We’re in Chicago for the PGA Tour and 2020 FedExCup Playoffs this Sunday, with current points and co-tournament leader Dustin Johnson well placed to take an advantage into the Tour Championship. The second event in the FedCup Playoffs, the BMW takes place Thursday, August 27 to Sunday, August 30 at Olympic Fields North, which is playing a lot tougher than the Northern Trust and TPC Boston – won by DJ with a frankly ludicrous score of -30. Expect a lot more drama in the penultimate tournament of the season – follow our guide to watch a BMW Championship live stream and catch all the PGA golf action online wherever you are right now.
2020 BMW Championship live stream
The BMW Championship 2020 is played at Olympic Fields North just outside of Chicago, Illinois from August 27-30. Coverage is solely enjoyed by NBC for this one, split between its Golf Channel and NBC proper, while in the UK Sky Sports has the rights once again All the streaming and TV details you need to watch are below – or if you just need to know how to watch your home feed from abroad, then try 5-star ExpressVPN at up to 50% off today.
For other golfers, it’s their 2019/20 season on the line – including Tiger Woods, who’s playing again and notching his first week-on-week tournaments of the year. Tiger finished tied for 58th at the Northern Trust last week – a distinctly average performance that saw his FedExCup ranking slip from 49th to 57th and leave him needing a big performance to make the top 30 end-of-event points cut required to advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake. It looks unlikely, with Tiger 11 off the lead on +10 heading into the final round but…stranger things have happened.
He’ll need at least a top 10 finish at Olympic Fields North this week – and probably closer to a top 5 to be guaranteed of qualification. Fan favourite Bubba Watson is in a nearly identical position to Tiger, entering the BMW ranked 58th according to the delivery service, while European golf fans will be keeping an eye on England’s Paul Casey, who’s currently 64th and also needs a big event to make it to Atlanta next week. Casey starts his final round on +6 and is another long shot, but Bubba has played well and, on +2, is just three shots off the lead.
Last year’s BMW Championship winner, Justin Thomas, starts the tournament ranked 2nd in the FedExCup standings, ahead of newly-minted Major winner Collin Morikawa (5th), big driving Bryson DeChambeau (7th), PGA world No. 2 Jon Rahm, and an out-of-sorts Rory McIlroy (12th).
Scroll down for a detailed explanation of how the FedExCup Playoffs system works, or read on where to find a reliable 2020 BMW Championship live stream – watch PGA golf online from anywhere with the help of our guide below.
- Related: Tiger Woods schedule
2020 BMW Championship: round 4 tee-times
All times are US Eastern Time (ET)
- 9: 10 a.m. – Marc Leishman
- 9: 15 a.m. – Andrew Landry, Jason Day
- 9: 25 a.m. – Sungjae Im, Talor Gooch
- 9: 35 a.m. – Kevin Streelman, J.T. Poston
- 9: 45 a.m. – Ryan Palmer, Tyler Duncan
- 9: 55 a.m. – Cameron Champ, Adam Long
- 10: 05 a.m. – Maverick McNealy, Nick Taylor
- 10: 15 a.m. – Matt Kuchar, Tiger Woods
- 10: 25 a.m. – Harry Higgs, Tom Hoge
- 10: 35 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Danny Lee
- 10: 45 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Adam Hadwin
- 11: 00 a.m. – Charles Howell III, Joel Dahmen
- 11: 10 a.m. – Brendan Steele, Bryson DeChambeau
- 11: 20 a.m. – Robby Shelton, Justin Thomas
- 11: 30 a.m. – Matthew Wolff, Xander Schauffele
- 11: 40 a.m. – Michael Thompson, Viktor Hovland
- 11: 50 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Kevin Na
- 12: 00 p.m. – Jim Herman, Alex Noren
- 12: 10 p.m. – Carlos Ortiz, Patrick Reed
- 12: 20 p.m. – Richy Werenski, Paul Casey
- 12: 30 p.m. – Mark Hubbard, Max Homa
- 12: 40 p.m. – Dylan Frittelli, Daniel Berger
- 12: 50 p.m. – Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith
- 1: 05 p.m. – Corey Conners, Billy Horschel
- 1: 15 p.m. – Byeong Hun An, Harris English
- 1: 25 p.m. – Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay
- 1: 35 p.m. – Abraham Ancer, Tyrrell Hatton
- 1: 45 p.m. – Jason Kokrak, Brian Harman
- 1: 55 p.m. – Russell Henley, Lanto Griffin
- 2: 05 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Matthew Fitzpatrick
- 2: 15 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Brendon Todd
- 2: 25 p.m. – Sebastián Muñoz, Kevin Kisner
- 2: 35 p.m. – Adam Scott, Jon Rahm
- 2: 45 p.m. – Joaquin Niemann, Mackenzie Hughes
- 2: 55 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Dustin Johnson
How to watch the BMW Championship from outside your country
We’ve got a full breakdown of country-by-country PGA viewing options below, but the first thing you should know is that anyone who might be abroad at the moment can still tune into the action as usual by using one of the best VPNs.
