It may not be crunch time yet, but for those chasing a PGA Tour card for 2026, opportunities to earn one are starting to run out.

This week's Bank of Utah Championship ‒ known as the Black Desert Championship during its inaugural campaign in 2024 ‒ is one of those remaining few spots. It's the fourth of seven tournaments on the FedEx Cup Fall series.

The first day of action is in the books. We'd normally say the first round is over after one day, but they didn't complete the first round due to darkness. Get caught up below.

Bank of Utah Championship 2025 leaderboard

Keep tabs on the scores over all four days with the Bank of Utah Championship leaderboard. You can also see tee times for the tournament. Here's how the top of the leaderboard looked at the end of Thursday:

Position Name Score Hole
T1 Thorbjorn Olesen -6 F
T1 Jesper Svensson -6 F
T1 David Lipsky -6 F
T1 Austin Cook -6 13

First round suspended due to darkness

The field of 120 couldn't get around Black Desert Resort with the available sunlight as the first round was suspended due to darkness a little after 6:47 p.m. local time (8:47 p.m. ET). The first round will resume at 8 a.m. and the second round will begin as scheduled, with the first second-round tee time set for 6:55 a.m. local time (9:55 a.m. ET). There are 38 golfers who need to finish their first rounds. One golfer, Lanto Griffin, withdrew.

And now Kevin Yu has gotten it to 6 under at Bank of Utah

Yu is the fifth golfer on Thursday to get to 6 under and tie for the lead. He's through 15 holes and should finish his round but there are many others who may not. The 120 man field saw a 15-minute delay for the afternoon wave tee times due to slow play around the golf course.

Austin Cook makes it a four-way tie for the lead

Late in the day Thursday, Cook got it to 6 under to forge a four-way tie atop the leaderboard. But, Cook has only played 10 holes so with a little less than two hours till darkness, he has a chance to gain a few more strokes on the field and hold the solo lead after 18 holes.

Also worth mentioning, he was No. 204 in the FedEx Cup Fall series points standings at the start of the day but his projected standing is now 96th. He has a lot of golf left but that's a meteoric rise for someone who probably thought getting inside the top 100 for 2026 was a long shot.

Billy Horschel has a wild scorecard going at Bank of Utah

Horschel, on the comeback trail after surgery, has a little bit of everything on his Thursday scorecard. He opened bogey-birdie-double bogey before back-to-back pars. He then had three birdies over his next four holes to make the turn in 1-under 35. But he bogeyed the 10th and had a quad 8 on the par-4 11th. After a pair of pars, he made an eagle on the par-4 11th when he drove the green to 21 feet and made his putt.

If you're counting all that up, he has made eagle, birdie, par, bogey, double bogey and quadruple bogey. A triple bogey and an ace would certainly complete things.

David Lipsky makes it a three-way tie for the lead

Lipsky shot the third 65 of Thursday and joined the fun at the top of the board. Lipsky had the most dramatic way of getting there, though by eagling the par-5 closing hole.

Lipsky was 99th in the FedEx Cup Fall series standings but gave himself some breathing room in the race to the top 100. He's up 44 spots to No. 55.

Meanwhile, his co-leaders, for now, have each vaulted inside that top 100 threshold, a number needed to secure 2026 PGA Tour playing privileges. Olesen was No. 116 and is now projected at No. 62. Svensson was No. 115 and he's also up 54 spots. He finds himself at No. 61.

Isaiah Salinda is another one who, again, for now has moved inside the top 100. He started the week No. 101 and he's projected into the No. 98 spot.

Thorbjorn Olesen, Jesper Svensson tied for lead

We have two leaders in the clubhouse, after Thorbjorn Olesen and Jesper Svensson each posted 6-under 65s on Thursday. Olesen signed first and a while later, Svensson, who closed with three birdies on his last six holes, joined him atop the leaderboard.

Olesen talked after his round about his worldly travels as of late.

"I've been a little bit all over. Played Mississippi then went to Madrid, back to Dubai where I live, and then come here," he said. "I was a little bit tired. Yeah, I felt a lot better today. Obviously really pleased with this round."

As for Svennsson, he acknowledged how the unique nature of the volcanic rock outcroppings at the golf course can make things interesting for stray shots.

"It's definitely one of these golf courses where essentially could be stuck on the tee box. One bad swing is a re-tee immediately," he said. "Yeah, no, felt good to keep her in the fairway. Yeah, like I said, hit a lot of greens, you're going to have some good looks."

Slow play pushing afternoon tee times back in Utah

Slow play has struck Black Desert. There are several afternoon tee times that were moved back 15 minutes due to pace of play on Thursday. The afternoon wave was set to start at 11:35 a.m. local time (2:35 p.m. ET) but that'll now be 11:50 a.m. The final group will now start at 1:40 p.m. Sunset in the Ivins, Utah, area is 6:46 p.m. (9:46 p.m. ET). The field is 120 golfers.

How to watch the PGA Tour's 2025 Bank of Utah Championship

First round, Thursday, Oct. 23

  • PGA Tour Live on the ESPN app: 9:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET
  • Golf Channel: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. ET
  • NBC Sports app: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. ET
  • PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM: 2 p.m. - 8 p.m. ET

How much money is on the line at the Bank of Utah?

The total purse in 2025 is $6 million (down from $7.5 million from a year ago) and this year's champ will bank a cool $1.08 million.

Black Desert uses robotic mowers

There are four self-driven mowers at Black Desert Resort and they cutting grass in the dark of night, from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. every day over the 51 acres of land. Read more about it here.

A look from the VIP box at Black Desert

Here's a view from the VIP box during the 2024 event at Black Desert. Gorgeous scenery.

How Matt McCarty went from 'getting ready' to 'being ready' to win on the PGA Tour

Matt McCarty calls his longtime coach David Williams “The Guru,” a reference to his role as part swing instructor, part philosopher and life coach. They’ve been working together since McCarty was 12.

One year ago, McCarty, a 27-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona, native took one look at the lava-rock outcroppings at Black Desert Resort Golf Course in Ivins, Utah, and it reminded him so much of the desert-style courses he grew up on that he told his caddie, “I can win here.” McCarty opened with a 62 and held on for his first Tour title.

He's back in Utah to defend. Get much more on the evolution of his game from Adam Schupak.

Hole locations for Thursday's first round

Here are the hole locations.

Where is the Bank of Utah Championship played?

Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah, is the host venue for a second year. The golf course was the final design of Tom Weiskopf's career. The course has only been open for two years but has already rocketed to the top of Golfweek’s Best public-access courses in Utah. The layout has quickly climbed the rankings and is No. 1 in Utah on Golfweek’s Best list of public-access courses, No. 26 among all resort courses in the U.S. and No. 81 among all modern courses in the country.

Thursday's weather at the Bank of Utah Championship

Here's a look at the weather in Utah.

Who's playing in the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship?

The field will be 132 golfers and it's highlighted by some of the game's popular players, such as Max Homa and Sahith Theegala.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Bank of Utah Championship runs out of daylight Thursday with a four-way tie for the lead

Reporting by Todd Kelly and Tim Schmitt, Golfweek / Golfweek

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