IVINS, Utah – Adam Svensson made a 35-foot eagle putt he thought he had missed and closed with a birdie from the bunker for a career-best 11-under 60, giving him a two-shot lead Thursday in the Black Desert Championship as the PGA Tour returned to Utah for the first time in 61 years.
Black Desert Resort had a gorgeous day to make its debut with a Tom Weiskopf design cut through an ancient field of black lava and surrounded by the red rock mountains some 30 miles from Zion National Park.
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Svensson and so many others made short work of the course in ideal scoring conditions.
Henrik Norlander hit all 14 fairways and all 18 greens in posting his career-low of 62. He was joined by Korn Ferry Tour grad Matt McCarty, who had an eagle on the reachable par-4 fifth.
And the Svensson came through in the afternoon and made seven birdies through 10 holes before he finished with a flourish.
The Canadian chose to lay up on the fifth — reachable 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 move into the lead.
“I thought it was going to go left and it went right and went in,” Svensson said. “You’ve got to get a little bit lucky here and there. But overall I played very well.”
He saved par from 8 feet on the par-3 eighth and then got up-and-down from a bunker by making a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth.
“It’s just one of those rounds where everything just comes together,” Svensson said.
It was the second straight week during the FedEx Cup Fall portion of the PGA Tour that a player shot 60. David Skinns missed a 10-foot putt for a chance at 59 in the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Svensson would have needed an eagle on his final hole for a sub-60 round, but found a bunker. He wasn't even aware a 59 was in play because he thought Black Desert Resort was a par 72.
“I didn't even think about it, really,” he said.
The opening round could not finish before darkness in southwestern Utah. Among those who didn't finish was 65-year-old Jay Don Blake, the Utah native and one-time PGA Tour winner given an exemption to play in his 500th career PGA Tour event.
Blake grew up about a half-mile away from the resort when it was just an ancient lava field. He was 3-over par through 15 holes.
Norlander couldn't have asked for much more. He hit all 14 fairways and every green in posting his best round on the PGA Tour.
“I think everybody out on this tour when they play well, every course is going to be fine for them, and vice versa,” Norlander said. “I really like it here. It’s a fun course, a lot of opportunities, but you’ve got to hit good shots because the greens are somewhat severe, and you’ve got to get it in the right portions to play well.”
McCarty started his year on the Korn Ferry Tour and won three times, earning an instant promotion to the PGA Tour. He had to wait until the FedEx Cup Fall to get started, and this is his second tournament.
Kevin Streelman had a 64, while the group at 65 included Ben Kohles, who had a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, which was playing 130 yards with a front pin and a backstop. Several other players came within inches of an ace.
Others at 65 from the early side of the draw included Houston Open winner Stephen Jaeger and Harry Hall, who won the ISCO Championship in Kentucky. That win didn't get Hall into the Masters because it was held the same week as the Scottish Open.
The Black Desert Championship comes with a Masters invitation. Most of the focus this time of the year is on finishing in the top 125 to retain a full PGA Tour card for 2025.
Norlander arrived in Utah at 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,” Norlander said. “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.”
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