The Bank of Utah Championship is taking place at a unique venue on the PGA Tour, the Black Desert Resort.
One of the defining features of the course is the black lava fields that line nearly every fairway and green. However, it is also known for its high altitude, sitting at around 3,000 feet above sea level.
That has a knock-on effect on driving distances because there is less drag on the ball at higher altitudes due to thinner air, and that allows it to move more easily, which therefore increases the distance of shots.
The opening two rounds of the FedEx Cup Fall tournament saw sponsor's invite Michael Brennan take advantage of the conditions better than most.
He was top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday’s action on 10 under, and it was in no small part to his incredible driving distances. For example, in the opening round, his drives averaged 369 yards, with the longest a mammoth 395 yards.
The average distance came down slightly in the second round, to 339.7 yards, but it still meant that he averaged 354.3 yards over the first 36 holes in his bid for his maiden PGA Tour win.
Incredibly, he was only ranked third-highest in average driving distance following the opening two rounds.
Chad Ramey was in second with an average driving distance of 354.9 yards, behind Trey Mullinax, who averaged 357.60 yards over his opening two rounds.
For comparison, Aldrich Potgieter, who withdrew after the first round of the tournament through illness, currently leads the way in average driving distance on the PGA Tour this season on 324.8 yards.
The South African averaged 339.8 yards on Thursday before ending his challenge early, with a longest drive of 387 yards.
As for the overnight leader at the halfway stage, Brennan, he partially attributed his success at that stage to his ability off the tee, saying: “Yeah, I've been driving the ball really nicely, putting the ball in the fairway a lot, giving myself some good wedge and short iron opportunities.”
However, he pointed out that accuracy is also pivotal to success at the course, adding: “Hopefully driver stays hot because if you're not in the fairway it's trouble out here. So, yeah, putting the ball in play is important.”
Before Brennan could begin his third round, he was joined at the top of the leaderboard by David Ford, who completed his second round on Saturday morning.
His average driving distance was also important, measuring
344.70 yds and ranking eighth.
Another metric that helped separate the co-leaders was SG: Putting. After two rounds, Ford ranked third at +4.259, while Brennan was eighth at +3.191.
