Welcome back, golf fans. After Team USA made an amazing comeback last week at the Presidents Cup, we get back to full-field PGA Tour fall season events with the Bank of Utah Championship.
In this article, we will preview the course, look at the stats and trends that matter, and identify some of the top bets on that board this week. Let’s get started.
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The Course: Black Desert Resort
The course opened in 2023 and saw its first PGA Tour event in 2024, which now makes this the third trip to the Black Desert Resort. If you like something a little different than tree-lined courses we are used to, you are going to enjoy this week. Black Desert Resort is a desert links-style course with firm and fast conditions that plays much like TPC Scottsdale in terms of scoring, which is projected to come in the area of -18 to -21 in our projections. The fairways are very forgiving, with some of the widest landing areas of any course on tour. That has generated an extremely high driving accuracy average over 80% for the first two years of this event. That, combined with a very high driving distance average, has me lower SG: Off the Tee in my model this week. Instead, I shift that weight over to the wedge game, which should prove to be the difference maker this week. That, combined with SG: Putting and current form, makes up a large portion of my model this week.
Stats & Trends That Matter: Finding the 2026 TOURNEY NAME Champion
Jackson Koivun (+1100 Outright / +230 Top 5 / +116 Top 10)
I wasn’t a fan of the low number at the Biltmore two weeks ago, but Koivun looked terrific finishing Top 5 and looked especially good down the stretch with a 63/65 in the final two rounds. He gained strokes on approach in all four rounds, finishing 7th overall in the event and is 6th in this field in SG: Approach over the last 20 rounds. If I had to choose just one bet with Koivun this week, it would be the Top 10 bet, but I will have exposure to all three bets this week.
Ben James (+2000 Outright / +390 Top 5)
In his first start since the Wyndham Championship, James picked up right where he left off, recording his second straight Top 3 finish and third Top 5 in his last five events. While he doesn’t have enough rounds to qualify for stats yet, he would be 6th in this field in SG: Approach after gaining in all four rounds at the Biltmore Championship two weeks ago. He feels like another young gun ready to break through with his first win, and that could come as early as this week. I would also bet him each way if your book offers it. If not, a Top 5 bet at the same units is the same thing.
Jackson Suber (+3600 Outright / +310 Top 10 / +144 Top 20)
Suber hasn’t been as consistent as the two players I mentioned above, but I am loving the price this week on a player who is trending in the right direction from a form standpoint. He followed up a 22nd-place finish at the Wyndham Championship with a T15 at the Biltmore Championship to kick off the fall season. It has been the iron game leading the way for Suber as he gained strokes on approach in all four rounds at the Biltmore and seven of his last eight rounds overall. He finished T15 here last year, and I love the upside for a bigger finish this time around. I will be ladder betting Suber, starting with my favourite bet, the Top 20 finish at +144 on DraftKings.
Ben Kohles (+4800 Outright / +365 Top 10 / +164 Top 20)
I’m going right back to the well with Kohles this week after a disappointing final round at the Biltmore Championship. He was in contention to win, playing really well up to that point, and has been very consistent all season. He has made 11 of 13 cuts overall, eight straight coming into this week, and each of those finishes has been inside the Top 30. He is another player who doesn’t qualify for stats yet but would be 1st in this field in SG: Approach, 1st in Driving Accuracy, top 3 in all three of par 3, 4, and 5 scoring, and 3rd in both birdie or better % and bogey avoidance. Like Suber, I like Kohles as a ladder bet this week, starting with that top 20.
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