Major champ says 'pretty much everybody didn't really like' this recent PGA Tour venue
James Gilbert
Caves Valley Golf Club hosted the PGA Tour for a second time at last week's BMW Championship. But one major champ doesn't think the tour will be back for a third trip.
Lucas Glover offered some candid comments about the course earlier this week when he hosted a new episode of his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show. The six-time PGA Tour winner and 2009 U.S. Open champ wasn't a fan of the renovation the Baltimore-area track underwent since the first time hosting the tour in 2021. And, apparently, the 45-year-old golfer wasn't alone among his peers.
“I have never in my 21 years heard the consensus from the field being unhappy with the golf course," Glover said during a seven-plus minute segment on the subject. "I think it was pretty much everybody didn’t really like Caves Valley. And it is a shame because it is a heck of a place."
Patrick Cantlay beat Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff at the 2021 BMW Championship after both were tied at 27 under par through 72 holes. Caves Valley underwent an extensive renovation led by Tom Fazio in 2023, but Glover and others think they went too far.
"They decided to make it to redo it just to make it more difficult for the PGA Tour," Glover said. "And harder doesn't always mean better, is the best way I can say it."
Glover, who finished T-40 in the 50-man field, began the segment by saying, "Not to come off as sour grapes here . . . " Scottie Scheffler won the event at 15 under par.
“I feel sorry for the members that have to play that now, because it’s virtually unplayable," said Glover, who used the term "crazy" to describe some of the new greens. “It seemed like a very lazy renovation. . . . It’s sad that that’s what people think is good golf and good golf course design."
Glover was previously a big fan of Caves Valley, which is No. 3 on Golf Digest's list of the best golf courses in Maryland as well as being No. 154 in our list of America's Second 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
“It would shock me if we go back," Glover added of the PGA Tour, "which is a shame."