Round report
Bauchou's career-best 62 leads Utah birdie-fest; Smith makes albatross
Zach Bauchou leads the Bank of Utah Championship by one after a nine-under 62 at Black Desert, with nine players on eight under including Jordan Smith, who holed out from 238 yards for an albatross.
Zach Bauchou shot a career-low, nine-under 62 at Black Desert on Thursday to lead the Bank of Utah Championship. Nine players are a shot behind on eight under.
It is Bauchou’s first 18-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. He finished with two birdies, rolling in a 12-footer for birdie at the par-3 17th, then reaching the 602-yard 18th in two and two-putting from 25 feet.
Leaderboard after round 1
| Pos | Player | Score | Round 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zach Bauchou | -9 | 62 |
| T2 | Kevin Roy | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Kevin Streelman | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Jordan Smith | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Nick Dunlap | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Austin Smotherman | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | David Lipsky | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Stephan Jaeger | -8 | 63 |
| T2 | Steven Fisk | -8 | 63 |
Black Desert is a par 71. The PGA TOUR put the day’s scoring average at about 68.
Smith’s albatross
England’s Jordan Smith holed his second shot from 238 yards on the par-5 ninth, his last hole, for an albatross and a 63. It was the first albatross of his career, and he called it “pretty special” afterwards.
Brennan and Taylor two back
Six players are two back on seven under after 64s, including defending champion Michael Brennan, the highest-ranked player in the field. Nick Taylor joined him by holing a 50-foot eagle putt on his final hole, and Garrick Higgo, Rico Hoey, John VanDerLaan and Christiaan Bezuidenhout also shot 64.
Koivun’s three bogeys, Finau’s 70
Presidents Cup rookie Jackson Koivun made three straight bogeys to go two over, then birdied four of his last five holes for a 69. He is seven behind.
Tony Finau, playing at home and starting the week on the FedExCup Fall top-100 line, opened with a one-under 70. Max Homa (65) and Billy Horschel (66) are better placed.
Withdrawals
Vince Whaley withdrew after an opening 75, and the official leaderboard also shows Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen as withdrawn, with no first-round score.
What to watch today
Round two is under way as this report goes live, and the field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. On TV, Golf Channel is on air between 21:00 and 00:00 GMT (5–8pm ET), with featured groups streaming from 13:45 GMT on PGA TOUR LIVE in the ESPN app. Tomorrow morning’s round-two report will be on the tournament hub.
Sources
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