After a 61-year hiatus, the PGA Tour returns to Utah with the Black Desert Championship. Though the state has hosted the Korn Ferry Tour’s “Utah Championship” each year since 1990, the main Tour hasn’t been there since 1963 when Tommy Jacobs won the Utah Open Invitational.
Surrounded by horizons of red rock mountains and located amid an actual lava field in the arid desert of southern Utah, the Black Desert Resort was the last golf course that famed architect Tom Weiskopf was associated with before his death. The stunning layout was completed in 2023 by Weiskopf’s design partner, Phil Smith.
Brand new events are a rarity on the Tour but this week is an exception with the third event in the Tour’s “FedEx Cup Fall” which features players outside the top 50 jockeying for 2025 status.
The Field
Similar to last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, the 132-player field sets up to be one of the weakest of the entire year. Chris Kirk is the only player ranked inside the top 50 of the OWGR at No. 41. Other players in attendance who are ranked in the top 75 include Nick Taylor, Stephan Jaeger, Lucas Glover, Erik van Rooyen, Kurt Kitayama, Ben Griffin, Harris English, and Emiliano Grillo. Last week’s winner, Kevin Yu is also in the field.
Eight players in the field have Utah ties, including six current and former BYU Cougars. Zac Blair, Patrick Fishburn, Peter Kuest, and Mike Weir are all BYU alums. The tournament features a $7.5 million purse with a $1.35 million first-place prize.
Black Desert Championship – Final Model
In each preview article and on Discord, I present my final model, which gives a detailed player ranking of the most important stats and splits for the week. My modeling is built around the PGA’s Strokes Gained data, which is divided into SG: Off the Tee (OTT), SG: Approach (APP), SG: Around the Green (ARG), and SG: Putting (P). Learn more about Strokes Gained and why it can be so useful in analyzing the past and predicting future performance. Many of these specific metrics and conditions can be found in “The Rabbit Hole“, with my final model exclusively published here and in the Discord for subscribers.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1swGSolwCg1bBnw_azhpKNwuurREQpEA6trZeOrjOMcg/edit?usp=sharing
Outright Betting Selections
For the most up-to-date picks, check out my Twitter and subscribe to our Discord at BetspertsGolf.com.
*Lines accurate at the time of publication.
- Jaeger +3500 (0.68u) – Caesars
- Fox +3500 (0.68u) – FD
- van Rooyen +4000 (0.60u) – MGM
- Glover +4000 (0.60u) – FD
- Berger +5500 (0.43u) – Rivers
- Kohles +8000 (0.30u) – FD
- N. Taylor +9000 (0.26u) – Rivers
- Montgomery +25000 (0.09u) – Rivers
Finishing Position Picks
Top 20
- Mitchell +105 (1u) – DK
- Power +130 (1u) – DK
- Hossler +150 (1u) – DK
- Fishburn +163 (1u) – Rivers
Top 30
- B. Griffin +100 (1u) – Rivers
- Fox +100 (1u) – DK
- Jaeger +100 (1u) – Rivers
- Glover +105 (1u) – DK
- van Rooyen +110 (1u) – DK
- Berger +125 (1u) – DK
Top 40
- Schmid +100 (1u) – Rivers
- N. Taylor +125 (1u) – Rivers
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Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images