This nifty bit of software allows you to get around geo-blocking restrictions and watch golf online using the same PGA live stream you normally would at home. Best of all, they only take a few minutes to set-up – and are seriously affordable.
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How to watch the BMW Championship get a FREE PGA Tour golf live stream in the US
In the US, coverage of the BMW Championship is enjoyed by NBC, with coverage available on its Golf Channel offshoot and flagship channel.
The Golf Channel is broadcasting rounds 1 and 2 from 3-7pm ET (12-4pm PT) on Thursday and Friday, as well as providing early coverage of round 3 on Saturday (12-3pm ET / 9am-12pm PT) and round 4 this Sunday (1-3pm ET / 10am-12pm PT). Streaming coverage is hosted on its website, where you’ll need to log-in with details of your cable provider for access.
NBC itself drives into things for the heart of the action on Saturday (3-6pm ET / 12-3pm PT) and Sunday (3-7pm ET / 12pm-4pm PT) so CBS All Access has your streaming needs covered and can be enjoyed commitment-free from just $5.99 a month.
How to watch the BMW Championship: live stream PGA Tour golf FREE without cable
Cord-cutters can easily watch the 2020 BMW Championship online without cable. There are a number of options, but as an all-in-one solution, we’d highly recommend that most golf fans check out FuboTV.
Fubo offers both NBC’s Golf Channel and NBC’s core offering for compete end-to-end coverage of the penultimate FedExCup Playoffs tournament this week. It costs $64.99 a month, which might sound like a lot, but golf fans can enjoy a mulligan this week thanks to the service’s FREE 7-day trial – essentially meaning you can watch the Northern Trust and live stream PGA golf for free right now.
Signing up for FuboTV is a tap-in, too, with the platform accepting a wide range of international credit and debit cards for quick online payment. You need to register with a valid email and provide your US zip code so you get the right local programming, but that’s it – this isn’t one of the services that ask for unnecessary personal details like your home address.
Even better, Fubo makes cancelling easy if you decide it’s not the right OTT option for you and even sends you reminders before your free trial expires so you don’t have to pay anything you don’t want to – check it out today.
Get a PGA Tour golf live stream from abroad
If you’re a US resident out of the country and want to access one of the above options just like you normally would, then you can use a VPN to effectively transport your computer, phone or tablet’s IP back home – ExpressVPN being our current favorite.
BMW Championship live stream UK: how to watch Tiger Woods in the PGA FedExCup Playoffs
If you’re a UK-based golf fan, you’ll likely know that Sky Sports has the rights to most events on your side of the Atlantic – and that includes the 2020 Northern Trust and all of this year’s FedExCup Playoffs action.
Sky’s live coverage is comprehensive throughout, starting on Sky Sports Golf at 6pm BST on Thursday and Friday, and 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. It’s also being shown on Sky Sports Main Event during peak times.
Sky subscribers can use the Sky Go app to live stream the PGA Tour golf this week, while anyone else can take advantage of a Now TV Sky Sports pass – the best value of which is the Now TV Sky Sports month pass.
