2024 Black Desert Championship Odds: Why Isn’t Utah Native Tony Finau Playing?

PGA TOUR golf odds are available at the best golf betting sites as the FedEx Fall series continues on to new heights. For the first time in over 50 years, the PGA TOUR will head to the state of Utah, with the brand new Black Desert Resort Golf Course ready to host the inaugural 2024 Black Desert Championship. Keith Mitchell, Seamus Power, and Kurt Kitayama highlight the favorites this week

Find longer golf odds to increase your potential Black Desert Championship payouts. Ahead, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the 2024 Black Desert Championship at the Black Desert Resort Golf Course

PGA TOUR GOLF ODDS: black desert CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITES

To compare golf betting outright odds in legal sports betting states, as well as other Black Desert Championship offerings, scroll to the bottom of this post. Click on the odds in the table to bet now.

black desert Championship ODDS: FIELD AT A GLANCE

The Sanderson Farms Championship set a very low bar in terms of field strength, and yet, the Black Desert Championship has managed to take that bar even lower. It’s a tough ask to get any PGA TOUR player who doesn’t have to jockey for FedEx Cup points to show up in the Fall Swing. That task becomes even more lofty when introducing a brand new event in the middle of Utah that lacks any historical significance.

That’s the cynical view. On the positive, Black Desert Resort Golf Course is an enticing, breathe of fresh air within an otherwise repetitive collection of Fall Swing birdie-fest venues. Utah may not be a regular destination for most golfers, but its mountain scenery sets the stage for a picturesque viewing experience. Players will be treated well this week too, as they’ll enjoys the fruits of a brand new, state of the art resort venue.

Chris Kirk and Lucas Glover will “headline” as the only two OWGR top-50 players making the trip to Utah. They will be joined by Keith Mitchell, Nick Taylor, Stephan Jaeger, Ben Griffin, and Erik van Rooyen as the favorites in this field of 136.

Why Isn’t Tony Finau Playing?

Utah native Tony Finau’s omission from the field is a bit of a shock to me. Finau has regularly remained active at fall swing events like the Houston Open and Worldwide Technology Championship in recent years and has built up an excellent resume on desert-style courses. Utah is more than just Tony Finau’s birthplace too, as he’s developed a tight friendship with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who he’s brought along as his caddie in the Hero World Challenge in recent years.

It’s a real shame Finau won’t be a part of this moment for Utah golf, especially if this absence is tied to the ongoing lawsuit filed against him. Utah businessman Molonai Hola claimed that in 2006, he invested $600,000 in Finau’s career in return for a promise of 20 percent of his future earnings. Hola acknowledged in court filings that there was never a written agreement. Finau’s lawyers said there was never any oral agreement.

INTRODUCTION TO Black Desert Resort Golf Course

Black Desert Resort Golf Course in Ivins, Utah is acclaimed by Golf Digest as one of (if not the) nicest course in the state. It’s unique agronomy places this stunning landscape atop a bed of black lava rock with panoramic views of Utah’s red rock mountains.

Like other desert-style courses we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in the Scottsdale, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs regions, Black Desert Resort is a firm and fast course played at elevation, which will mitigate the advantage from pure bombers and with the constant threat of natural hazards neighboring each fairway. Instead, Black Desert Resort expects to favor top total drivers who can consistently find the fairway with driver in hand.

Opening in 2023, Black Desert Resort Golf Course is a brand new venue and the last of Tom Weiskopf’s famed career before his passing. Like Weiskopf’s other better-known designs – TPC Craig Ranch, TPC Scottsdale – Black Desert Resort is not overly demanding and opens the playing field for a majority of players who can consistently keep the ball in play off the tee to contend.

How It Breaks Down

Standing 7,371 as a par-71 with four par-3s and three par-5s, Black Desert Resort will actually play considerably shorter than the scorecard suggests after accounting for elevation. At about 3,000 feet above sea level, Black Desert Resort is not quite Castle Pines, but will still give an added boost to shorter hitters in the field. For that reason, I’ll give a slight edge to players who have proven to adjust well to controlling their yardages at altitude.

It remains to be seen how Black Desert Resort will stand up against PGA TOUR competition, but with the aid of extra carry distance at elevation and the absence of penal rough or complicated greenside complexes, I am expecting another birdie fest rewarding the hottest putters and wedge players. Even as a par-71, I would expect the winning score to come in beyond 20-under par this week.

COURSE comps

With this week’s course having only just been established within the last year, we’ll need to lean primarily on presumed comp courses in lieu of any actual course history data.

Judging the course description from those who have played here and what we can ascertain from the hole-by-hole fly overs, I expect Black Desert Resort to play most similarly to TPC Summerlin. Host of the Shriners Children’s Open, TPC Summerlin, has long rewarded the best total drivers, favoring accuracy over distance. Both courses feature the same Bentgrass base throughout and are played at elevations in similar firm and fast desert conditions. Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay, and Sungjae Im have consistently played well at The Shriners, given their standout control off-the-tee and ability to catch a hot putter on Bentgrass. I expect a similar formula would set up well at Black Desert Resort.

