The PGA Tour's newest tournament, the Black Desert Championship , kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 10, at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah. The inaugural Black Desert Championship is the third of eight 2024 FedEx Cup Fall events and will remain on the PGA Tour schedule for at least another four years.
Black Desert Resort (par 71) was the 93rd and final golf architecture project led by Tom Weiskopf before his passing in 2022. The brand-new facility recently opened in May 2023 and stretches 7,371 yards with massively wide fairways, sizeable Bentgrass greens, unique bumpy black lava rocks, marvelous scenery of the Utah mountains, and only two holes with water hazards. The course was more so designed for amateur golfers and vacationers rather than PGA Tour pros, as there isn't much defense to prevent the best players in the world from tearing this place apart. I'd anticipate a birdie fest with the winning score eclipsing 20-under.
The 132-player field on tap this week in Utah unsurprisingly lacks star power, as Chris Kirk and Lucas Glover are the only players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking . Keith Mitchell, Beau Hossler, Seamus Power, Stephan Jaeger, Erik van Rooyen, Kurt Kitayama, and Harris English are other notable players in the field.
Related: Black Desert Championship: Course & Field Preview, Key Stats, Odds
Let's get into my favorite bets this week at Black Desert Resort!
BEST OUTRIGHT BETS
Beau Hossler (+3000 BetRivers Enhanced)
Hossler ranks fourth in my model this week and is coming off a fantastic performance at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 29-year-old Texas alum nearly picked up his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Country Club of Jackson but was chased down by Kevin Yu and ultimately lost in a playoff. While I'm sure that defeat stung like a bad breakup, Hossler still played spectacular golf throughout the tournament and should set up nicely again this week at Black Desert Resort.
Not only does Hossler rank first among all players in the field in 'Average Finishing Position' on courses with high elevation, but he's also finished T7 twice in his career at the Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas. TPC Summerlin hosts that event and has characteristics similar to those of Black Desert Resort, as Las Vegas is only a two-hour drive from Ivins, Utah. Hossler also has two top-20 results at TPC Scottsdale (WM Phoenix Open), another desert setup designed by Weiskopf.
Hossler's ability to make birdies in bunches is another reason I fancy his chances this week, as he ranks fourth in Birdie or Better Percentage AND in SG: Putting (Bentgrass) over the past 24 rounds. I also like that he's been generating and converting on plenty of birdie opportunities recently, as he's sixth in Opportunities Gained and seventh in Bonus Putting.
Andrew Novak (+4500 BetRivers Enhanced)
Novak has made his last seven cuts dating back to the Charles Schwab Challenge in May with five top-25s during that stretch, highlighted by a T7 at the John Deere Classic for his best finish on the PGA Tour. It's also worth mentioning Novak posted a T8 in his debut at TPC Scottsdale this past February, which was his best result on Tour at the time.
Outside of a strong track record on Weiskopf designs and resort-style setups, what intrigues me the most about Novak this week in Utah is his lofty iron play over the past few months. Despite teeing it up only three times since mid-July, Novak popped for over three strokes with his approach shots in all three tournaments, including 3.1 strokes last week in Jackson. Among all players in the field, Novak ranks second in SG: Approach over the past 12 rounds and eighth in Opportunities Gained over the past 24.
Novak is another player who can make birdies by the boatload, which is necessary to contend for the trophy on Sunday afternoon. He ranks ninth in Bonus Putting and 14th in Birdie or Better Percentage over the past 24 rounds, and while the putter has been cold recently, he flashed plenty of upside throughout the regular season. During a 14-start stretch from January to July, Novak dropped strokes putting only four times and popped for over one stroke seven times.
With three consecutive outings of five or more strokes gained from tee to green, I think 45/1 odds are more than fair for Novak at Black Desert Resort.
LONG SHOT PICKS
Harry Hall (+5500 FanDuel)
Hall resides in nearby Las Vegas and plays out of TPC Summerlin as his home course, so Black Desert Resort should be a somewhat familiar track for the 27-year-old Englishman. In three career starts at the Shriners Children's Open, Hall has finished T8, T15, and T26, and I was caught off guard by his odds considering his track record at desert courses AND how well he's played in the latter half of the season.
Since earning his first PGA Tour victory at the ISCO Championship in mid-July, Hall hasn't taken his foot off the gas and been complacent with his game, which I love to see. After missing out on the PGA Tour's postseason, Hall made the trek overseas for three starts on the DP World Tour. While he missed the cut at the Irish Open, he finished inside the top 20 at the British Masters and BMW PGA Championship, two of the most prestigious events in Europe. Best known for a robust short game, perhaps even more impressive is that Hall gained 6.7 strokes from tee to green at the British Masters and 3.8 strokes at the BMW PGA.
Among all players in the field, Hall ranks fifth in Birdie or Better Percentage, sixth in SG: Putting (Bentgrass), 12th in Opportunities Gained, 14th in SG: Approach, and 14th in SG: Par-5s over the past 24 rounds. The approach and putting upside he possesses could make for a lethal combination in Utah, and with wide-open fairways throughout the course, his glaring weakness from off the tee shouldn't be as much of a problem as usual.
Pierceson Coody (+9000 BetRivers Enhanced)
Coody wasn't consistent during his rookie PGA Tour campaign but flashed his upside at the Charles Schwab Challenge (T5) and ISCO Championship (runner-up playoff loss). One of the longest drivers in the field this week, Coody should be able to utilize his best weapon often and has made noteworthy strides with his iron play in recent weeks.
After dropping strokes with his approach shots in five consecutive starts, Coody began showing signs of his turnaround at the Wyndham Championship, gaining just over one-half of a stroke to the field. His next time out at the Procore Championship in mid-September, the 24-year-old popped for a season-high 4.1 strokes with his irons. While he didn't keep that level going last week in Jackson, he did gain another 1.2 strokes in that category.
Unfortunately, just when Coody began turning things around with his irons, he suddenly lost his ability to light it up with the flat stick. After gaining strokes on the greens in seven consecutive events (six of those gains being for 2+ strokes), the Plano, Texas native has now dropped over three strokes in back-to-back events. However, Coody could bounce back massively this week, as he ranks 15th in SG: Putting (Bentgrass) over the past 24 rounds.
All statistics from the PGA Tour website or RickRunGood.com *
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