Bank of Utah Championship Tips 2026

 

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Odds correct at 16:20BST 28.9.26 but are naturally subject to fluctuation.

We return to the Utah desert and to the Black Desert Resort for the Bank of Utah Championship. A new golf course and supporting facility including an 800-room hotel, the public course was opened in 2023 with fairways chiselled out of fields of black lava rock that had to be blasted into golf formations. The course now holds both PGA and LPGA tournaments.

The Bank of Utah Championship has a slightly deeper field than we saw at the Biltmore Championship a fortnight ago, with Presidents Cup players Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Jackson Koivun and Nick Taylor in attendance. Top 50 FedEx Cup players, namely Eric Cole, Matt McCarty, Maverick McNealy and defending champion Michael Brennan all play, as do current AON Next 10 players Max Homa, Pierceson Coody, Harry Hall and Sudarshan Yellamaraju.

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You can read Liam Williams’ Power Rankings for the Bank of Utah Championship at bet365 News.

Course Guide: The Black Desert Resort is a new, constantly growing, facility built in Ivins, Utah. Set 120 miles North West of Las Vegas, Ivins sits 3,100 feet above sea level. Part of the Greater Zion region, this whole area has plenty of golf courses which cater for the amateur golfer. Black Desert is Tom Weiskopf’s 93rd and final golf course design prior to his untimely death in 2022. Black Desert Resort is owned by Reef Capital Partners, who are bringing the PGA Tour to their resort for the next 3 years, plus the LPGA.

Black Desert Resort, Ivins, Utah: Designer: Tom Weiskopf / Phil Smith, 2023; Course Type: Resort, Desert, Altitude, Short; Par: 71; Length: 7,421 yards; Number of Holes with Water In-Play: 2; Number of Sand Bunkers: 44; Acres of Fairway: 51; Fairways: Dominator Bentgrass; Rough: Kentucky Bluegrass, 2″; Greens: 7,000 sq.ft average 007XL Bentgrass.

Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Black Desert Resort and how they compare to recent courses that we’ve seen on Tour:

• Black Desert: Average 30 yards up to 70-100 yards at 300 yards.
• The Cliffs at Walnut Cove: 35-45 yards at 300 yards.
• East Lake: 30-32 yards at 300 yards.
• Bellerive: 27-29 yards at 300 yards.
• TPC Southwind: 25 yards at 300 yards.
• Sedgefield Country Club: 28 yards at 300 yards.
• Detroit Golf Club: 26 yards at 300 yards.
• TPC Twin Cities: 36 yards at 300 yards.
• Corales GC: 75 yards at 300 yards.
• Hurstbourne CC: 25-30 yards at 300 yards
• TPC Deere Run: 36 yards at 300 yards.
• TPC River Highlands: 29 yards at 300 yards.
• Shinnecock Hills: 45 yards at 300 yards.
• TPC Toronto: 35-37 yards at 300 yards.
• Muirfield Village: 24 yards at 300 yards.
• Colonial: 25-30 yards at 300 yards.
• TPC Craig Ranch: 25-28 yards.
• Aronimink: 30 yards.
• Quail Hollow: 28 yards.
• Blue Monster, Doral: 25-40 yards.
• Harbour Town: 22-25 yards.
• Augusta National: Average 50 yards.
• Oaks Course: 25-30 yards.
• Memorial Park: 30–40 yards.
• Copperhead: Average 20 yards.
• TPC Sawgrass: Average 28 yards.
• Bay Hill: Average 30 yards.
• PGA National: Average 28 yards.
• Riviera: Average 27 yards.
• Pebble Beach: Average 30-33 yards. Spyglass Hill: 25-30 yards.
• TPC Scottsdale: Average 38 yards.
• Torrey Pines South: Average 24-27 yards. Torrey Pines North: Average 24-27 yards.
• Pete Dye Stadium: Average 33 yards.

Course Scoring Average + PGA Tour Difficulty Rank:

• 2025: 69.81 (-1.19), Rank 30 of 50 courses
• 2024: 69.06 (-1.94), Rank 39 of 51 courses

Course Designer Links: For research purposes other Tom Weiskopf designs include (including re-designs):

• Stadium Course, TPC Scottsdale – Waste Management Phoenix Open
• North Course, Torrey Pines 2017-2023 Farmers Insurance Open
• TPC Craig Ranch – CJ Cup Byron Nelson

Course Overview: The basic details of Black Desert Resort are that it’s a 7,421 yard, Par 71. However take 6% off yardages due to the course being over 3,000 feet above sea level and in reality the professionals will be playing a 7,000 yard Par 71, which features 3 reachable par-5s, 2 reachable par-4s and short par-3s.