After TPC Summerlin, I would next look at PGA West – namely the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta CC – as a very strong course comp to Black Desert Resort. Host of The AmEx, PGA West is known to be one of the biggest birdie fests of the year, a credit to its negligible rough and straightforward greens complexes. Those who have found success at The AmEx should fare will for this style of desert golf.

Beyond these top comp courses, I’ll also reference performance at TPC Scottsdale, TPC Craig Ranch, and Torrey Pines (North) for the Tom Weiskopf connection, and The Summit Club, CC of Jackson, and Port Royal as easy scoring venues that reward a similar skillset.

Combine performance across this list, and the top-10 players in Comp Course History here are Daniel Berger, Nick Taylor, Rico Hoey, Keith Mitchell, Jacob Bridgeman, Doug Ghim, Adam Svensson, Kurt Kitayama, Dylan Wu, and Patrick Fishburn.

black desert resort golf COURSE SPECS

• Yards: 7,371
• Par: 71 (4x 3’s / 11x 4’s / 3x 5’s)
• Greens: Bent
• Architect: Tom Weiskopf, Phil Smith
• Comp Courses: TPC Summerlin, The Summit Club, TPC Scottsdale, TPC Craig Ranch, CC of Jackson, Port Royal, PGA West

KEY STATS TO CONSIDER BEFORE BETTING PGA TOUR GOLF ODDS THIS WEEK

• SG: APP
• Birdies or Better Gained
• Par 5 Scoring
• Prox: 100-150
• SG: OTT / Total Driving
• SG: Putting (L36, Bent)
• Course + Comp Course History

In the spirit of brevity for the fall swing, I’ll forego the usual deep dive per individual key stat category and dive straight into the ideal combo stats I’m eying for players best suited to attack Black Desert Resort Golf Course. That optimal mix should include Birdies or Better Gained, Comp Course History, Recent Form (SG: TOT L16), SG: OTT, Prox: 100-150, and SG: P (L36, Bent). Just nine players rank above average in each stat category: Rico Hoey, Patrick Fishburn, JJ Spaun, Seamus Power, Chesson Hadley, Beau Hossler, Patrick Rodgers, Andrew Novak, and Carson Young.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Harry Hall

I’m not too picky when it comes to refining my player pool this week, considering the field is largely comprised of unproven newcomers looking to gather their footing on the PGA TOUR. The profile of the player I am looking for in an outright winner at the Black Desert Championship should enter in good recent form, have proven past results on comp courses, have familiarity with desert golf, and have proven win equity in PGA TOUR birdie fests. Looking across all those boxes, it’s Harry Hall who checks ’em all.

A UNLV graduate, Hall is plenty familiar with making altitude adjustments while playing mountain golf. He has turned that familiarity with desert-style conditions into consistent results at TPC Summerlin – my top overall comp to Black Desert Resort – with finishes of T8, T15, and T26 over three career trips to the Shriners Children’s Open.

Hall got his breakthrough win in easy birdie fest conditions this summer at the ISCO Championship, prevailing in a loaded playoff to prove he is capable of clutch shot-making when the moment calls for it. He has remained in great form ever since, with five top-25 finishes over his last seven starts. That all adds up to a pretty compelling case to back the Englishman in Utah this week!

2024 black desert CHAMPIONSHIP: PLAYER POOL AND MODEL RESULTS

With all the course-fit profiles in mind, I’m leaning early toward the below player pool. Naturally, I’m looking their way in the 2024 Black Desert Championship odds as well. I’ve broken the list down by projected pricing/odds tier for DraftKings and Underdog Fantasy golf drafts.

Model Breakdown

In my model, I’m emphasizing SG: APP, Comp Course History, Birdies or Better Gained, and Prox: 100-150, followed by a more balanced mix of SG: OTT, SG: P (L36, Bent), Par-5 Scoring, and SG: TOT (L16).

Model Favorites

Perhaps by process of elimination, it’s none other than Chan Kim who emerges in the No. 1 spot in my model this week. If nothing else, that is an indictment of how open this event should feel with the lack of an imposing favorite present, but Kim’s heightened ball-striking in the Fall Swing makes him a true model favorite. He ranks top-10 in terms of Recent Form, SG: APP, SG: OTT, and Birdies or Better Gained.

After Kim, the rest of my model’s top 10 features Keith Mitchell, JJ Spaun, Andrew Novak, Rico Hoey, Patrick Fishburn, Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Kohles, Mac Meissner, and Harry Hall.

When Black Desert Championship odds open, I’ll be looking to construct a fairly long card, spreading my exposure across longshots beyond 50-1 to combat the uncertainty of a brand new course and event. As of now, I’m eying Chris Kirk, Harry Hall, and Mac Meissner as initial leans based on current odds. Check back in later this week for more updates, and best of luck navigating the PGA TOUR golf odds for the 2024 Black Desert Championship!

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PGA TOUR GOLF ODDS Comparison table