Austin Cook got off to a strong start at the Bank of Utah Championship, taking advantage of a late entry into the field to post six birdies Thursday at Black Desert, putting him in a tie for the lead before darkness halted play. Cook was at 6-under, facing a 20-foot birdie putt on the reachable par-4 14th when play was suspended. The 38 players who hadn’t finished their rounds were scheduled to resume Friday at 8 a.m. MT.
Cook, a former PGA TOUR winner, is playing just his eighth event of the year. He had been well down the alternate list and was even at the beach with his family, preparing for a Monday qualifier, before receiving word that he replaced Erik van Rooyen, who withdrew. “Saturday got all the way down to first alternate. I felt like I was going to get in, so I helped drive everybody home on Sunday and flew out Monday. On the plane, I got a text,” Cook said.
Joining Cook at 6-under were Thorbjørn Olesen, Jesper Svensson, and David Lipsky, each carding a 65 on the course marked by red dirt and black lava rock. Olesen, who had traveled from Mississippi for the Sanderson Farms Championship, then Europe for the Open de España, and back home to Dubai before arriving in Utah, admitted he had low expectations for the round. “I did some recovery work the last few days and just tried to get the body ready for today,” Olesen said.
The leaderboard is particularly important this week, as only three events remain for players to finish inside the top 100 in the FedExCup to retain full PGA TOUR cards for 2026. Olesen is currently 116th, Svensson 115th, and Lipsky 99th.
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One shot back at 66 was Paul Peterson, who recovered from 2-over through eight holes with six birdies and an eagle to climb the leaderboard.
The Black Desert layout offers plenty of birdie opportunities, but also hazards, as shown by Billy Horschel, who returned from five months out with hip surgery. Horschel was 1-under through eight holes, then suffered a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 11th after hitting into the lava and red dirt. He recovered with an eagle on 14 and a birdie on 15 to post a 72.
Max Homa was 3-under before a double bogey on the 13th after finding the water, later recovering with a birdie on 14 but finishing even par after miscues on 16 and 17.
Alex Noren, returning from a leg injury that sidelined him until May, finished his round at 4-under 67. The Swedish star, who won the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour and served as vice captain for Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team, is working to reestablish himself inside the FedExCup top 100.
