PGA Results: 2011 BMW Championship

The BMW Championship at Cog Hill this past weekend is essentially the semifinal round of the FedEx Cup playoffs.  This is where the field of 70 is whittled down to the top 30 who will compete for the Tour Championship and the $10 million prize.  But the Tour Championship wasn't all that was at stake as the BMW as the tournament was the final opportunity for players to play themselves into the Presidents Cup. Rose Wins BMW Justin Rose nearly tied the course record at Cog Hill with a 63 in the first round.  From that point, Rose's picture perfect ball striking and excellent putting kept him alone or tied with the lead for the rest of the weekend.  Rose brought a four shot lead into the final round, and held on to win by two over 2nd place finisher John Senden.  Rounding out the top five at the BMW are Geoff Ogilvy, Luke Donald and Webb Simpson. FedEx Cup Picture The final 30 are set for this week's Tour Championship.  The top five players in the FedEx Cup points race control their own destiny and are guaranteed the $10 million first prize if they were to win the Tour Championship.  The top five: 1. Webb Simpson 2. Dustin Johnson 3. Justin Rose 4. Luke Donald 5. Matt Kuchar Leap Frog There are a few players who made a big jump from outside the top 30 to a birth in the Tour Championship this week.  Timing was everything for these players who had to record some high finishes to break into the top 30. Justin Rose came into the BMW in 34th place, outside of the top 30.  Geoff Ogilvy started the week in 69th place, but finished in 24th.  John Senden entered the BMW in 55th place and jumped up to 9th with the 2nd place finish this past week. Just as players leap frogged their way into the top 30, some players hopped the other direction.  The three players who entered the BMW inside the top 30 but fell out of it and will fail to qualify for the Tour Championship are Charl Schwartzel, Kyle Stanley, Rory Sabbatini. Champions Tour Nice story this week from the Champions Tour.  Long time journeyman and Utah native Jay Don Blake recorded his first golf victory in 20 years by winning the Songdo IBD Championship in Songdo, Korea.  Blake's last victory was the 1991 PGA Tour Shearson Lehman Brothers Open. The win didn't come easy for Blake.  It took a four way, five hole playoff between Blake, John Cook, Mark O'Meara and Peter Senior to determine the champion. LPGA On the other side of the age spectrum, 16 year old Lexi Thompson became the youngest winner in the 61 year history of the LPGA Tour by winning the Navistar LPGA Classic with a decisive five shot margin.

"It feels amazing. I can't even describe it. It's been my dream my whole life just to play out here. Getting a win right now, I can't describe the feelings, but it's the best feeling ever." ~Lexi Thompson