Bank of Utah Championship
Course: Black Desert Resort (7,421 yards, par 71)
Purse: $6,000,000
Winner: $1,080,000 and 500 FedExCup Fall Points
Tournament Preview
After an off-week the PGA Tour returns for the second playing of the Bank of Utah Championship. This event was introduced last year at the breathtaking Black Desert Resort and saw Matt McCarty pick up his first PGA Tour victory just weeks after earning a three-win promotion from the Korn Ferry Tour. There's plenty of young studs in this field hoping to breakthrough on the PGA Tour, but also some veterans hoping to close out 2025 on a high note.
There are just four events left in the FedExCup Fall and the primary focus is on the Top 100, as all of these players will have full playing status in 2026. Max Homa is clinging to the final spot coming into the week, but Isaiah Salinda, Austin Eckroat and Joel Dahmen are not far behind. Positions No. 101-125 will earn conditional status for the 2026 season.
A little higher up is the battle for players to finish No. 51-60 in the FedExCup Fall Standings and earn a spot in the first two signature events in 2026. Joe Highsmith is clinging to the final spot with names like Kevin Yu, Emiliano Grillo and Nico Echavarria hoping to break into Aon Next 10 at the end of the fall events.
The top ranked player in the field this week in veteran Alex Noren at No. 17. The Swede has had an impressive last couple months winning twice on the DP World Tour, including the BMW PGA Championship. The 12-time DP World Tour winner is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory. Maverick McNealy (19th), Kurt Kitayama (36th), Billy Horschel (38th) and Jason Day (42nd) are the other Top 50 players in the OWGR teeing it up in Utah.
The Black Desert Resort course was completed in May of 2023 and designed by Tom Weiskopf and Phil Smith. Fifty yards of distance have been added since last year bringing the total on the card to 7,421 yards. This course also held an event on the LPGA Tour in May with Haeran Ryu winning at 26-under-par. Matt McCarty won the inaugural event for the PGA Tour last fall at 23-under, so we should expect a lot of birdies and eagles, especially considering the weather conditions will be just about perfect.
Recent Champions
2024 - Matt McCarty (-23)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach/Proximity
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance
- Birdie Average
Champion's Profile
Black Desert is a very wide open venue. Both the fairways and greens are plenty spacious and we will see very high FIR% and GIR% across the board this week. The bombers should have an advantage as they will be able to swing away on most of these holes. That all said, the big separation will be made by players who are able to hit their irons close and capitalize on their chances with the putter. Approach performance and putting are generally the greatest factors in a shootout, which is what we are expecting to see again this week.
Last year the leader in SG: Approach and SG: Putting for the week finished the tournament inside the top-three on the leaderboard. McCarty gained strokes across the board on his way to victory and led the field in total eagles with three to go along with his 23 birdies. The fairways and greens are all bentgrass and that is typically the easiest grass to hit shots around the green on. Combine that with the high GIR% numbers and short game shouldn't be a huge factor at Black Desert.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Maverick McNealy ($12,000)
McNealy is the highest priced player this week and makes for a worth selection to start your lineup. The Stanford product hits it plenty long enough, is a terrific putter and his iron play has been coming on the last several months. McNealy has gained on approach by true strokes gained in 15 of his last 17 starts. He is also 21st in SG: Putting this season. McNealy has finished T28-or-better in 7-of-8 starts.
Alex Noren ($11,800)
It's hard to ignore the run that Noren has been on of late. He comes into the week having finished T7-or-better in four of his last six starts, which includes a pair of DP World Tour victories. Over that span Noren has been putting incredibly well and also been extremely effective on approach. That combination will certainly lead him to success around Black Desert Resort. Noren might not have the ideal distance, but you might be able to count on one hand how many fairways he misses this week.
Thorbjorn Olesen ($10,800)
Olesen has stayed busy since the FedExCup season ended and has logged four top-20s in his last five starts. The ball striking has been really strong over that stretch with his play on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Olesen ranks 18th in total driving and 14th in GIR percentage. He is also 31st in SG: Putting. There's a lot to like with what the Dane is doing right now, and at 116th in the FedExCup Fall Standings, he needs another good showing in Utah.
The Middle Tier
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($10,400)
Bezuidenhout is coming into the week off back-to-back top-10 finishes. Black Desert should be a great venue for him given his putting prowess and how much his approach play has improved since the start of May. Bezuidenhout is also one of the most accurate players on Tour and ranks 17th in par 4 scoring. The South African is still searching for that first PGA Tour victory and it wouldn't surprise me to see him have a great shot at it come Sunday.
Vince Whaley ($9,700)
In a field like this with a lot of unknowns, taking a guy like Whaley who has made his last 15 cuts can help ease a lot of stress for DFS players. Whaley has a very strong short game and is a tremendous putter. He has also gained strokes on approach in 9 of his last 12 starts. Whaley ranks second in par 3 scoring and seventh in par 5 scoring this season. His last start on U.S. soil was a T3 in Jackson where he gained over 11.5 strokes on and around the greens combined.
Taylor Montgomery ($9,000)
If we can get just average driving out of Montgomery then his upside is extremely high at Black Desert. The 30-year-old very well can make the case that he is the best putter in the world. Montgomery ranks second on Tour in SG: Putting, first in putts per hole and third in putts per GIR. He fairs best in a shootout as he is also fifth in birdie average and second in par 4 birdie or better percentage. Montgomery has racked up five top-20 finishes over his last nine starts.
The Long Shots
Joseph Bramlett ($8,800)
Bramlett has been a very reliable ball striker this season. If he had enough starts to qualify he would rank top-35 on Tour in SG: Approach, SG: Tee-to-Green, GIR percentage and proximity to the hole. The putting has been the major concern all season, but I do like the fact that he's one of the longest hitters in this field and has prior experience at Black Desert with a T31 last year, while ranking fifth for the week in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Around-the-Green.
Noah Goodwin ($8,300)
Goodwin has struggled most of his rookie season, but appears to be putting something together late. He has finished top-25 in three of his last four starts and appears a lot more comfortable with his swing, gaining in three of those off the tee and three of those on approach. Goodwin ranks 17th in par 4 scoring and 26th in total driving this season. The putting numbers have been above average all season as well.
David Lipsky ($8,000)
Lipsky has now made seven of his last eight cuts, and has the upside with a trio of top-5 finishes this season. The PGA Tour veteran ranks 54th in SG: Approach this season and third in proximity from 125-150 yards, which will likely be a pretty common approach distance at Black Desert Resort. The putter, which was terrible to begin the season, has become more reliable as Lipsky has gained strokes on the greens in four of his last six measured starts.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
It's always difficult when we go to a relatively new venue with not a lot of data to use. I wouldn't put a tremendous amount of weight on what happened last year at Black Desert. This is a resort course that is pretty wide open and going to be quite gettable for these players. Recent form should be a much bigger indicator of potential success this week. I would also like to see a trend with the approach play and putting of late. Some other solid value options not mentioned above to consider would be Mac Meissner ($9,900), Takumi Kanaya ($9,200) and Patrick Fishburn ($9,100).
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