Black Desert Championship

Black Desert Championship

It was one of those weeks unfortunately where we had our head in our hands on the 72^nd hole as what looked like a great chance for a win disappeared in front of our eyes.

The villain in our piece was Keith Mitchell who having belied his previous history here to ride a hot putter to the verge of victory for us stalled down the stretch having been two clear with five to play, before three putting the final hole from 35ft feet to miss out on a play off. Basically one minute Keith had a putt to win in regulation, which agonisingly slipped by, before the next minute the 4ft come backer also slipped by and our race was run.

To add to our Sunday frustrations our 300/1 pick Brandt Snedeker who had played great all week, finished a couple of shots shy of a place after closing with a 67. Basically a week of so near yet so far.

The event itself was won by Kevin Yu who having hung in there behind Mitchell and the luckless Beau Hossler birdied the 72^nd hole to make the play off and then saw off Hossler with a birdie at the first extra hole. Great stuff from Yu no doubt but for Hossler the wait for the first win goes on.

So we dust ourselves down and move on with the third event of the Fall series, a brand new event, the Black Desert Championship. The event takes place at the Black Desert Resort GC in Ivins, Utah and represents the first PGA Tour event to be played in Utah in over 60 years.

When the announcement for the tournament was made last year it was confirmed as a four year agreement so expect to see the event on the schedule through till 2027 at least.

The field in all honesty is not great and disappointingly due to a prior family commitment with his son, Utah’s main golf star Tony Finau is unable to play.

The market is headed up by last weeks nearly man Keith Mitchell. Mitchell is then followed by Vegas resident Kurt Kitayama. This duo are then followed by Seamus Power and Chris Kirk.

COURSE

The Black Desert Resort GC is a par 71 measuring just under 7400yds. The course features three par fives and four par threes.

The course was designed by Tom Weiskopf and Phil Smith and opened in 2023. The layout features wide undulating fairways chiselled out of fields of black lava rock so expect stunning scenery!

The other course on tour designed by Weiskopf is TPC Craig Ranch host of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. In addition he was responsible for the recent redesign at the Torrey Pines North Course.

Looking at the layout I would expect the par four 14^th to be driveable and possibly the par four 5^th as they both measure around 320yds on the card. The latter though features an elevated green.

The par three 3^rd is modelled after the 6^th at Riviera and features a bunker in the middle of the green.

The greens are Bentgrass.

The main thing to bear in mind is that the course is affected by altitude as it is on average 2700ft above sea level so it will not play to its full yardage.

HISTORY

Obviously we have nothing to see here with regards to course/event history.

Where I would look for clues though is in courses played at altitude on tour and/or in the desert.

These include the CJ Cup when formerly at Nine Bridges, the CJ Cup at the Summit Club in Las Vegas and the Shriners. Both of the latter two are played about 3000ft above sea level so very comparable to this week. In addition we have the WGC Mexico played at Chapultepec from 2017 through to 2020 and most recently the BMW Championship in this years Play Off’s, which was held at Castle Pines in Colorado at 6000 feet above sea level.

Of these I would see the Shriners at TPC Summerlin as the event that could give us the best guide as not only is the course a desert course at comparable altitude levels but Las Vegas is less than a couple of hours from this weeks venue so I would expect those who have performed well there and those who base themselves there to be very comfortable here. In addition like this weeks venue TPC Summerlin is a par 71 featuring three par fives.

Finally while this week represents a first outing for PGA Tour golf in Utah in over 60yrs there is a regular Korn Ferry event held in the state, The Utah Championship presented by Zion Bank, so it could certainly be worth looking at results in this over recent years.

WEATHER FORECAST

One thing we don’t have to worry about this week is the weather! Expect wall to wall sunshine. Temperatures for the early part of the week will be extremely warm, topping 100 degrees. The good news for the players though is that as the event progresses things do cool down, relatively speaking, with the weekend showing the mid to high 80s.

Wind though does not look to be a factor.

As I always say though…this could all change!

