VINS, Utah — Adam Svensson made a 35-foot putt he thought he missed and closed with a birdie putt for a career-best 11-under 60, giving him a two-shot lead Thursday at the Black Desert Championship. as the PGA Tour returns to Utah for the first time in 61 years.
Black Desert Resort had a great day making its debut with a Tom Weiskopf design that cuts through an ancient field of black mud and is surrounded by red rock mountains about 30 miles from Zion National Park.
Svensson and many others have made short course work under ideal scoring conditions.
Henrik Norlander hit all 14 fairways and all 18 greens in posting a career-low 62. He is joined by Korn Ferry Tour student Matt McCarty, who has an eagle on the reachable par 4 fifth.
Svensson then arrived in the afternoon and made seven birdies in 10 holes before finishing with a flourish.
The Canadian opted to lay on the fifth — accessible par 4s are a signature of the late Weiskopf in his golf course designs — and made an 8-footer. Then came his 35-foot eagle on the par-5 seventh to take the lead.
“I thought it was going to go left and it went right and it went in,” said Svensson. “You have to be a little lucky here and there. But overall I played very well.”
He saved an 8-footer on the par-3 eighth and then went up and down from the bunker with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth.
“It’s one of those cycles where everything comes together,” Svensson said.
It was the second week in a row during the FedEx Cup Fall portion of the PGA Tour that a player shot 60. David Skinns missed a 10-foot putt with a 59 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Svensson would have needed an eagle on his final hole in a round of 60-under, but he found a place to stay. He didn’t even know 59 was playable because he thought Black Desert Resort was a par 72.
“I didn’t think about it, really,” he said.
The opening round couldn’t finish before dark in southwestern Utah. Among those who did not finish was 65-year-old Jay Don Blake, a Utah native and one-time PGA Tour winner who was given the opportunity to play in his 500th PGA Tour event.
Blake grew up about half a mile from the resort where it was an ancient mud pit. He was 3-plus to 15 years old.
Norlander couldn’t have asked for much more. He hit all 14 fairways and all greens in posting his best round on the PGA Tour.
“I think everyone on this tour if they play well, all the courses will be good for them, and vice versa,” said Norlander. “I really like it here. It’s a fun course, lots of opportunities, but you have to hit good shots because the greens are hard, and you have to get them in the right parts to play well.”
McCarty began his year on the Korn Ferry Tour and won three times, earning an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour. He had to wait until FedEx Cup Fall to start, and this is his second tournament.
Kevin Streelman had a 64, and the 65 group included Ben Kohles, who had a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, which played 130 yards with the front pin and backstop. Few other players came within inches of the ace.
Other 65s since the start of the tournament include Houston Open winner Stephen Jaeger and Harry Hall, who won the ISCO tournament in Kentucky. That win didn’t get Hall at the Masters because it was held the same week as the Scottish Open.
The Black Desert Championship comes with an invitation to the Masters. The main focus this time of year is finishing in the top 125 to secure a full PGA Tour card for 2025.
Norlander came to Utah with the No. 131, so this could be a big week for the 37-year-old Swede.
I’d be lying if I didn’t think about it,” said Norlander. “But I really tried all year to do a better job of hitting one shot at a time. I know it’s boring, but I feel like I’m getting better at it, and I need to keep getting better at it.”
Source link
