After the drama of the Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour returns with the Bank of Utah Championship.
Held at Black Desert Golf Club for the third time, the course is hugely expansive, framed by black lava.
Players missing the fairway will likely find themselves in the lava and paying the penalty for it.
However, the fairways are the widest seen on any regular PGA Tour event, with driving accuracy clearing 80% on the last two playings.
As such, players are invited to pull driver and swing away, in theory giving an advantage to longer hitters. Although Matt McCarty won the inaugural edition in 2024, Michael Brennan and Rico Hoey were the first two home last year.
That’s not to say shorter hitters can’t contend; with the course situated at altitude, balls fly further than usual, and nearly two-thirds of approach shots come from 125-200 yards, with true yardages a fair chunk less.
Fairways are easy to hit and greens too are there to be attacked, ranking as the easiest on the PGA Tour.
The challenge for players at what is a straightforward tee-to-green test comes on the putting surfaces. The large, bentgrass greens can be the undoing of players, and represent the toughest part of the assignment.
5 - Johnny Keefer
It’s been a busy year for Johnny Keefer, who’s set to play his 26th event of the season. Interestingly, Keefer has four top-25 finishes in 2026, and they’ve all been top 10s, suggesting that when he’s on, he’s on.
Keefer’s game is simple and well suited to the modern PGA Tour, long off the tee, proficient with wedges and, on his day, a good putter.
More tellingly for this week, Keefer’s best performances are coming at courses where you can bomb it indiscriminately, finishing T3 at Memorial Park and the Renaissance Club. Keefer was also T9 at TPC Craig Ranch (also designed by Black Desert designer Tom Weiskopt) where players can bash the ball about, and was T7 last time out at the Biltmore Championship.
It’s impossible to know which version of Keefer we’ll get on any given week, but Black Desert should suit him as well as anywhere else.
4 - Marco Penge
What a 12 months it’s been for Marco Penge. After a breakout year on the DP World Tour, Penge secured his PGA Tour card, relocating to Florida. His first few months garnered some solid results: A T16 at the Genesis Invitational, a T4 at the Valspar Championship and a T21 at the Valero Texas Open.
Unfortunately, health issues jeopardised Penge’s season, and from the end of April, the Englishman was restricted to just three stateside events prior to the FedExCup play-offs, with his PGA Tour card now under threat.
Penge did show some form in Europe with a T6 at the British Masters and a T18 at the European Masters, kicking off his FedEx Fall with a T10 at the Biltmore Championship a fortnight ago.
Penge was excellent across the week and should thrive at Black Desert. Played at altitude, the Bank of Utah Championship offers Penge the chance to showcase his titanic driving, and his strong record at Crans-sur-Sierre (T8, T18), Houghton GC (T19) and Muthiaga GC (T20) suggests he’s very comfortable playing well above sea level.
3 - Michael Brennan
Michael Brennan returns to Utah to defend his maiden PGA Tour title. After a superb run of form on the PGA Tour Americas which catapulted him from outside the top 400 in the world to just outside the top 100, Brennan found himself inside the top 40 with a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
In theory, the Wyndham Championship should have been the last tournament Brennan was thinking of winning, with Sedgefield all about accuracy and Brennan’s game about brute force, yet the 24-year-old landed a second PGA Tour title this August in convincing fashion after what had been a fair underwhelming debut season.
Brennan’s iron play has really clicked of late, gaining strokes in seven of his last nine starts, while he’s gained strokes putting on his of his last five outings.
Given his distance, form and the fact he won here last year, there’s no reason to think Brennan can’t go well again.
2 - Maverick McNealy
A solid if unspectacular season from Maverick McNealy resulted in nine top-20s in 21 events, and the 30-year-old has only lost strokes in three events all year. Despite his consistency, he was never particularly close to contending for events.
McNealy has nice results at altitude with three straight top-15s at TPC Scottsdale and a T10-T16 in his last two outings at TPC Summerlin.
It’s a short trip across state lines for Las Vegas resident McNealy and Black Desert should suit. Without being a bomber, McNealy can shift it off the tee and ranks 37th for driving distance on the PGA Tour this season, but it’s his putting that’s been immaculate of late, ranking second in the field for SG:P across the last eight events as per Golf Betting System.
In a weakened field, this week looks an ideal opportunity for McNealy to land a second PGA Tour title.
1 - Jackson Koivun
After shaking off what might have been some early nerves, Jackson Koivun looked right at home in a team setting at last week's Presidents Cup, and should he continue on his current trajectory, there’ll be no doubt about his place in next year’s Ryder Cup team.
If there’s anything to worry about with Koivun this week, it’s that his best work off the tee comes from his ability to keep the ball in play. Koivun isn’t a particularly long hitter, but it’s hard to see him missing many fairways at Black Desert, and his superior iron play will go a long way to making up for any lack of distance.
Koivun’s better results have come on courses demanding more accuracy, such as TPC Twin Cities and Walnut Coves as seen the week before the Presidents Cup.
Nevertheless, considering his overall calibre, Koivun looks a worthy favourite this week.
