Organizers have promised to make the state of Utah proud this week when the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion unfolds at the new Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Washington County.
Certainly, having at least nine golfers with Utah ties in the 132-player field is a good start. The return of the PGA Tour to the Beehive State for the first time in more than 60 years is another interesting storyline to follow, as some of the best golfers in the world attack the Tom Weiskopf-designed layout near St. George.
“We are excited to have so many of the PGA Tour’s young stars as well as guys who have accomplished so much in their careers joining us,” said Patrick Manning, Black Desert Resort’s managing partner, who has been working on the event for nearly 20 years. “… We are looking forward to watching all these guys compete at Black Desert. We hope that all Utah residents will come out and enjoy a beautiful day at the tournament.”
Just bring plenty of sunscreen and water; unseasonably warm temperatures are expected to be in the low 90s, with only a little bit of cloud cover.
A Pro-Am presented by Marcella will be held Wednesday, while the tournament, the third event in the FedEx Fall Series, begins Thursday. After Friday’s second round, the field will be cut to the low 60 golfers, plus ties. The third round is Saturday and the final round Sunday, with the winner awarded a trophy designed by local employee recognition company O.C. Tanner.
The total purse is $7.5 million, with $1.35 million going to the champion.
Among the “accomplished” golfers in the field are St. George’s own Jay Don Blake, 65, who received a sponsor’s exemption and will be playing in his 500th PGA Tour event. The former Utah State two-time All-American who won the 1980 NCAA individual golf championship will compete in a PGA Tour-branded event for the first time since the 2023 Mitsubishi Electric Class in May 2023.
Also entered is former BYU standout Mike Weir, a Park City resident who won the 2003 Masters and most recently captained the International Team in the Presidents Cup in his native Canada.
Utah’s most famous golfer, PGA Tour star and former Salt Lake City resident Tony Finau, is not entered in the event, but Manning hopes the native son will play next year. Black Desert has a four-year contract with the tour to host a fall tournament.
An LPGA Tour event will be held at Black Desert in May 2025, making it the only the second course in the country to annually host events from both tours. Tiburon Golf Club in Florida is the other.
Manning told ABC4 Utah in Salt Lake City that Finau, who is a defendant in a lawsuit filed four years ago by Salt Lake City businessman and investor Molonai Hola, litigation that seeks millions of Finau’s earnings, won’t play because he has a “commitment” with one of his sons in California.
“He really wants to come,” Manning told the station. “He has reached out to others and just said, ‘Let’s pull for the Utah guys.’ I am pretty sure he will be here the following year.”
Former Arizona State golfer Kevin Yu won the tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi on Sunday, earning $1.368 million, and is in the field, along with four-time PGA Tour champions Harris English, Aaron Baddeley and Daniel Berger. Other notables include Cameron Champ, 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover and two veterans who were assistant Presidents Cup captains, Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker.
The tournament will have a heavy BYU presence, in addition to Weir.
Former Cougars Zac Blair, Patrick Fishburn and Peter Kuest are entered, along with Lone Peak High phenom Kihei Akina, who has committed to play golf for BYU. Current BYU golfer Zac Jones, Corner Canyon senior Bowen Mauss (who has committed to ASU) and Davis County Director of Golf Dustin Volk are in. Volk is the Utah PGA Section qualifier.
Fishburn shot 11-under 277 and finished tied for 48th at the Sanderson Farms Championship, while Blair failed to make the cut.
According to tournament organizers, some 1,214 volunteers will be used this week, providing more than 78,910 hours of help. There are 27 volunteer committees.
The last time the PGA Tour made a stop in Utah was in 1963; Tommy Jacobs edged Don January by a stroke in the Utah Open Invitational.
Sand Hollow Resort Golf Course in Hurricane hosted the qualifier on Monday, with four players earning entry into the tournament via that route.
