[PHOTO: Christian Petersen]
As stunning and otherworldly as the scenery is at the Black Desert Resort in Utah, it probably wasn’t the red rock hills as a backdrop or the Tom Weiskopf-designed layout that convinced the PGA Tour to stage a tournament there before a single public round had ever been played. It was all about the black lava rock that flowed around the edge of nearly every green and fairway, presenting a test that most tour players hadn’t seen before.
“Back in Black” was the theme song for the week in the inaugural Black Desert Championship, and the jagged stuff did not disappoint. It looked spectacular on television and gobbled up the hopes of many in the field when they plunged into it with wild shots.
“It’s just the end of the hole if you hit it in there,” said veteran Kevin Streelman, whose wayward drive on the 72nd hole got a fortuitous bounce off the lava rock back into the grass, leading to an eventual birdie and a tie for third.
Those who consistently skirted the lava rock and took advantage of the roomy fairways could go very low on a pristine track in mostly benign conditions of light wind. PGA Tour rookie Matt McCarty shot 23-under-par (62-68-64-67) for his first win, and there were 32 scores of 65 or better for the week.
Just don’t tell the guys who got stuck in the lava to agree that it was a thing of beauty. The lava essentially played like a water hazard, with few balls being playable once they entered. The lucky ones were able to take an unplayable lie and drop their ball within two club lengths – as McCarty did in saving a bogey at the 10th hole on Saturday. There were hard luck stories like that of Sam Ryder, whose approach went so deep into a black hole near the 18th green in the third round that he had to return to his original spot in the fairway.
The lava rock kept PGA Tour rules officials speeding around in carts with their walkie-talkies. Responding to an inquiry from Golf Digest, tour media officials said there were a combined 154 rulings requested for lava or lost-ball circumstances during the first three rounds (those categories are coded the same). That number did not include water penalty drops on three holes at Black Desert. There were 65 rulings in round one and 56 in round twi when the field was 132. There were 33 in round three after 69 golfers made the cut. (The tour was still calculating the final tally on Sunday evening, Utah time.)
How off-the-chart are those numbers? The tour said there were 60 rulings in total at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
The rulings made for some long rounds and long waits, but also produced some fascinating exchanges between players and officials – the standout maybe being Michael Kim pumping two tee shots on the 18th hole into the lava in the first round, and then somehow finding the first ball, and not being penalised after it was determined it was in a burrowing animal hole.
Those things don’t happen every week. “An all-world break,” Golf Channel commentator Matt Every said.
Heading into the Black Desert event, few players had seen it before practice rounds, but they seemed to ultimately come away thinking it was a fair, but challenging test because of the lava.
“You get plenty of room on the tee balls, but you better hit in the green stuff. Other than that, you’re re-teeing most likely,” said past US Open champion Lucas Glover, who closed with a 62 to tie for third.
“It’s forgiving. If you miss, it’s bad, obviously. Really fun course to play. Ball goes forever and all the par 5s are gettable. Great mix of par 3s. Typical Weiskopf design – great mix of 3s, fun, driveable hole on each side. Yeah, it’s fun.”
After Saturday’s effort kept him in the lead, McCarty looked ahead to the final round and said, “Very uncomfortable golf course if you’re off the fairway. You could be reloading. It’s a tough place to have nerves on, and tomorrow will be no different for sure.”
The winner handled it beautifully, hitting 10 of 14 fairways while ranking No.1 in strokes gained/off-the-tee on the final day. For the week, McCarty missed 14 fairways, but only a single trip into the lava cost him a shot.
He fulfilled the mission: stay out of the black in the Black Desert.
