Austin Cook leads the Bank of Utah Championship after a day marked by suspension
IVINS, Utah – Austin Cook got off to an excellent start at the Bank of Utah Championship, taking advantage of his exemption to avoid the qualifying stage. The golfer demonstrated his skill with six birdies on Thursday, which allowed him to share the lead before darkness stopped the day at Black Desert. Thorbjorn Olesen, Jesper Svensson and David Lipsky also stood out, each with a card of 6 under par 65 on this unique course, bordered by red earth and black lava rocks. Cook, with a cumulative score of 6 under par, was waiting for a 20-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, when the natural light was no longer sufficient to continue. The afternoon tee times were delayed by 15 minutes, and the 38 players who did not complete the round will resume it at 8 a.m. The winner of a PGA Tour tournament was satisfied with his performance, considering that this is his eighth event of the year. Olesen also expressed his surprise at his good start. After competing in the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi, the Dane traveled to Europe to participate in the Spanish Open, then to his home in Dubai and finally to Utah. An itinerary that involved a lot of time in the air.Olesen is in 116th place in the FedEx Cup, as are Svensson (115) and Lipsky (99), who are also in the fight to stay in the top 100 to secure their participation in the 2026 season. After this week, there are only three tournaments left for players to qualify for the top 100 of the FedEx Cup and keep their full cards for the 2026 season. The group that was one stroke away, with 66 strokes, included Paul Peterson, who rallied after being 2 over par in the first eight holes, finishing with six birdies and an eagle. Black Desert offers numerous birdie opportunities, but also presents challenges. Billy Horschel, who was out for five months due to a hip injury, was at 1 under par until a bogey and a quadruple bogey on the 11th hole set him back. Horschel tried to get out of the desert and ended up in the black lava, which forced him to take a drop and play on the red earth while trying to balance on the rocks. His shot went left of the green, and then he needed three putts from a distance of 20 feet. Horschel recovered by holing an eagle on the 14th hole and a birdie on the 15th, finishing with a round of 72. Max Homa, for his part, was looking to get closer to the leaders and got to 3 under par before sending his ball into the water on the 13th hole, which resulted in a double bogey. Although he also achieved a birdie on the 14th, he lost ground with a bogey on the 16th and could not save par from a bunker on the 17th. He finished with par and a 27-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole, which will mark the start of his Friday. Alex Noren, for his part, completed his round with 4 under par 67. A leg injury kept him out of competition until the beginning of May, and now he seeks to return to the top 100 of the FedEx Cup.My expectations were quite low this morning. But I did some recovery work in the last few days and just tried to prepare my body for today.
Thorbjorn Olesen
