Austin Cook took the lead despite a late start in the Black Desert at the Utah Bank Championship after hitting six birdies before a slow round was halted for darkness.
Thorbjorn Olesen, Jesper Svensson and David Lipsky each shot 6-under-par 65s on a unique course lined with red dirt and black lava rock.
Cook also was 6-under and ahead of a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th, a reach when it was too dark to continue. Afternoon tea time has been pushed back 15 minutes. The 38 athletes who did not finish the race were scheduled to resume racing in the early morning.
Cook had few complaints. He has one win on the PGA Tour and is making only his eighth start this year. He was well behind the replacement list, on the beach with his family, and planning Monday’s qualifying game.
“Saturday I went down to the first shift. I felt like I had to get on, so I drove everyone home on Sunday and flew out on Monday and got a text from the plane,” he said. Cook replaced Erik van Rooyen, who withdrew.
Olesen was also surprisingly pleased with his start. He was in Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship, after which the Dane returned to Europe to compete in the Spanish Open, to his home in Dubai, and then to Utah.
“My expectations were pretty low this morning,” Olesen said. “But I’ve been doing some recovery work over the last few days and trying to get my body ready for today.”
Olesen is ranked 116th in the FedExCup and has company on the bubble. Svensson is 115th and Lipsky is 99th.
After this week, there are only three tournaments left in the season for players to finish in the FedExCup top 100 and hold a full card for the 2026 season. The top 100 ranks are down from 125 players who retained their cards a year ago.
The group, one shot behind with a 66, included Paul Peterson, who was 2 over par through an eight-hole round before finishing with six birdies and an eagle.
In Black Desert, there are many birdie chances and many problems. Billy Horschel, who missed five months this year due to hip surgery, started with a bogey on the back nine and was 1 under par for the round until a quadruple bogey for No. 8 on the 11th hole.
He was trying to play in the desert and fell into black lava. Horschel was awarded a penalty drop and tried to balance the rock while still playing on red dirt. The shot went left of the green. He made the pitch and three-putted from just inside 20 feet.
Horschel rebounded by at least driving the 14th green to 20 feet, making an eagle putt, and then adding a 12-foot birdie on the par-3 15th. He saved 72.
Max Homa tried to get closer to the lead and was at 3 under par until a double bogey on the 13th hole. He also bounced back with a birdie on the 14th green, but lost more ground with a soft bogey on the 16th and failed to save par in a bunker on the par-3 17th. He shot even par and attempted a 27-foot birdie on the 18th to start the day Friday.
Alex Noren finished his round with a 67, 4 under par. The Swede has been sidelined until early May due to a leg injury and is trying to crack the top 100 in the FedExCup. Noren won the BMW PGA Championship in England, a flagship event on the European Tour, and was vice-captain of the European winning Ryder Cup team.
Stay tuned for live coverage of the PGA Tour’s Bank of Utah Championship on Sky Sports Golf on Saturday from 9.30pm.
