Bank of Utah Championship Betting Preview
Ivins, Utah
Black Desert Resort - Par 71 - 7,421 yards
Field - 120 entrants
Purse - $6M
After stealing the spotlight while contributing significantly to the United States' comeback at last week's Presidents Cup, Jackson Koivun headlines the field again this week in Utah where a glorious backdrop of red-rock mountains sits above the Black Desert Resort's mammoth of a 7,421-yard layout. Wide fairways invite driver-friendly strategies off the tee, thus emphasizing full wedges and shorter irons into desired subsections of massive bentgrass greens. Each of the first two champions of this event reached at least the 22-under-par mark, and we can expect a plethora of scoring opportunities at this year's edition as well.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 6:30 PM ET Wednesday
Bank of Utah Championship Bets: Outright Picks
Ben James (+1850)
While Koivun has hogged all the attention, James -- a four-time All-American -- posted back-to-back top-3 finishes in his past two outings at the Wyndham Championship and the Biltmore Championship Asheville, notably gaining a whopping 2.72 strokes ballstriking per round in the process. James is second to only Koivun among this field in SG: Total per round over the last five months, but the 23-year-old Virginia product also has gained at least 1.95 strokes with the flat stick in five of his last six starts, and he's fifth in total driving over his last 16 rounds.
Jackson Suber (32-1)
Suber's putter has gone somewhat cold since a missed cut at the 3M Open, but his tee-to-green upside is evident as he ranks third among this field in SG: T2G over his past 50 rounds, highlighted by a trio of top-6 finishes from late May to early July. He began the FedExCup Fall with a T15 effort at the Biltmore Championship where he paced the entire event in SG: Approach en route to 21 total birdies and an eagle. He also tied for 15th in his Black Desert Resort debut here last year when he ranked T4 in putting average on these gigantic greens.
Bank of Utah Championship Bets: Top-10 Wagers
Davis Thompson (+370)
Thompson's short game is volatile, but his iron play has been consistently stout, landing No. 1 in both SG: Approach and SG: Ballstriking over his last 24 rounds, which include a T7-T8-T14 stretch from the 3M Open through the Wyndham Championship. The market might be discounting Thompson after his missed cut at the Biltmore Championship, but he still gained just over a stroke on approach and he missed only six total fairways in regulation in Asheville.
Johnny Keefer (+420)
After struggling with the flat stick for much of the season, Keefer is coming off a career-best SG: Putting performance en route to a T7 at the Biltmore Championship, and he's now gained strokes on the greens in five of his last six outings. Additionally, Keefer ranks top-10 among the field in both SG: Off-the-Tee and carry distance this season, which ideally allows him to attack par-4 pins with more wedges than his peers.
Bank of Utah Championship Bets: Top-20 Wagers
Davis Chatfield (+480)
Chatfield has made the cut in six of seven starts dating back to the John Deere Classic, most notably tying for fifth at the ISCO Championship where he gained a career-high 6.2 strokes putting. Chatfield's precision off the tee should keep him out of the looming desert trouble, but he's also fifth in SG: APP and seventh in Birdie or Better percentage over his last 24 rounds.
Bank of Utah Championship Bets: Tournament Matchups
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (-115) over Mackenzie Hughes
It might seem counterintuitive to fade Hughes at what can become a putting contest, but his ballstriking is legitimately bad, particularly his iron play. Notching a -0.41 SG: APP average over his last 36 rounds, the Canadian's ceiling is capped, while Neergaard-Petersen can separate off the tee. Additionally, Neergaard-Petersen recently posted a solo-fourth at the Amgen Irish Open where he finished fifth in SG: Putting and T20 in GIR.
Bank of Utah Championship Bets: Top European
Harry Hall (+850)
Despite his English nationality, Hall is actually well-accustomed to desert golf at elevation as a UNLV alum and current Las Vegas resident. After a T5-T24 run at the Wyndham Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Hall collected a top-3 result a few weeks later overseas at the Omega European Masters where he averaged nine one-putts per round. Headlined by Matt Wallace (+520), the European region isn't overly stacked with uber-talented competition this week, and Hall ranks 11th on the entire PGA Tour in putts per round this season.
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