Fairways and Greens are Bentgrass – pretty unique in Utah where Poa Annua dominates, with what rough there is being Kentucky Bluegrass rough quoted at 2″ in height. Greens are large and “funky” at 7,000 sq.ft average, featuring 007XL Bentgrass.

Beyond the tiny amounts of rough, the unique nature of this golf course is the fact that stray balls enter a lava field. It’s effectively desert golf though as rocks, sand and even cacti that we find on most desert set-ups in Western United States are replaced here by rocky, black lava outcrops.

Knowing there would be lava in play, and knowing that winds here in the Utah desert can reach 40 mph, course designers Weiskopf and Smith came up with a routing that provided plenty of room to swing away. That width therefore provides strategic options for plotters and it also allows plenty of room to avoid the lava and allow for power play for the longer hitters.

Under the fairways, sand has been positioned above the lava which provides excellent drainage and the firm, bouncy conditions that are the hallmarks of a desert course in Utah.

On a resort course designed for amateur visitors, the only defence on this golf course are the desert winds which can be pretty severe here. The forecast though is for light winds pretty much throughout, so I’m expecting low scoring.

• Bank of Utah Championship Winners:2025: Michael Brennan (-22); 2024: Matt McCarty (-23).
• 2025: Michael Brennan 67-65-64-66 -22/262 PM/AM Wave
• 2024: Matt McCarty 62-68-64-67 -23/261 AM/PM Wave

OWGR of Bank of Utah Championship Winners: 2025: Brennan 111; 2024: McCarty 76.

Datagolf Ranking Bank of Utah Championship Winners: 2025: Brennan 127; 2024: McCarty 74.

Bank of Utah Championship Cut Line: 2025: -2; 2024: -5.

Black Desert Resort Lead Score Progression:

2025: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -10; Round 3 -17; Round 4 -22.

2024: Round 1 -11; Round 2 -14; Round 3 -19; Round 4 -23

Path to Victory: Below are the end of round positions for the winners of the Bank of Utah Championship:

• 2025 – Michael Brennan: Round 1: 12th, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
• 2024 – Matt McCarty: Round 1: 2nd, Round 2: 4th, Round 3: 1st.

From the Lead: Below are the Bank of Utah Championship winners and where they were positioned in terms of shots from the lead during the tournament:

• 2025 – Michael Brennan: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: level, Round 3: 2 ahead.
• 2024 – Matt McCarty: Round 1: 2 back, Round 2: 2 back, Round 3: 2 ahead.

Incoming Form of Bank of Utah Championship winners:

• Michael Brennan: 4th Fortinet Cup/5th Victoria Open/1st ATB Classic/1st CRMC.
• Matt McCarty: 63rd Sanderson/5th Nationwide Childrens/35th Simmons/1st Boise.

Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats

My published predictor is available here. Top 10 of my published predictor are: 1) Michael Brennan; 2) Marco Penge; 3) Matt Wallace; 4) Pierceson Coody; 5) Justin Lower; 6) Stephan Jaeger; 7) Ben Kohles; 8) Lucas Glover; 9) Eric Cole; 10) Kevin Yu.

Bank of Utah Championship Winning Prices: 2025: Brennan 125/1; 2024: McCarty 66/1 Average: 96/1.

Historical Weather:

• 2025: Thursday: Partly cloudy. High of 74. Variable wind 4-10 mph. Friday: Sunny. High of 75. Variable wind 3-8 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 77. Variable wind 3-8 mph. Sunday: Mostly sunny. High of 77. Wind WSW 10-15 mph.
• 2024: Thursday: Sunny. High of 93. Wind W 6-12 mph. Friday: Mostly sunny. High of 93. Wind W 6-12 mph. Saturday: Sunny. High of 92. Wind W 8-15 mph. Sunday: Sunny. High of 90. Wind SW 8-15 mph.

Weather Forecast: The latest weather forecast for Ivins, Utah is here.

