Bank of Utah Championship 2025 Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds

Bank of Utah Championship 2025 Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds:

After a week off, the PGA Tour resumes the FedExCup Fall in Utah with the Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort.

Just two of the OWGR top 20 players are here this week with No. 19 Maverick McNealy (14-1) and No. 17 Alex Noren (18-1), who has won twice on the DP World Tour in the last nine weeks. 

Michael Thorbjornsen (18-1) was third two weeks ago to Xander Schauffele at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan. 

Kurt Kitayama (20-1), Davis Thompson (22-1), Kevin Yu (25-1), Jason Day (25-1), Rico Hoey (30-1) and Thorbjørn Olesen (30-1) make up the second group in the market.

Matt McCarty (35-1) is the defending champion of last year’s inaugural event at Black Desert. 

The odds for the rest of the field are courtesy of OddsChecker. 

The Field

132 players will tee it up this week at the Bank of Utah Championship. 

The Course

The Black Desert Resort is a new facility built in Ivins, Utah. Set 120 miles northeast of Las Vegas near St. George, Ivins sits 3,100 feet above sea level and is part of the Greater Zion region. Black Desert is Tom Weiskopf’s (along with design partner Phil Smith) 93rd and final golf course design before his death in 2022. Black Desert Resort is owned by Reef Capital Partners, which is in the second year of a four-year deal to host the PGA Tour and hosted the LPGA earlier this year. 

The course is a par-71 layout that measures 7,421 yards. It is sculpted through a lava field, and the exposed course is framed by black lava rock islands and a few large white sand bunkers.

Black Desert plays at 3,100 feet of elevation and there are some moderate elevation changes throughout the course, which occasionally creates blind shots off the tee. While the fairways are very generous, there are bunkers and rock formations do encroach on the landing areas. However, there is little Kentucky Bluegrass rough (two inches).

The Bentgrass greens are firm and undulating but are also large (7,000 square feet) and will play at an average 12 on the stimpmeter this week.

Water only comes into play on three holes. The three par-5s are all reachable in two and there is a drivable par-4 on each nine – the 320-yard fifth and the 322-yard 14th. However, there are three 500+ yard par-4s on the back nine.

There is a hole-by-hole flyover playlist on YouTube. 

Comparable courses include TPC Scottsdale and TPC Craig Ranch (both Weiskopf designs), El Cardonal at Diamante, Vidanta Vallarta, Summit Club and Shadow Creek, and TPC Summerlin, the latter three all Vegas courses not too far from Black Desert Resort. 

Weather

Per AccuWeather, conditions look ideal this week in Utah for this week’s event. 

Bank of Utah Championship Recent History

2024: Matt McCarty (-23/261); 66-1

Statistical Analysis

Matt McCarty won the inaugural event last year at 23 under. There were 12 rounds of 63 or better here during last year’s tournament.

Birdie Or Better Percentage (2025 PGA Tour season)

1. Michael Thorbjornsen 25.20%
2. Taylor Montgomery 24.90
3. Jesper Svensson 24.74
4. Kurt Kitayama 24.68
5. Kevin Yu 24.38
6. Hayden Springer 24.17
7. Danny Walker 24.13
8. Alex Smalley 23.90
9. Davis Thompson 23.54
10. Isaiah Salinda 23.50
11. Karl Vilips 23.25
12. Rico Hoey 23.21
13. Matt McCarty 23.18
14. Kevin Roy 23.04
15. Trey Mullinax 23.02

While Black Desert proved to be easy to gain strokes on approach (sixth easiest in 2024 on the PGA Tour) due to the massive greens, players still cannot miss here on the short side and have to find the proper quadrants.

Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)

1. Henrik Norlander 0.656
2. Ben Kohles 0.626
3. Rico Hoey 0.584
4. Doug Ghim 0.521
5. Victor Perez 0.491
6. Antoine Rozner 0.464
7. Thomas Rosenmueller 0.436
8. Lee Hodges 0.432
9. Ryan Gerard 0.408
10. Zac Blair 0.385
11. Kurt Kitayama 0.359
12. Andrew Putnam 0.341
13. Kevin Yu 0.339
14. Emiliano Grillo 0.321
15. Mac Meissner 0.316
16. Greyson Sigg 0.307

The Bentgrass greens at Black Desert are large, so they are easy to hit in regulation, but they are also easier to three-putt. Black Desert was also the fourth-toughest course on the PGA Tour last year to gain strokes putting. 

