The BMW Championship will have a new name in 2020 when the tournament is played at Olympia Fields

BMW’s contract with the PGA Tour and Western Golf Association expires after this year’s event. Once the final putt drops at Medinah in August, the company will not return as title sponsor, the Tribune has learned.

The premium car brand will instead focus on its global partnership with the 2020 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.

“Golf remains an important global platform for BMW,” said Tim Rittenhouse, experientialmarketing manager of BMW of North America.

Industry sources put the annual cost of title sponsorship of a FedEx Cup playoff event at $16million to $18 million, and a new partner — or partners — could be announced soon.

“We are in active discussions with several companies,” said Vince Pellegrino, senior vice president of the WGA.

WGA and PGA Tour officials have many selling points:

Chicago is a huge market, and the tournament has become a big fish in a small pond when it rotates to other cities (Indianapolis, Denver, St. Louis).

The new PGA Tour schedule moved the event from September to August, so it will no longer compete for attention with the NFL and college football.

And the FedEx Cup playoffs have been trimmed from four events to three, giving it extra heft.

Tiger Woods has a strong connection to the tournament, having won it in 2007 and 2009 at Cog Hill.

Woods’ design firm has been hired to help transform the courses at Jackson Park and South Shore, adding to his Chicago interests.

The event features the top 70 players on the PGA Tour.

“It is one of the most sought-after sponsorships in golf,” one industry source said.