From relative cold 12 months ago, it won’t surprise you to read that the weather in South-West Utah will be hot this week. Where we saw temperatures of 23-25 degrees Celsius – 74-77 Fahrenheit in 2025, this year is far warmer at 31-34 Celsius – 88-93 Fahrenheit. This can only aid scoring.

The real defence of this course is wind that can howl up to 40 mph quite often. However winds this week look the lightest we have seen here, with nothing higher than 10mph. With a 75% of chance of rain on tournament Monday night, we might also see some cut in the fairways on Thursday. However greens also got fast here in 2024 on Sunday with the heat. I could see this being a resort-level winning total target tournament, with plenty sub -20/264.

Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the Wyndham Championship which includes both PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, where recorded. Player rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:

• Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Michael Brennan; 2) Ben James; 3) David Ford; 4) Rico Hoey / Gordon Sargent / Neal Shipley; 7) Emiliano Grillo / Taylor Pendrith; 9) Kevin Streelman; 10) Beau Hossler; 11) C.T. Pan / Jackson Suber; 13) Jackson Koivun / John VanDerLaan; 15) Billy Horschel / Austin Smotherman; 17) Haotong Li; 18) Trace Crowe / Patrick Fishburn / Kris Ventura; 21) Ben Kohles; 22) Marco Penge / Isaiah Salinda; 24) Ben Martin / Max McGreevy.
• Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Ben James; 2) Doug Ghim; 3) Kevin Roy; 4) Davis Thompson; 5) Chris Kirk / Jackson Koivun; 7) Zac Blair / Davis Chatfield / Max Homa; 10) Paul Peterson; 11) Cam Davis / Jackson Suber; 13) Isaiah Salinda; 14) Matt Wallace; 15) Michael Brennan / Harry Hall; 17) Aaron Wise; 18) Marco Penge / Kris Ventura; 20) Johnny Keefer; 21) Billy Horschel / Austin Smotherman; 23) Taylor Pendrith / Chad Ramey; 25) Eric Cole / Peter Malnati / Danny Walker / Kevin Yu.
• Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Aaron Wise; 2) Tony Finau; 3) C.T. Pan; 4) Chad Ramey; 5) Taylor Moore; 6) Paul Peterson; 7) David Skinns; 8) Chandler Philips; 9) Max Homa; 10) Michael Thompson; 11) Maverick McNealy; 12) Jackson Suber / John VanDerLaan / Kevin Yu; 15) Jackson Koivun / Seamus Power; 17) Matt Wallace; 18) Takumi Kanaya; 19) Ben Silverman / Danny Walker; 21) Eric Cole; 22) Luke Clanton / Austin Eckroat; 24) Beau Hossler; 25) Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Mackenzie Hughes.
• Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Ben James; 2) Jackson Suber; 3) Doug Ghim / Matt Wallace; 5) Jackson Koivun; 6) Kevin Roy; 7) C.T. Pan; 8) Marco Penge; 9) Max Homa; 10) Isaiah Salinda; 11) Michael Brennan; 12) Kevin Yu; 13) Beau Hossler / Kris Ventura; 15) Paul Peterson; 16) Chris Kirk; 17) Taylor Pendrith; 18) Harry Hall / Rico Hoey / Ben Kohles; 21) John Parry / Danny Walker; 23) Austin Smotherman; 24) Trace Crowe; 25) Billy Horschel.
• Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Matt McCarty; 2) Maverick McNealy; 3) Michael Brennan / Patrick Rodgers; 5) Brendon Todd; 6) David Ford; 7) Neal Shipley / Hayden Springer; 9) Adrien Dumont de Chassart / Brice Garnett; 11) Max Greyserman; 12) Max Homa; 13) Billy Horschel / Ben James; 15) Zach Bauchou / Mackenzie Hughes; 17) Stephan Jaeger; 18) Kihei Akina / Eric Cole / Ben Martin; 21) Tom Hoge / Kevin Yu; 23) Ben Kohles; 24) Pontus Nyholm; 25) A.J. Ewart / Kevin Streelman.
• Top 25 SG Total: 1) Ben James; 2) Matt Wallace; 3) Kevin Yu; 4) Maverick McNealy; 5) Michael Brennan / Doug Ghim / Marco Penge; 8) Zach Bauchou / Jackson Koivun / Jackson Suber; 11) Ben Kohles / Kevin Roy; 13) Max Homa; 14) Mackenzie Hughes; 15) Billy Horschel; 16) Trace Crowe / Austin Eckroat; 18) Rico Hoey / Beau Hossler; 20) Ben Martin; 21) Eric Cole / Harry Hall; 23) Chad Ramey / Hayden Springer; 25) John Parry / Chandler Phillips.