PICKS

I have gone with five players this week as follows;

PATRICK FISHBURN – 30/1 – 1.5pts e/w 1/5 odds 1^st 8 - FINISHED MC

I will start things off this week with a fairly obvious selection in the form of Patrick Fishburn.

Fishburn as most readers will probably already know is a native of Utah and with the absence of Tony Finau from the field will be carrying the bulk of the home state hopes.

Backing a player with home ties can of course be a dangerous thing as with the extra expectations they carry it can often result in a disappointing performance.

From that point of view then I have thought long and hard about whether to risk Patrick here, particularly as he is yet to win on the PGA Tour and as the layers are not giving much away.

There are several factors that made me come down in his favour in the end though. Firstly in addition to the fact that Fishburn is from Utah we have the fact that the rest of the field will be seeing this layout for the first time, whereas Fishburn knows it well. Add in his obvious experience at playing at altitude and you have to think his advantage will be heightened compared to the normal guy teeing it up with local ties.

Furthermore if we look at Patrick’s best performances this year we will see that one of them came at altitude when he was third at the Barracuda in the summer while he was also third on the West Coast at the Procore a couple of starts ago.

Furthermore we can take huge encouragement in his ability to perform in front of the home fans from his runner up finish in the Korn Ferry event in Utah in 2022.

Patrick started life slowly on the PGA Tour however since the middle of July he has found a rich vein of form posting three top tens and another top 20 in six starts so his confidence should be high. Last week meanwhile he ticked over nicely at the Sanderson’s where perhaps with one eye on this week he finished 48^th.

Having listened to a couple of interviews with Patrick heading in to this week he seems a confident character who is very much looking forward to playing in front of home fans and I’ll take a chance and side with him to thrive.

MATT McCARTY – 50/1 – 1pt E/W – 1/5 odds 1^st 8 - FINISHED 1st!!!

Next up this week I will take a chance on Matt McCarty.

McCarty landed on the PGA Tour as a result of a three win streak over a golden month from July through to August on the Korn Ferry, which landed him battlefield promotion.

Making his maiden start in a regular PGA Tour event last week Matt acquitted himself well enough particularly as he was in featured group coverage on Thursday and although he stalled after making the cut he banked a cheque finishing 63^rd so he won’t be too disheartened I’m sure.

Nothing spectacular to start off his PGA Tour career then however what really interests me about Matt this week is that all the signs point to this being a test that should be very much to his liking.

Firstly as a native of Arizona I would expect McCarty to be very comfortable in desert conditions. Looking then at his results on the Korn Ferry Tour and he was runner up in Utah this summer and also fifth at altitude in Colorado. Granted these results came when he was in great form but if we go back to 2023 he was 12^th in Utah when struggling for form coming in to the week.

Ranked first on the Korn Ferry this year on the greens Matt actually struggled last week on the dance floor in Jackson losing strokes. This week though on what I expect to be surfaces far more to his liking hopefully he will put that right.

In addition encouragingly his iron play was solid last week as he ranked 43^rd in approach gaining strokes, while he was third in accuracy off the tee and 18^th in GIR.

One of the challenges that rookies on tour face of course is getting to know the tracks, however this week Matt finds himself on an even keel on this front with the field. With winning breeding winning then I am happy to chance Matt to strike once more in conditions, which really should suit him.

KH LEE – 90/1 – 1pt E/W – 1/5 odds 1^st 8 - FINISHED 46th

Next up I have to be honest I was staggered to see the odds on offer on KH Lee this week and I am more than happy to jump on board.

A two time winner on Tour both at the Byron Nelson, it has, it must be said, been a tougher year for Lee and after a couple of top tens in Florida in the spring he struggled through the summer before withdrawing two weeks running, firstly due to the birth of his child at the Scottish Open and then with a back issue at the Barracuda.

Since then though KH appears to have turned a corner posting a ninth place at the 3M Open, making the cut at the Wyndham and then playing nicely at the Sandersons to finish 23^rd ranking eighth off the tee for the week. Furthermore he rounded out his week in Jackson by playing his back nine on Sunday in a bogey free 5- under so he should have some good confidence to bring to Utah.

