Three PGA Tour players to watch out for at the BMW Championship as they thrive at altitude

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The second PGA Tour playoff event is upon us as the FedEx Cup top 50 look to book their place at next week’s Tour Championship.

Castle Pines Golf Club in Denver will host the 2024 BMW Championship on a course which is set to be the longest in PGA Tour history.

The world’s best players must contend with a different challenge, with the venue situated 6200 feet above sea level. Typically, at such a height, 12% is added to stock yardage, with the ball flying further in thinner air.

Here, The Golfing Gazette has taken a look at three players from the FedEx Cup top 50 who have previously thrived at altitude.

Wyndham Clark

2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark grew up in Highlands Ranch, approximately 12 miles north of Castle Pines. Clark estimates he’s played the course 30 times previously and is well attuned to the demands of playing golf at altitude.

Given his prior history and familiarity with his surroundings, Clark could be one to watch this week. The American impressed at the Olympics after a torrid first round and finished tied for seventh at last week’s St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.

Matt Fitzpatrick

Matt Fitzpatrick is known as one of the game’s mathematicians and could be well-suited to the calculations required at Castle Pines this week.

Fitzpatrick has twice won the European Masters Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland, a DP World Tour event held at 4900 feet. The 29-year-old also finished runner-up in 2015 and T7 in 2016.

The Englishman was one of the first men on the range on Monday and could dial his distances better than anyone else at the BMW.

Justin Thomas

Another event to consider before this week’s competition is the WGC-Mexico Championship, which was held in Mexico City between 2017 and 2020.

The WCG Championship was held at 8000 meters, and Justin Thomas’ record was particularly impressive.

Despite never winning, the American finished in the top ten in every single edition of the event. Thomas is slowly turning around his poor PGA Tour form and could be one to watch this week.