After the President’s Cup last week, the PGA Tour returns to the Black Desert Resort in Zion, Utah at one of the coolest fall season spots on the schedule for the Bank of Utah Championship. Let’s hit a winner here!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd9tyBwJvbL/?stkn=aWh3eTJxeDhucmZr
Course Breakdown
Par 71, 7421 yards, resort course that was the easiest on tour last year, course was just opened in 2023, at elevation over 3000 feet above sea level so it should play about 5% shorter, all three Par 5s are reachable in two and two Par 4s are drivable, all four of the Par 3s are pretty short, 30+ yard wide fairways that are very easy to hit, very little rough which is just 2 inches, 50 bunkers that shouldn’t play much of a factor, water only in play on three holes, if golfers miss the fairway wildly there’s lava rock native areas with sand and brush in play that could be very difficult to get out of if you even can, very large bentgrass greens without much undulation and slope with some runoff areas and tiers, weather and wind are the only true defenses of this course, should be a birdiefest again
Tournament Notes
- This is the third year that this course has hosted this tournament
Key Stats
Approach, SG: OTT, Birdie+ Gained
Field
132 golfers – Pretty weak field strength
Defending Champion: Michael Brennan (-22)
Runner Up Last Year: Rico Hoey (-18)
Players
Jackson Koivun: 10800: +1435 – Easily the best golfer in the field, this kid’s going to be a great player after being the top ranked amateur golfer ever, got his debut win this year at the 3M Open in just his third PGA Tour event since becoming a pro and made the FedEx Cup Playoffs, 5,24,29,31,1,10,MC,23,4,5,6,11,MC,48,56,MC,52 finishes in PGA Tour events both as a pro and an amateur, first time playing this event, 1st in Approach, 11th in SG: OTT, 12th in Good Drives Gained, 7th in Par 3 Scoring, 2nd in Par 4 Scoring, 13th in Par 5 Scoring, 25th in SG: ARG, 33rd in Putting, 14th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 3rd in Birdie+ Gained
Michael Brennan: 10200: +1700 – Defending champion this week after a fantastic ballstriking week to win last year not losing strokes in any facet of his game in his only time here, hasn’t played since the BMW Championship, played really well late in the year including his win at the Wyndham Championship, 10,42,1,15,24,53,52,33,43,MC,6 finishes in his last eleven events, 12th in Approach, 3rd in SG: OTT, 43rd in Good Drives Gained, 1st in Par 3 Scoring, 13th in Par 4 Scoring, 37th in Par 5 Scoring, 111th in SG: ARG, 20th in Putting, 5th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 12th in Birdie+ Gained
Ben James: 9900: +1850 – He’s playing fantastic his last few events with back to back T3 finishes and was solo second a couple weeks ago at the Biltmore Championship, 2,3,38,MC,4,15,62,23,54 finishes his last nine events, first time playing this event, 16th in Approach, 18th in SG: OTT, 30th in Good Drives Gained, 10th in Par 3 Scoring, 6th in Par 4 Scoring, 9th in Par 5 Scoring, 41st in SG: ARG, 22nd in Putting, 50th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 8th in Birdie+ Gained
Doug Ghim: 9500: +2250 – Very good tee to green and improved late in the season, elite off the tee, 17,19,15,MC,MC,6,15,28,31,19,30,MC,40,26,MC,59,MC,55,6,13,31 finishes in his last 21 events, finished T63 his only time here last year, 20th in Approach, 2nd in SG: OTT, 7th in Good Drives Gained, 13th in Par 3 Scoring, 1st in Par 4 Scoring, 24th in Par 5 Scoring, 20th in SG: ARG, 52nd in Putting, 4th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 2nd in Birdie+ Gained
Jackson Suber: 9300: +3200 – Playing great golf late in the year (beside the US Open where his game was a disaster and missing the cut at the 3M) and kept popping on leaderboards, has played better in weak field events, finished T15 his first time here last year, 15,22,50,MC,28,6,30,MC,4,67,4,19,MC,28,MC,MC,63,70,MC,51,MC,11,15 finishes in his last 23 events, 13th in Approach, 29th in SG: OTT, 16th in Good Drives Gained, 6th in Par 3 Scoring, 24th in Par 4 Scoring, 7th in Par 5 Scoring, 16th in SG: ARG, 73rd in Putting, 29th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 4th in Birdie+ Gained, I was inside the ropes with him last year at the RBC Canadian Open where he was great ballstriking (played great there this year too)
Kevin Yu: 9200: +3500 – Pops in my model and hasn’t lost strokes since July in any facet of his game, 24,4,31,16,24,MC,15,29,35,MC,53,7 finishes in his last twelve events, finished T15 in his only time here last year, 27th in Approach, 10th in SG: OTT, 25th in Good Drives Gained, 43rd in Par 3 Scoring, 3rd in Par 4 Scoring, 27th in Par 5 Scoring, 42nd in SG: ARG, 34th in Putting, 14th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 1st in Birdie+ Gained
Ben Kohles: 7800: +5400 – Played really well in weak fields late in the season and popped on some leaderboards, was at the top of the leaderboard a few weeks ago but crumbled on Sunday to fall to T15 at the Biltmore Championship, finished T20 in his only time here last year, 15,29,26,9,15,3,23,29,MC,MC,31,42,34,61,63,20 finishes in his last 18 events, 2nd in Approach, 33rd in SG: OTT, 2nd in Good Drives Gained, 3rd in Par 3 Scoring, 5th in Par 4 Scoring, 25th in Par 5 Scoring, 49th in SG: ARG, 37th in Putting, 9th in Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet, 4th in Birdie+ Gained
Model
Approach (25%)
SG: OTT (10%)
Good Drives Gained (10%)
Par 3 Scoring (5%)
Par 4 Scoring (10%)
Par 5 Scoring (5%)
SG: ARG (5%)
Putting (10%)
Opportunities Gained inside 15 feet (5%)
Birdie+ Gained (15%)
Stats based on past 36 rounds
Bets
Outrights
1u Jackson Koivun (+1435)
.6u Michael Brennan (+1700)
.6u Ben James (+1850)
.5u Doug Ghim (+2250)
.4u Jackson Suber (+3200)
.3u Kevin Yu (+3500)
.2u Ben Kohles (+5400)
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