Story by Liz Miller
Photos provided by Bellerive Country Club
St. Louis is teed up to host another major golf championship.
From Tue., Aug. 18 through Sun., Aug. 23, Bellerive Country Club will host the 2026 BMW Championship. The six-day competition is the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Playoffs and will bring the top 50 golf pros in the world to compete right here in St. Louis.
“The BMW Championship is one of the flagship PGA tour stops – it’s the one right before the tour championship that goes to Atlanta – and it is unique because it has the top 50 players all trying to win that tremendous trophy the next week,” says Carlos Arraya, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of Bellerive Country Club. “So it sets the stage. It’ll be an intense competition of the best players here at Bellerive. And the great part about it, the community gets to come together and watch it.”
The sold-out event is a win for St. Louis and Bellerive. Founded in 1897, the club has hosted major golf championships and events since securing the U.S. Open at its current location in Town and Country in 1965. Famed golfer Gary Player once described it as, “For me, Bellerive is a piece of sacred soil… Mother earth.” The club is one of only three in the U.S. to have hosted all three traveling majors. In 2018, Bellerive hosted the 100th PGA Championship, which drew record crowds of 50,000 spectators per day.
Photo provided by Bellerive Country Club
Arraya says that kind of community support runs deep at Bellerive and in St. Louis.
“Previous championships [in other cities] have struggled to fulfill the BMW Championship’s volunteer support — it takes about 2,000 volunteers — and we filled those 2,000 slots in St. Louis in the first eight hours. And there was a waitlist. So that’s pretty unique, and that tells you how our community comes together. Another interesting statistic: The first day ticket sales opened for the BMW Championship, we broke a PGA record for sales. That showed the community’s excitement.”
Arraya says it’s an honor for Bellerive to be selected to host the championship, and that whether you’re a golf fan or not, the event brings an economic boost to the region.
“Why events like these and championships like these matter, it’s not about Bellerive, it’s the community, because it does have an economic impact, number one,” he says. “I heard this through folks that we’re talking to in tourism in other states: They say one of the biggest things, heads and beds is number one. And the other thing is employment. There’s so many employment opportunities that this championship affords. Number two, it introduces folks to what St. Louis is beyond what they see on TV. They get to see our great strength in our neighborhoods, the food, everything that’s great about our community. And it’s something that we don’t take lightly. It’s an opportunity to showcase not only St. Louis, but the state.”
The BMW Championship is underpinned by a charitable component, the Evans Scholars Foundation, which receives all proceeds from the competition. The foundation awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to caddies, with more than $63 million contributed to that mission since 2007. It is the largest scholarship program for young caddies in the U.S., with 40% of Evans Scholars being first-generation college students.
“So the impact we’re having on young lives, your caddies, that changes generations, and that’s pretty impactful,” Arraya adds.
When the event kicks off on Tuesday, guests can expect expanded infrastructure, something Bellerive’s team has been working on diligently for weeks leading up to the event. Those upgrades are exciting, Arraya says, but what he’s most looking forward to is seeing familiar faces enjoying Bellerive at its best.
“Golf tournaments give a certain perspective,” Arraya says. “What I’m looking forward to most is looking at all the different faces. The community gets to come in, it brings people together. The generations, from the little kids in strollers to the young adults to the grandparents. That’s a pretty unique opportunity. People get to see the competition, but they also get to see the joy of the game.”
Learn more about the BMW Championship and Bellerive on the club’s website.
Photo provided by Bellerive Country Club