponsoring the golf tournament at Cog Hill this week.
All the players will be driving BMWs. Well, all but perhaps the one who represents Buick.
BMW owners, meanwhile, will get access to special parking at the tournament. Ah, the life of privilege.
But BMW’s presence won’t be limited to cars. The company wants to place a unique stamp on its presentation throughout the course in the first BMW Championship.
“We have our marketing reasons” for being the tournament sponsor, said Tom Purves, chairman and chief executive officer of BMW North America. “But we also want to make sure the fans enjoy the enhancements we’ve put in place.”
Tournament director John Kaczkowski says veteran Western Open watchers might not recognize the tournament.
“It’s going to look like a completely different Cog Hill,” Kaczkowski said. “We’re asking fans to give it a chance. We think they’ll like it.”
Spectators will notice the differences immediately. The parking area in front of Cog Hill’s 2/4 building has been transformed into a fan village.
An outdoor lounge is ringed by a 45-foot-long scoreboard with every player’s hole-by-hole score.
There are two food tents, the Windy City Cafe and the Bavarian Grill, and a BMW Spectator Pavilion that features the history of the company on one side and the Western Golf Association on the other.
BMW also will have its Earth Lounge on display. Brought in from Germany, the exhibit will feature BMW’s prototype of a hydrogen-powered automobile.
But it’s still about the golf. Toward that end, seating has been expanded on the 12th and 16th holes. The 18th green will be much improved, with elevated stadium seating for 1,500 fans. And, yes, we did say seats, not bleachers.
The skyboxes have been upgraded, with a color scheme that resembles the clean look of a BMW showroom.
“It’s very distinctive,” Kaczkowski said. “I’ve never seen a golf tournament look that unique and classy.”
Throughout the course, the PGA Tour has installed 11 Mitsubishi Diamond Vision scoreboards that will provide player updates, highlights and statistics.
BMW has plenty of practice sponsoring golf tournaments in Europe. This will be the company’s first event on the PGA Tour.
Purves knows first impressions go a long way.
“We hope to have a great atmosphere,” he said.
“This is our first tournament in a six-year commitment. We’ll be learning as we go. After the tournament is over, we’ll review everything to see what we can make better.”