For a summary of the Strokes Gained Performances from this week’s field here at Black Desert click here.

Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the Strokes Gained Stats of the Bank of Utah Championship winners here at Black Desert gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this desert, Par 72:

Strokes Gained Tournament Trends:

• 2025, Michael Brennan (-22). SG Off the Tee: 1st, SG Approach: 24th, SG Around the Green: 27th, SG Tee to Green: 1st, SG Putting: 8th.
• 2024, Matt McCarty (-23). SG Off the Tee: 8th, SG Approach: 24th, SG Around the Green: 6th, SG Tee to Green: 7th, SG Putting: 7th.

Strokes Gained Tournament Skill Averages:

• SG Off the Tee: 5th, SG Approach: 24th, SG Around the Green: 17th, SG Tee to Green: 4th, SG Putting: 8th.

It’s only 2 renewals but statistically from a Strokes Gained perspective it’s clear that Strokes Gained Off the Tee here is critical with McCarty and Brennan gaining a combined 1.42 Strokes per round with their first shots. That’s the highest by a margin over the next best Augusta National and accounts for 36% of the total strokes gained. With 2.42 strokes gained per round Tee to Green (62%) and 1.50 Putting (38%), we can see that Black Desert to this point is a Driving and Putting contest. The Putting number is high as well, the likes of which are the sort seen at Copperhead (Valspar Championship), Memorial Park (Houston Open) and Sedgefield Country Club (Wyndham Championship).

Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the winners here gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this test:

• 2025, Michael Brennan (-22). 351 yards (2nd), 89.3% fairways (7th), 79.2% greens in regulation (12th), 73.3% scrambling (5th), 1.68 putts per GIR (16th).
• 2024, Matt McCarty (-23). 325 yards (41st), 75.0% fairways (65th), 79.2% greens in regulation (12th), 66.7% scrambling (21st), 1.63 putts per GIR (2nd).

Tournament Skill Averages:

• Driving Distance: 22nd, Driving Accuracy: 36th, Greens in Regulation: 12th, Scrambling: 13th, Putting Average 9th.

Let’s take a view from players as to how Black Desert Resort played last year and what specific skills it requires:

Michael Brennan (2025): “Yeah, I’ve been driving the ball really nicely, putting the ball in the fairway a lot, giving myself some good wedge and short iron opportunities. I’ve also made some nice mid-range putts the first two rounds, which always great to see those go in. After the double on 2 I told myself, let’s get back to even for the nine. Back nine I feel like I can get a little bit, hit a lot of drivers out there. So to be able to get to 1-under with a par-5 coming in was a really good feeling.

On 12, I did not hit driver on Thursday. The pin was kind of front left tucked over the from bunker and I figured it was going to be a pretty difficult 50, 60-yarder. I hit two good drives on Friday and Saturday. Today the course had been steadily getting a little firmer throughout the week. Had a little wind down of the left. Even to the front pin I told Jeff on the tee that I was just going to hit it really hard and I hit a good drive. I was surprised to see to get all the way down to the front of the green, but it ended up making the second shot much easier.

Yeah, it’s pretty clear where you need to hit it and where you don’t need to hit it just with the black and green contrast. The fairways are pretty forgiving, pretty wide. There is no rough, so it’s either going to be fairway or rocks basically. So just had one of those weeks where my driver went pretty straight and was able to send it and let it go and felt very confident over the driver all week.”

Max Homa (2025): “It’s a very unique golf course. There is a very small handful of very difficulty shots, and the rest are pretty turn your brain off. It fits my game really well. Not necessarily my eye, but fits my game. I hit my irons really well. Been hitting them really well. This week the greens are crazy, but I feel like that kind of let’s maybe kind of artistic on the greens, around the greens a lot of short grass I’ve been chipping well on. So it fits a lot of things. I just have to get more comfortable with the lines. There is just a couple tee shots where it’s just not 100 percent sure exact middle and left and right boundaries.

