🏜️ FEDEXCUP FALL · 2nd of 8 · $6M Purse
Black Desert Resort · Ivins, Utah
Bank of UtahChampionship.
Black Desert Resort · Par 71 · 7,421 yards · Oct 1–4, 2026 · 120-player field
Still Black Desert Championship to most bettors, officially renamed the Bank of Utah Championship for 2025 after a new title sponsorship. The course hasn't changed: lava-field terrain, 7,000-square-foot bentgrass greens, and two straight editions won at 22-under or lower by first-time PGA Tour champions. This is a birdie-fest with one real trap, exposed black lava rock lining nearly every fairway, and this page is built to separate the players who can go low from the ones who can go low and stay out of the rock.
01 — Course Overview
Black Desert Resort, two years in.
Black Desert Resort plays to a par of 71 at 7,421 yards, verified against both pgatour.com's current tournament page and the event's Wikipedia tournament record. Tom Weiskopf and Phil Smith built the course in 2023 through an ancient lava field in Ivins, Utah, at roughly 3,000 to 3,100 feet of elevation, land that plays shorter than its scorecard number in the thin desert air. The hole distribution is unusual for a Tour stop: 11 par 4s, four par 3s, and just three par 5s.
What decides the leaderboard: wide bentgrass fairways and flat, 7,000-square-foot greens make this one of the more gettable setups on Tour, Data Golf has it ranked the 9th-easiest course across its first two years, averaging -1.56 strokes to par per round. The two editions played so far were won at 23-under and 22-under. That means approach precision and putting separate the field more than raw distance does, while driving accuracy matters less for scoring than for simply staying out of the lava rock lining the corridors.
-22
2025 winning
score (Brennan)
Same course, new name — and thin course history either way
This event launched in 2024 as the Black Desert Championship and was renamed the Bank of Utah Championship for 2025 after a new title sponsorship, but it's the same course and the same venue. What hasn't built up yet is sample size: this is only the course's third PGA Tour visit, so treat any "course history" claim as directional, not proven. For the full hole-by-hole and terrain breakdown, see the
Black Desert Resort Course Guide.
02 — What Stats Matter This Week
Approach and putting decide a low-scoring week.
No full model workbook was run for this event this week, so these are directional weights built from Black Desert's physical profile (wide fairways, flat greens, altitude-shortened yardage) and public strokes-gained data, not a proprietary regression output. With winning scores of -23 and -22 in the two prior editions, the model treats this as an approach-and-putting course first, with driving accuracy mattering more for hazard avoidance than for scoring access.
Driving Accuracy (hazard avoidance)
~13%
SG: Off the Tee (distance)
~10%
Course History (2 editions only)
Thin sample
Why approach and putting, not distance
Elevation already shortens this course relative to its scorecard yardage, and the manageable Kentucky bluegrass rough rarely punishes a miss the way thick tour-standard rough would. That combination flattens the edge a pure bomber usually has. Two editions won inside 23-under says the winner is usually the player hitting the most greens and making the most putts, not the player hitting it furthest.
03 — Top 3 Course Fits
Whose stat profile fits this week.
Stat profile only, no odds or pick tiers here, that's below the gate in Section 05. These are the three players whose current strokes-gained trend best matches what Black Desert rewards.
| Player | Stat Profile | Why It Fits |
|---|
| Jackson Koivun |
6th in field, SG: App (L20 rds) |
Gained approach strokes in all four rounds at the Biltmore Championship; enters off an undefeated Presidents Cup debut |
| Billy Horschel |
+0.68 SG: App/rd (L36 rds) |
Gained strokes on approach in 9 of his last 10 starts; led the field in birdies in his 2025 start at this course |
| Jackson Suber |
SG: App gained, 7 of L8 rds |
Gained approach strokes in all four rounds at Biltmore and seven of his last eight overall, plus back-to-back top-25s |
04 — Featured Pick
This week's headline play.
Jackson Suber
The best combination of current approach form and market price in the field this week. Full odds, tier, and reasoning in the picks card below the gate.
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05 — Full Picks Card
Where the market is wrong.
Built from public strokes-gained trends and current market odds, since no proprietary workbook ran for this event this week. Jackson Koivun is the correct favorite on current form, there's little value laying a short number on a player playing this well. The edge is underneath, in the approach-form trend the market hasn't fully priced.
| Tier | Bet | Odds | Why |
|---|
| E/W WINNER |
Jackson Suber |
+3800 |
SG: App gained in 7 of last 8 rounds and all four rounds at Biltmore; back-to-back top-25s heading in |
| TOP 10 |
Jackson Koivun |
+1100 |
Correct favorite on current form (Presidents Cup, 3M Open win, T5 Biltmore); limited outright value at short odds but a strong top-10 floor |
| TOP 30 |
Billy Horschel |
+225 |
SG: App gained in 9 of his last 10 starts (+0.68/rd over his last 36); T11 here in 2025 despite two doubles and a quad |
| PROP |
Horschel & Stephan Jaeger, both Top 20 |
+800 |
Both approach-form plays paired in a single parlay for plus-money value on a course that rewards iron play |
| FADE |
Matt McCarty |
+3500 |
The 2024 inaugural champion and course-record holder, but the price leans on that name recognition, not this year's approach or putting data. Nothing in current-season strokes-gained trends puts him in the same tier as the plays above. |
Odds current as of publish and will move before Thursday's first tee time. Shop multiple books. The complete field notes and bankroll sizing publish free on the StrokesEdge Substack.
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06 — FAQ
Quick answers.
What is par at Black Desert Resort for the 2026 Bank of Utah Championship?
Par 71 at 7,421 yards, cross-checked against pgatour.com's course overview and the official tournament record. See the
Black Desert Resort course guide for the full breakdown.
Who is favored to win the 2026 Bank of Utah Championship?
Jackson Koivun, priced between +1100 (DraftKings) and +1300 (FanDuel), fresh off an undefeated Presidents Cup debut, a 3M Open win, and a T5 at the Biltmore Championship.
Was the Bank of Utah Championship previously called the Black Desert Championship?
Yes. The event launched in 2024 as the Black Desert Championship and was renamed the Bank of Utah Championship for 2025 after a new title sponsorship. It's still played at the same venue, Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah.
When is the 2026 Bank of Utah Championship?
October 1-4, 2026, at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah, the second of eight FedExCup Fall events, with a $6 million purse and 500 FedExCup points to the winner.
How low do scores usually go at Black Desert Resort?
Very low. Matt McCarty won the 2024 inaugural at 23-under (261), the course record, and Michael Brennan won in 2025 at 22-under (262). Data Golf ranks it the 9th-easiest course on Tour over its first two years, averaging -1.56 strokes to par per round.
Not financial advice. Gamble responsibly.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.