Those who might find themselves outside of the UK for this tournament can follow our instructions above to get a VPN and watch the golf via a live stream just like they would at home.
BMW Championship 2020 live stream: watch the PGA Tour and FedExCup Playoffs in Canada
Golf fans in Canada can watch nearly all major golf events and this week’s Northern Trust is no different.
For early action, NBC’s Golf Channel has a Canadian twin airing the same coverage that’s available in the US – so rounds 1 and 2 are on-air from 3-7pm ET (12-4pm MT) on Thursday and Friday,
At the weekend, TSN and CTV are both showing the final two rounds of this FedExCup playoff tournament, picking up things on Saturday at 3pm ET /12pm MT (Pacific time) on TSN/CTV 2 for round 3. On Sunday, there’s coverage of the BMW Championship final round coverage on TSN/CTV 2 from 3pm ET / 12pm MT.
Best of all, those without cable can subscribe to TSN on a streaming-only basis from just CA$4.99 a month.
Remember that if you can normally access golf coverage in Canada, you can make use of a VPN to access all the services and content you would back home.
How to watch the BMW Championship: live stream PGA golf and the FedExCup Playoffs in Australia
The most comprehensive golf streaming coverage Down Under is available through Kayo Sports – a great over-the-top service that offers access to over 50 sports live and on-demand, courtesy of partnerships with big-name pay TV channels like Fox Sports, ESPN, and beIN Sports.
We’ve checked this week’s Kayo listings and can confirm that the BMW Championship is fully covered and Aussies can watch this week’s PGA FedExCup Playoffs event from start to finish.
The substantial time difference means that BMW Championship rounds 1 and 2 go on air at 5am AEST – on Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29 respectively. Round 3 starts even earlier at 2am on Sunday, August 30 and the final round gets underway at 3am on Monday, August 31.
haven’t been confirmed yet, but you can be sure they’ll be on Kayo as well – and start at similarly unsociable hours this coming Sunday and Monday.
If you can brave the less-than-sociable viewing times, Kayo can be had from just AU$25 a month and even offers a free 14-day trial, so you can watch PGA Tour golf online and catch all the FedExCup Playoffs drama from Boston wherever you are.
If it’s linear TV you want to watch on, head for Fox Sports, which is channel 503 on Foxtel.
What are the FedExCup Playoffs and how are they played?
As we’ve said, the 2020 FedExCup Playoffs are the three final PGA Tour events of this year’s season: the Northern Trust, BMW Championship and Tour Championship. Taking place in August and September, the first one (last week’s Northern Trust) featured a traditional 36-hole cut and saw only 70 golfers from a field of 125 advance to the BMW Championship.
This week, the BMW is held August 27-30 at the Olympia Fields Country Club just outside of Chicago, Illinois. The most important thing about this tournament is that is doesn’t send anyone home after the first two rounds – but does ultimately slash the number of Tour Championship invitations to just 30 players, as per the FedExCup standings after its points allocation has been added.
FedExCup points are accumulated by players throughout the PGA season and are the basis of this standings system: winners of regular PGA tournaments earn 500, WGC event victors bag 550, and Major champions get 600. Finishing in the top 10 at a tourney also earns golfers points, as does making the 36-hole cut. Winning an ‘opposite-field’ PGA tournament is worth 300 FedExCup points. These are defined as competitions played at the same time, or ‘opposite’, golf Majors and WGC events – their inevitably weaker fields the reason they’re worth so much less.
Things get turned up to 11 when the FedExCup Playoffs start, as these events are worth a whopping 2,000 points a piece – more than three Major wins. Once the final field of 30 is set for the Tour Championship, things somehow manage to get even more convoluted, as these final FedExCup standings are translated into a de facto handicap system. The No. 1 golfer tees-off the Championship on a score of -10, while those ranked Nos. 26-30 start from par.
There’s no cut in the final event of the 2019/20 PGA Tour season, either, with the 2020 Tour Championship taking place September 4-7 at the East Lake Golf Club just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.
Last year, the winner of the whole shebang was Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who started in fifth place on -5 but surged past Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele on the final day to take home an epic $15 million winner’s check along with his final score of -13.
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