Western Open to have name change from 2007

CHICAGO, June 26 (Reuters) The Western Open, one of the oldest events on the PGA Tour and once considered the unofficial ''fifth major'', will be played under a different name from next year.

The tournament will become the BMW Championship in 2007 when it will be the third of four stops comprising the inaugural season-ending Championship Series.

In a six-year agreement with the PGA Tour and the Western Golf Association, the event will be played in Chicago every second year while also rotating between venues in other Midwest cities.

''The PGA Tour is looking forward to working with BMW,'' PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement on Monday.

''The new PGA Tour playoffs, which will determine the ultimate champion in our new season-long FedEx Cup competition, will be a tremendous enhancement to the PGA Tour, and we welcome BMW as an important and strong partner in this venture.'' First held in 1899, the revamped Western Open will be staged next year at Cog Hill Golf&Country Club in Chicago, Illinois from Sept. 6-9.

It will then be played in St. Louis at the Bellerive Country Club in 2008, return to Chicago in 2009 and move to Indianapolis at the Crooked Stick Golf Club in 2010.

The 2006 Western Open takes place next week at Cog Hill, its home since 1991.

The 2007 Championship Series will begin with the Barclays Classic in New York from Aug. 23-26, followed by the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston from Aug. 31-Sept. 3 and the BMW Championship in Chicago.

It will culminate in the season-ending Tour Championship from Sept. 13-16.

Reuters SK VP0045