Fifty sent.

That’s how many golfers advanced to this week’s BMW Championship after a thrilling conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship that launched the 19th edition of the FedExCup Playoffs.

Serving as the second leg of three belonging to the Playoffs, the BMW Championship is staged at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland. It’s not for the first time, but even the 22 in the committed field of 49 who competed on the course in this tournament in 2021 might find themselves lost when they step onto the first tee for the first time this week. (Sepp Straka withdrew on Monday.)

The explanation as to why, what’s new (hint: a lot!), the setup, the stakes and more all is detailed below.

Rebuilds have been commonplace on the Baltimore sports scene in recent years. As the Orioles were nearing the end of what was a six-year residency in or near the basement of the American League East, some 13 miles northwest of home plate at Camden Yards, Caves Valley was experiencing its own overhaul. While the Orioles’ near future is again a work in progress, the host of the BMW Championship promises to hit a home run, albeit with more defense in play than existed in its first at-bat.

Caves Valley, for which the nines are swapped for the BMW Championship, was designed by Tom Fazio in the early 1990s. His late son, Logan, spearheaded a significant renovation of the course prior to the PGA TOUR’s debut four years ago. It included a redo of all bunkers. After the field averaged 2.979 strokes under par on what was then a stock par 72, another massive plan was approved to install a PrecisionAire system beneath every green.

But that’s not all. Not even close.

Two of the previous par 5s – Nos. 2 and 12 – are now par 4s that tip just over 520 yards. As a result, overall par now is 70. That ensures that Patrick Cantlay’s score in relation to par of 27-under 261 is safe as the record. Cantlay, who prevailed in a playoff, is one of four golfers in the field who recorded a top 10 in 2021. Sungjae Im (third), Rory McIlroy (fourth) and Sam Burns (eighth) are the others.

With an aggregate of 59 yards added in the second project, Caves Valley can now play to 7,601 yards. For the guys who kept a scorecard from 2021, they might do a double-take when they realize that the par-4 first hole that measured just 365 yards in their inaugural visit now can stretch to 481 yards. With new tees on the par-4 10th and 14th holes and relocated greens on one-third of the holes also contributing to the facelift – the last of which is at the par-3 17th that’s 53 yards longer at 245 yards – it’s almost as if the only thing that hasn’t changed at Caves Valley is its name.

While all greens now can be presented consistently as a group amid the shadows and elevation changes across the property, the new visuals and targets will introduce challenges from tee to green that didn’t exist the first time. As a result, ball-strikers have the early edge in what could be categorized as a neutral site for the second time. Furthermore, there is a new strain of bentgrass on the greens, but they are expected to measure right around 12 1/2 feet using the Stimpmeter, just as they did in 2021. Similarly, the lushest of the combination of fescue-bluegrass rough will stand at least four inches.

The daily threat of rain and storms extends into Thursday’s opening round, so first-round scores should reflect potentially softer conditions. A dry pattern then takes over and sustains through the weekend. Wind will be a non-factor throughout, so the field will feel every bit of air temperatures right around 90 degrees every day.

As the Orioles are regrouping to capture a championship down at Birdland – it’s been 42 years since their last World Series title – there is guaranteed to be a trophy presentation at the BMW Championship, but all of the top 30 in the next update of the FedExCup will feel like they’ve won big prizes. Because they will. In addition to a two-year PGA TOUR membership exemption, if needed, and provided that traditional qualifying criteria for the majors remains, all 30 will earn exemptions into the 2026 editions of the Masters, the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

For advancing to the BMW Championship, all of the top 50 already have punched tickets for all Signature Events next season, so there’s very much everything to gain and nothing to lose at this point.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X where you can connect with him.

• MONDAY: Power Rankings
• TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider; Sleepers
• SUNDAY: Points and Payouts; Qualifiers

*Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore, which also publishes on Tuesday.