Strokes Gained: Putting — Average Per Round — Bentgrass Greens (Last 50 rounds — Minimum 12)

1. William Mouw 0.67 (17 rounds)
2. Takumi Kanaya 0.60 (40 rounds)
3. Brandt Snedeker 0.54
4. Taylor Montgomery 0.49
5. Adam Hadwin 0.46
6. Martin Laird 0.46
7. Kris Ventura 0.46 (40 rounds)
8. Pierceson Coody 0.44 (39 rounds)
9. Dylan Wu 0.43
10. Alex Noren 0.40
11. Thorbjørn Olesen 0.40
12. Vince Whaley 0.39
13. Maverick McNealy 0.38
14. Justin Lower 0.38
15. Adam Schenk 0.33
16. Beau Hossler 0.33

Three-Putt Avoidance Percentage (2025 PGA Tour season)

1. Braden Thornberry 1.47%
2. Kevin Roy 1.63
3. Chad Ramey 1.77
4. Emiliano Grillo 1.83
5. Beau Hossler 1.90
6. Vince Whaley 1.92
7. Mark Hubbard 1.94
8. Jeremy Paul 1.94
9. Cristobal Del Solar 1.98
10. Brandt Snedeker 1.98
11. Jason Day 2.01
12. Paul Peterson 2.03
13. Andrew Putnam 2.04
14. Frankie Capan III 2.14
15. Aldrich Potgieter 2.16

The Scrambling percentage rate here last year was just 56%, which is almost three percent under the current PGA Tour average.

Scrambling (2025 PGA Tour season)

1. Matteo Manassero 70.42%
2. Takumi Kanaya 68.13
3. Andrew Putnam 66.76
4. Mac Meissner 65.31
5. Brice Garnett 65.10
6. Vince Whaley 64.69
7. Taylor Montgomery 64.38
8. Ricky Castillo 63.97
9. Matt Wallace 63.79
10. Alex Smalley 63.74
11. Sam Ryder 63.73
12. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 63.69
13. Lee Hodges 63.56
14. Greyson Sigg 63.25
15. Patrick Rodgers 63.10
16. Kaito Onishi 63.03

The fairways are wide here at Black Desert, and it is easy to gain strokes off the tee (fourth easiest last year). Total Driving takes into account both Driving Distance Ranking and Driving Accuracy Ranking. 

Total Driving — Driving Distance Rank + Driving Accuracy Rank (2025 PGA Tour season)

1. Rico Hoey 55 (41 + 14)
2. Michael Thorbjornsen 69 (7 + 62)
3. Thomas Rosenmueller 75 (24 + 51)
4. Alex Smalley 78 (46 + 32)
5. Kevin Yu 81 (33 + 48)
6. Kevin Roy 91 (57 + 34)
7. Isaiah Salinda 102 (23 + 79)
8. Steven Fisk 104 (20 + 84)
9. Luke List 106 (31 + 75)
10. Kris Ventura 106 (18 + 88) 
11. Davis Thompson 111 (76 + 35)
12. Ricky Castillo 114 (24 + 90)
13. Thorbjørn Olesen 115 (59 + 56)
14. Lee Hodges 119 (88 + 31)
15. William Mouw 120 (37 + 83)
16. Emiliano Grillo 123 (110 + 13)
17. Victor Perez 123 (81 + 42)
18. Noah Goodwin 124 (96 + 38)

The bulk of approach shots will come anywhere from 150 to 200 yards. 

Average Proximity Ft Gained Per Round — 150 to 175 Yards (Last 50 rounds)

1. Ben Kohles 11.18
2. Davis Thompson 10.70
3. Matteo Manassero 7.66
4. Sam Ryder 7.49
5. Rico Hoey 7.45
6. Karl Vilips 7.32
7. Tom Hoge 7.22
8. Thomas Rosenmueller 7.11 (45 rounds)
9. Ben Silverman 6.05
10. Harrison Endycott 5.43
11. Ryan Gerard 5.24
12. Brice Garnett 5.04
13. Henrik Norlander 4.73
14. Francesco Molinari 4.64
15. Maverick McNealy 4.28
16. Doc Redman 4.25
17. Luke Clanton 4.12
18. Kris Ventura 4

Average Proximity Ft Gained Per Round — 175 to 200 Yards (Last 50 rounds)

