Conway Farms To Land 2013 BMW Championship

Teddy Greenstein reports on the finalization of a long rumored move for the "playoff" event. The Glen Club was also in the running. This caught my eye:

KemperSports was willing to pump up to $3 million into the golf course to toughen it up for the field — the top 70 on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup points list.

But Conway Farms is the better test — a Tom Fazio-designed course that had the 2009 Western Amateur and adheres to principles of walking, fast play (a two-minute search for lost balls) and using caddies.

The club has tightened fairways, moved bunkers and mowed run-off areas to prepare for the 2012 USGA Mid-Amateur Championship. And members are so motivated to have the 2013 BMW, they will cut down trees — and eventually plant new ones — to create space for hospitality.

Donald, the world's top-ranked golfer, lobbied for Conway, calling it "a step up from (Cog Hill). Aesthetically, I think it's a beautiful course. It has a lot of variety. There would be a driveable par-4 — No. 15, maybe No. 7. There's some variety in the par-3s. And it's always in great condition."

The only knocks on Conway Farms are its location — 35 miles from the Loop — and the fact holes 4-7 are far from the clubhouse. Some PGA Tour officials also are concerned about how a links course would look on TV if fans don't populate certain holes.

Or if fans don't drive that far.

Disturbingly, Greenstein neglected to mention Conway Farms' greatest moment: site of Pepperdine's 1997 NCAA Men's Golf Championship win led by Jason Gore and Andy Walker, who are both teeing it up in next week's Northern Trust Open.