Moving on to this week and there is plenty in Lee’s profile to think the test he will face will be to his liking.

Firstly a look at his desert form shows us he was seventh at the Shriners last year when in no great form coming in and 14^th there in 2021. Meanwhile he was also 25^th at the CJ Cup at the Summit Club in 2021 in, in far greater company than we have this week. Furthermore in 2021 KH was runner up in the desert in Scottsdale at the Waste Management at another par 71, so it is clear to me that he enjoys desert golf.

Finally, while I admit there on paper will be no great correlation between the tracks, it certainly can’t do any harm that both of the Korean’s wins on tour came at TPC Craig Ranch, another Weiskopf design.

In afield with plenty of non-winners and guys struggling to keep there card KH arrives as a proven winner with plenty of big performances on his resume in far stronger fields than this and in no real danger of losing his card. From that point of view then if he can build on his recent up tick in form he could make a mockery of his odds and be right in the hunt come Sunday.

MATTHEW NESMITH – 125/1 – 1pt E/W – 1/5 odds 1^st 8 - FINISHED MC

Next cab off the rank for me is Matthew NeSmith.

It’s been a poor 2024 for NeSmith and he currently sits at 130^th in the Fedex Fall needing some big performances to find his way in to the top 125.

After managing nothing better than 24^th all year though Matthew found some mojo at the ISCO event in July where he finished second, losing out in a play-off to Harry Hall, while he then followed that up with a ninth place finish at the 3M.

A couple of missed cuts then followed at the Wyndham and the Procore, however last week at the Sandersons while he was only 48^th there was plenty to like in some of his numbers in that he ranked fifth in approach play, sixth in Driving Accuracy and second in GIR. The putter also cooperated reasonably well. From that point of view then it was hugely encouraging to see his iron play, normally his strength but an issue this year, firing on all cylinders.

Encouraging signs as I say then but the real clincher for me here is Matthew’s liking for TPC Summerlin where he has posted four top 18 finishes in five starts including a runner up in 2022 and an eighth a couple of years prior. Furthermore he has a seventh place in the Waste Management in 2021 to his name when in no form at all coming in.

An East Coast guy through and through you wouldn’t expect NeSmith to be a big fan of desert golf however for whatever reason he clearly is and I’ll chance that he brings his strong iron play from Jackson across country to Utah and produces a big week.

MARTIN LAIRD – 125/1 – 1pt e/w 1/5 odds 1^st 8 - FINISHED MC

Finally to wrap up its back to our old desert friend Martin Laird.

As longer term readers will know Laird will always be a player close to our hearts as he landed the spoils for us at his most recent win at the Shriners in 2020 at a whopping 250/1.

With the exemption for that win now having ran out though Martin is battling once more to keep his card and he currently sits 146^th in the Fedex Fall standings. As such he needs a couple of strong weeks to remain in the top 150 never mind finding his way in to the top 125.

100% focused then on a big Fall series then you would assume, Martin will know that this next fortnight represents on paper a big opportunity for him to make a push as next week we return to Vegas, while this weeks desert challenge should also be right up his street.

Expanding on this further and the reason of course we were on the Scot in Vegas four years ago is that time and again he has shown himself as a desert specialist.

A winner at the Shriners back in 2009 as well as in 2020 Laird also finished second here in 2010. In addition the Scot has posted numerous other top ten finishes across the WMPO and Barracuda over the years finishing third at the latter event in 2022.

Laird originally attended college in Colorado before basing himself in Phoenix for many years so it is totally understandable that he is comfortable in both the desert and playing at altitude so this weeks test really should be ideal for him.

With regards to current form there have definitely been signs of promise in the two Fall events to date as he followed a 47^th at the Procore with a 48^th at the Sandersons, where significantly after opening with rounds of 57 and 65 he ranked 21^st for the week in approach play and 5^th in good old fashioned GIR.

Back in what should be ideal conditions for him I’ll take Martin to push on from last week and shine in the desert once more.