The Biggest Winner at the BMW Was The Country Club of Spartanburg
By Stan Olenik Editor-Pubisher. The Golf Club
The biggest winner at this year’s BMW Charity Pro-Am was The Country Club of Spartanburg..
From the day the club was announced as the newest companion course to Thornblade, questions followed.
Could a Donald Ross-inspired layout with a relatively small footprint stand up to Korn Ferry Tour players? Would the shorter course produce record scores? Could the club handle the logistics, parking, transportation and crowds that come with a professional event?
After play was completed, every one of those questions had been answered.
Credit belongs to club president Alex Powell, general manager Ben Pasquith, superintendent Zac Ramey and an army of volunteers who spent months preparing for the event.
And of course, the course. The course held up beautifully.
The fairways were every bit as impressive as the greens, rewarding quality shots and exposing poor ones. Predictions of tour players overwhelming the course never materialized. Ramey and his crew delivered course conditions that matched the level of competition.
Away from the golf course, spectators found an operation that worked.
Large shuttle buses moved fans efficiently from parking areas, signage made navigating the property easy and the flow of spectators around the course rarely became a problem.
Just as important, the tournament rediscovered part of its identity.
Bill Murray once again felt like the celebrity attraction that originally helped make the event unique. Whether surrounded by galleries or quietly working his way around the course with advice from his local caddie, Murray was fully engaged and gave fans exactly what they hoped to see and he has game.
The tournament also made excellent use of its sponsor exemptions, a resource that in the past often added little local interest.
Christ Church grad and now a junior at Alabama William Jennings .received an exemption He arrived just days after finishing second at the NCAA Championship and gave Upstate fans someone to follow, rebounding from an uneven opening round to finish tied for 12th.
Amateur Jackson Ormond, winner of The Country Club of Spartanburg’s Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational, also received a place in the field, while three-time state high school champion Will Ruth participated as an amateur partner.
Those decisions strengthened the event.
Which makes one continuing issue even more difficult to understand.
The BMW Charity Pro-Am has now partnered with multiple companion courses through the years, and while each club has its own personality, many of the conversations sound remarkably familiar.
Sponsors sometimes feel left out of decisions.
Community partners wonder why local traditions received less consideration than expected.
Club officials occasionally come away with the feeling that communication is something delivered rather than shared.
One moment during the week at Spartanburg illustrated the point.
The Country Club of Spartanburg proudly celebrates its history. Walk through the clubhouse and the walls tell the story of generations of golf, from Hall of Famer Betsy Rawls, who helped found the LPGA to every Bobby Chapman Junior Invitational champion.
When a tournament official told the club the Bobby Chapman trophy should be put in a closet because “this is the BMW tournament,” they missed something far more important than where a trophy sits.
It missed an opportunity to embrace the very tradition that makes the club a worthy host in the first place.
Communities do not stop celebrating their own history simply because another event arrives. In fact, those traditions are part of what make those communities worth visiting in the first place.
None of these issues overshadowed what was an unqualified success for The Country Club of Spartanburg.
The club proved it belongs on this stage. The course exceeded expectations and the tournament benefited from renewed local interest, stronger local connections and the return of a genuine celebrity presence.
But as the tournament reviews another successful year, there is one lesson worth remembering.
People and organizations that ask for help should remember exactly that—they are asking. The moment a request becomes an expectation, or worse a demand, relationships begin to fray.
Golf has always prided itself on respect.
Respect for opponents. Respect for the course. Respect for tradition.
The BMW Charity Pro-Am has clearly figured out the long game.
The next challenge may be the short game—listening better, communicating a little more and remembering that communities and clubs are partners, not simply venues.
After all, the Upstate has a limited supply of courses capable of hosting the Korn Ferry Tour—and an even smaller supply of clubs willing to keep saying yes.
By the Numbers —
–The conversation all week centered on the Country Club of Spartanburg being “short.” The numbers suggest otherwise.
Thornblade measured 6,823 yards while Spartanburg played at 6,770 — a difference of just 53 yards. The scoring average was only 1.2 strokes higher at Spartanburg (71.5 to 70.3).
Apparently, size doesn’t matter as much as some people thought.
Local players success
William Jennings, Carson Young and Taylor Dickson gave area fans plenty to cheer for.
Dickson, the Winthrop grad, finished tied for third Jennings and former South Carolina and SEC Individual champion Matt NeSmith tied for 12th place,
Kyle Cottam’s 66 was one of the best rounds of the week. He made good use of the sponsor exemption he received. Cottom tied with another former Clemson golfer Carson Young from Pendleton for 175y.
Former Georgia All American Trent Phillips from Boiling Springs tied for 26th.
.Sunshine, Indoors
One of the biggest surprises of BMW Weekend wasn’t on the golf course.
For the last three years a downtown outdoor concert has been a feature of tournament week in Spartanburg,
This year’s performance moved inside the auditorium, limiting attendance and surprising many fans and sponsors.
The reason the concert was moved in doors ws simple, the band does not play outdoors,
The name of the band KC and the Sunshine Band
Call It
If William Jennings had not become one of the top amateur golfers in the country, he might have wound up in what was the family business.
Jennings is the great-grandson of John White, founder of Spartanburg’s legendary Beacon Drive-In, where generations of customers heard the famous cry of “Call it!” as orders were shouted to the kitchen.
Instead of counting birdies and bogeys, he might have been counting chili cheeseburgers A-Plenty.
Tee Time Demand
Preparing for the BMW Charity Pro-Am meant weeks of course conditioning at the Country Club of Spartanburg. Members put up with renovation work, tournament rough and restricted access while the staff got the course ready.
The reward came quickly.
As soon as the tournament ended, the Saturday and Sunday tee sheets filled with members and guests eager to play the same course the Korn Ferry Tour professionals had just conquered.
No Golf at Thornblade
While Spartanburg golfers are eager to get back on the course after the BMW Charity Pro-Am, Thornblade members will have to wait a little longer.
As soon as tournament operations wrap up, the club will begin a major bunker renovation project along with several other improvements, forcing the course to close for a couple of months.
The closure also means the annual Blade Junior tournament has been relocated this year to The Olde Eight Golf Club in Greenwood, formerly known as Stoney Point.
He’s In a Band, Too
Even though he missed the cut, Bill Murray still had a Saturday night engagement.
Murray and his Blood Brothers Band performed in Greenville, giving fans a second chance to see the actor, comedian and tournament favorite after his round was over.
Helping a Friend
Bill Murray’s appearance wasn’t just about entertaining the galleries.
Longtime friend D.A. Points received a sponsor exemption into the tournament as he makes the transition from the PGA Tour to the Champions Tour, where playing opportunities are more limited.
Murray came along to support his friend, continuing a tradition that has made the event one of the most recognizable celebrity tournaments in golf.
And celebrity connections are nothing new. In earlier years, Kevin Costner was among the stars who made appearances at the tournament.
Road Work
For nearly five years, drivers have navigated construction on the road leading to the Country Club of Spartanburg.
Two weeks before the tournament, it hardly looked ready for thousands of visitors.
Crews worked weekends to improve the route before the event. The project isn’t finished, but with another BMW a year away, there’s still time to complete the job.
Coming Right Back
The Country Club of Spartanburg won’t stay quiet for long.
The championship is open to spectators and offers a glimpse of golfers who could be the next local stars.
The South Carolina Junior Championship returns to the course June 15-17, giving club members another chance to see some of the state’s best young players in action.
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Categories: BMW Charity Pro-Am
