Paulie's Picks: 2026 Bank of Utah Championship

After a week off for the Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour resumes its FedEx Cup Fall schedule this week with the Bank of Utah Championship, held for the third year at Black Desert. This is a unique course as the fairways are massively wide, but if you miss the short grass, you will likely find the black lava rock and need to take an unplayable lie. The scoring, barring high winds, is expected to be very low once again this year. Simply put, this is going to be a birdie fest. 

Whenever you allow Tour players to continually play from the fairway to large greens, it essentially becomes an approach contest to see who can make the most birdies. With that being said, I’m going to keep it simple this week and narrow down players to target. There are only three players who rank both in the top 10 in birdie rate and Strokes Gained: Approach in this field. That seems to be the combination needed to succeed this week. Here are the three players:

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Jackson Suber: Top 30, -108

Jackson Suber ranks fourth in approach and third in birdies in this field. He has been one of the more consistent players over the back half of 2026, finishing in the top 30 in eight of his last 12 events on Tour. Suber finished 15th last year at Black Desert. A top-30 price of -108 seems to have value given the smaller 120-player field.

Ben Kohles: Top 30, +118

We are going back to the well with Ben Kohles. He has finished in the top 30 in each of his last eight starts on Tour, including a 15th-place finish two weeks ago at the Biltmore. He leads the field in SG: Approach and ranks eighth in birdies. Kohles also finished 20th at Black Desert last year. I don’t understand how books continue to post these good odds for Kohles. I will gladly take the great price of +118 for a top 30.

Ben James: Top 20, +104

Ben James ranks eighth in both approach and birdie rate in this field. With Jackson Koivun stealing the spotlight for players coming out of college, let’s not forget about James. He comes into this event finishing second and third in his last two starts on Tour at the Wyndham and Biltmore. He is a rising top-tier talent who very well could get his first win this week, just like we saw Michael Brennan do last year at Black Desert.