1. Antoine Rozner 12.44
2. Carson Young 10.58
3. Joel Dahmen 10.22
4. Henrik Norlander 10.11
5. Rafael Campos 9.20
6. Karl Vilips 9.06
7. William Mouw 8.83 (48 rounds)
8. Luke Clanton 8.62
9. Matt McCarty 8.17
10. John Pak 8.13
11. Thomas Rosenmueller 7.13 (45 rounds)
12. Kurt Kitayama 6.83
13. Will Gordon 6.09
14. Davis Thompson 5.98
15. Adam Svensson 5.91
16. Sam Ryder 5.58
17. Matthew NeSmith 5.24
18. Rico Hoey 5.22
19. Dylan Wu 5.21
20. Andrew Putnam 5.15

Black Desert played as the sixth-easiest course on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Total Strokes Gained — Easy Courses (Last 50 rounds)

1. Maverick McNealy 62.3
2. Alex Noren 49.5
3. Kevin Yu 48.2
4. Kevin Roy 47.4
5. Doug Ghim 45.5
6. Lee Hodges 41.1
7. Luke Clanton 40.8 (37 rounds)
8. Kurt Kitayama 37.6
9. Alex Smalley 33.9
10. Michael Thorbjornsen 33
11. William Mouw 29.9 (33 rounds)
12. Davis Thompson 26.4
13. Stephan Jaeger 26.4
14. Takumi Kanaya 25.7 (46 rounds)
15. Steven Fisk 25.5 (37 rounds)
16. Vince Whaley 24.9
17. Mark Hubbard 22.6
18. Billy Horschel 22.4

Selections

Sahith Theegala (50-1, Circa Sports)

It has been a lost season for Theegala as he battled an oblique injury for most of the year. 

He was on the periphery of the top 10 in the OWGR but has fallen to No. 85 because of missed injury time. 

Theegala returned for the Procore in September and finished 38th, followed by a 27th in Japan at the Baycurrent Classic. 

He also recently just got engaged, so he is in a good frame of mind coming into this event, and his game should fit on this wide, undulating layout. 

Mac Meissner (55-1, BetMGM)

Meissner posted his career-best finish on the PGA Tour in August with a runner-up at the Wyndham Championship. 

After a tough early part of the summer, he has made three straight cuts. 

He finished fourth last year at the Barracuda Championship in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area, so he is a proven low scorer at altitude. 

William Mouw (55-1, Circa Sports)

Mouw won the ISCO Championship in Kentucky this summer for his first PGA Tour victory, so he has locked in a two-year exemption and now is just trying to move up the rankings to earn spots in majors and “Signature” events. 

He seems to have a liking for golf in this area of the country from his time on the Korn Ferry Tour with a second in Kansas (Crestview CC A-1/A-4 Bentgrass greens), fourth in Utah (Oakridge CC) and second in Idaho (Hillcrest CC – Bent Poa Annua greens).

Patrick Fishburn (66-1, BetRivers)

Fishburn was born in Ogden and played his collegiate golf at BYU in Provo, so this could be the perfect place to lock in his PGA Tour card for next year, as he is barely inside the Top 100 (95th) in the FedExCup point standings.

After a shaky spring 2025 season, Fishburn has made eight consecutive cuts, including top-10s at the ISCO and Wyndham Championships. 

He closed out 2024 with two top-12 finishes and was T-6 at the Sony Open in Hawaii to start 2025, so he has played his best golf on the PGA Tour this time of year. 

Taylor Montgomery (75-1, DraftKings)

Montgomery tore muscles in both shoulders last year but was able to keep his PGA Tour card through the end of 2025, having fulfilled the obligations of his Major Medical Extension.

Now at 130th in the FedExCup standings, Montgomery can get into the Top 125 to keep conditional PGA Tour status or get into the Top 100 to keep his full card. 

He finished second at the Utah Championship in nearby Ogden at the end of July on the Korn Ferry Tour and was T-6 in his last start three weeks ago at the Sanderson Farms Championship. 

Thomas Rosenmüller (90-1, BetMGM)

The German rookie earned his spot on the PGA Tour through his performance on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024. Now he is trying to stay there and needs to get going with his current No. 160 standing in the FedExCup (top 100 keep full status). 

He has made six consecutive cuts and is up near the top of this field for Total Driving, Strokes Gained: Approach and in the Proximity buckets. 

Rosenmüller finished fifth at the Utah Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour last year at Oakridge in nearby Ogden, so he should like Black Desert at altitude.