This weeks event the Black Desert Championship on the PGA Tour will be new to us all and amny of the players as they make the trip to Utah.

This is a course we have not seen before but thankfully we are not too much in the dark about what's ahead of the golfers this week.

The PGA tour has a handful of desert tracks per year so we can run form on those for clues as to who may perform here. This course also sits at altitude which means it will play slightly shorter than the advertised yardage on the scorecard.

A recent event held at altitude was the BMW Championship at Castle Pines but one that stands out as a really nice pointer is TPC Summerlin which holds the Shriners for Childrens Hospital Open.

That is a desert track above sea level so that form may provide the best clues to narrow down the field of potential winners here.

The same designer, Tom Weiskopf crafted TPC Scottsdale which holds the Phoenix Open so although this is a course we have yet to set eyes upon there is enough out there to get the requisite research to find some value.

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Black Desert Championship Tips

 

Ryan Fox at 33/1 (Seven Places)

One name stands out for me towards the top of the betting and that is Ryan Fox. The New Zealander for me, although his results may not be as good as a handful of others above him in the betting, is the golfer in this field with the highest ceiling.

That is to say that a Major victory wouldn't be beyond him at some stage and he's already shown his ability to put away big events.

A winner of the Dunhill Links as well as the BMW Championship at Wentworth goes to show you what the field will be dealing with here should he manage to get into contention. His approach play has been on fire for months now whilst last week he finally found some form with the putter again with that club deserting him since his top 25 in the Open Championship at Troon.

It really shouldn't be long before Fox is able to win on the PGA Tour and sitting 102nd in the Fedex rankings doesn't look like a true reflection of where his game is at.

He can belt the ball here with wide fairways and with a win already in the Desert in Ras Al Khaimah everything looks to have fallen into place for him to land his maiden PGA Tour title. 

1.75pts each-way R.Fox  33/1  (1/5 7) Starsports

Daniel Berger at 45/1 (Eight Places)

It was interesting to hear Daniel Berger say last week that during the Sanderson Farms Championship was the first time he felt back to full fitness.

7th place backed up those words and he played well throughout the bag. He sits 129th in the Fedex rankings which is a precarious place and he'll be seeking to drift into that top 125 and you'd have to fancy him to do so.

Berger has had two appearances at Summerlin with the most recent resulting in a top 20 finish in 2019.

His form at Scottsdale is even more eye catching during his pomp posting figures of 10-58-7-11-CUT-9.

All roads now lead to the top 125 and with solid desert form behind him I expect him to make a bold bid this week and 45/1 seems like very fair odds considering he was very bullish last week. 

1.25pts each-way D.Berger  45/1  (1/5 8) WilliamHill, 888sport

Harry Hall at 45/1 (Eight Places)

Just how much off the tee will matter here is up for debate but generally speaking on these desert type tests it's approach play and putting that hold the key given the scores needed to get into contention.

That turns my attention to Harry Hall who already has a win to his name early in the Summer. Interestingly in that playoff in the Isco Championship he beat Utah native Zac Blair and also overcoming Matthew Nesmith who has a runner up at Summerlin and two further top 10s there and at Scottsdale.

The Englishman had a successful jaunt to the DPWT where he finished 12th at the Belfry and 18th at Wentworth.

His game improves ten fold after the tee shot and that bodes well for birdie fests such as these and Hall can go close here to winning his second title of the season. 

1.25pts each-way H.Hall  45/1  (1/5 8) WilliamHill, 888sport

Kyoung Hoon Lee at 80/1 (Eight Places)

Kyoung Hoon Lee has two PGA Tour victories to his name and these Fall series events represent a big chance to add to that tally. Lee shot four rounds in the 60s last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship to finish 23rd and that looks like a solid preparation for what it to come this week.

Another four rounds in the 60s will be needed to win this for sure and Lee accomplished that last week without any aspect of his game totally standing out.

That spells to me there is a fair amount of improvement that is possible in his approach play and putting that could result in a better outcome this week.

Lee has fair form on desert tracks finishing 7th in the Shriners last year and runner up at the Phoenix Open back in 2021.

His two wins on tour both came at Craig Ranch at 25 and 26 under par so he is more than capable of the very low scores needed to win here in Utah. 

1pt each-way Kyoung Hoon Lee  80/1  (1/5 8) WilliamHill, 888sport

Finally I'll have bet on Sami Valimaki. The Finn went mighty close to landing a victory in his first season on the PGA Tour when he was 2nd in Mexico in February but it hasn't quite happened for him since.

It's no surprise his next top 10 came at Royal County Down as he has shown a tendency to play really will in the wind. His first win on tour came in Oman by the coast whilst his latest came in Qatar, another place notorious with wind.

Utah itself is famous for being a very windy state and this should really suit Valimaki.

H is putting the lights out recently which is a good sign when heading to a desert track and if he can improve his iron play this week he could be a serious challenger.

1pt each-way S.Valimaki  90/1  (1/5 8) WilliamHill, 888sport