Yeah, for the most part just getting use to it. The elevation makes everything tricky. The morning is easier. It just goes back to what we normally play. But it’s a phenomenal golf course. The greens are great. I love how firm it’s getting. Been a pretty awesome, surprised I didn’t come here last year about how cool this place is.”

Matt McCarty (2024): “I hit it well. I had a few short birdie putts, which always helps. But yeah, just played solid. Hitting fairways out here is very important because if not I think you’re kind of re-teeing, so that was helpful. Yeah, just a fun day, and played really free, and I think that was helpful for sure. And growing up in Scottsdale, I think it’s helpful to be back in the desert, kind of feels like home, like the environment and everything. That’s been real nice this week for sure.

Yeah, there’s some courses in Scottsdale and Phoenix that are kind of the same thing, though. If you miss a fairway, you’re never going to find it. I think growing up with desert golf, sometimes it’s tough to get your lines off the tee and you don’t have trees lining the fairways so it’s a little tough like that, so I think that’s helpful for sure. But yeah, kind of the dry heat, a little elevation, the ball is travelling similar. I think it’s pretty similar to where we were at for the Korn Ferry in Boise this year, like same elevation, so kind of just going back to those same numbers, honestly.

There is a little kind of wind the last couple days, but I felt like for the most part it’s kind of soft. There are two drivable 4s, all the par-5s are kind of gettable. Kind of makes sense. Everybody out here is so good.”

Harris English (2024): Yeah, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, especially with the black lava rock. I haven’t played a ton of desert golf other than next week in Vegas, a little bit of Phoenix I guess you would call desert golf. So I wouldn’t say I’m used to this terrain a whole lot. For me, it’s a little more blind shots than we’re used to. You see it over in Scotland and England in the British and Scottish Opens.

You just got to pick really good lines and hit your targets, trust that you’re aiming the correct spot. For us out here on TOUR, we’re used to seeing landing areas a lot more and being able to see where the fairway starts.”

Stephan Jaeger (2024): “Yeah, you know, I started well the last couple days. It just kind of, it’s one of those golf courses when you get off to a good start, you can take your chances sometimes and be conservative on some shots. I like this golf course. You got to keep it in play, play somewhat conservative at times, and take advantage of the par-5s and short par-3s. I feel like I have done that this week.

The golf course is starting to play a little firmer. You saw on 18. I think my 7-iron bounced maybe 12 yards onto the green. You know, I think they’re let ting it get firmer for the weekend. I haven’t seen the wind so I’m not sure what the wind looks like this weekend, but definitely hit a drive through the fairway at 370, so you’ve got to slowly figure out where to hit drivers, where to lay back a little bit. Yeah, it’s just a nice golf course for sure.

Yeah, I think obviously this golf course you first of all got to hit it in between the rocks, number one. So I’ve done a good job of that. I feel like it fits me off the tee pretty well.

Some holes I can kind of be aggressive on and some we have to all lay back a little bit. From there, I am sure they’re going to tuck the pins a little bit more tomorrow. They’re a little firmer in the afternoon. Obviously late, late afternoon greens always get a little bumpy. It’s a challenge. I’m up for it. Excited for tomorrow. Yeah, hopefully I can get a good one.”

First Round Leader Analysis: First round leader(s), their wave and winning score since 2014. Full First Round Leader stats are here.

• 2025 – Lipsky/T Olesen/J Svensson All AM -6/65 – 140/1, 45/1, 70/1.
• 2024 – A Svensson – PM -11/60 – 55/1.

For the record, here’s the breakdown of pure Bentgrass green PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:

• 3 – Lucas Glover.
• 2 – Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk, K.H. Lee.
• 1 – Michael Brennan, Steven Fisk, Emiliano Grillo, Harry Hall, Lee Hodges, Max Homa, Jackson Koivun, David Lingmerth, Ben Martin, Matt McCarty, William Mouw, Taylor Pendrith, Seamus Power, Davis Riley, Kevin Streelman, Davis Thompson, Michael Thompson.

Odds and bookmaker offers correct at 12:50BST 28.9.26 but are naturally subject to fluctuation.

Steve Bamford is co-founder and part of our editorial team at Golf Betting System and he focuses mainly on the PGA Tour. Steve has been involved in the gambling industry for over 15 years and has a passion for golf as well as football, horse racing and MMA, where he has developed a deep understanding of both online and offline betting gathered through practical experience. Steve also hosts the popular Golf Betting System podcast.

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