BMW Championship: CBS golf analyst would like to see Chicago on regular PGA schedule again
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (CBS) -- It was an exciting day one at the BMW Championship in Olympia Fields Thursday, especially with Rory McIlroy playing well.
Chicago area golf fans should enjoy this week because the BMW Championship won't be back until at least 2028. And of course, we don't have a yearly PGA Tour stop either - after many years of the Western Open.
CBS 2's Matt Zahn talked with former PGA tour player and now CBS Sports golf analyst Frank Nobilo about that the lack of a regular event in Chicago – among other subjects.
Zahn first asked Nobilo what it was like to be back in Chicago for a golf event.
"It's huge. I've been here, I'm going to say, it's nearly for a decade now. I enjoyed my playing days playing the western open, but you know, seeing this event on this golf course – to be honest, I wasn't – I've never played Olympia Fields. So driving around the golf course yesterday, I can see why people rave about it," Nobilo said. "I think we should have a PGA tour event in Chicago every year. This is a great, crazy golf town, and like I said, I'm looking forward to it – now that the rain's gone as well."
Nobilo said he wants to see the Chicago area back on the PGA schedule on a regular basis.
"I think once the playoffs started, we got away from just the Western Open itself. I still there'd be a way to try and fight to get a tournament in Chicago back on the schedule. So many great golf courses for a start, and normally, the people that turn out – I remember being a runner-up to Tiger Woods in I think it as 1996, and going up the 18th green at Cog Hill, he was the group behind – and just seeing that sea of people. And I guess that was really part of like Tiger mania, so that area and Tiger seemed to be synonymous with Chicago," he said. "And I know we're in a generation now, but you still get the same buzz. People come out, they want to see the same type of golf – which is the best in the world – and that's what they're going to get this week."
McIlroy (-5) on Thursday co-led after 18 holes along with Brian Harman (-5), with a host of stars chasing from just beyond those two.
McIlroy's day ended spectacularly with one of the great birdies you'll ever see, before Harman matched his 65 later in the day.
