Austin Smotherman survived a back-nine double bogey, birdied three of the last five holes and won his maiden PGA Tour title at the Bank of Utah Championship on Sunday in Ivins, Utah.
Smotherman entered with a one-stroke lead over Doug Ghim and shot a 3-under-par 68 to go 26-under 258 for the week, a new scoring record at the three-year-old tournament. He defeated Ghim by two shots after the latter posted a final-round 69 at Black Desert Resort.
“It didn’t have to be pretty,” an ebullient Smotherman said. “I got some nice bounces. Made some poor swings, but this game doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Smotherman, 32, earned a two-year PGA Tour exemption and entry into the PGA Championship and The Players Championship. He’s also projected to rise to No. 51 in the FedEx Cup Fall points standings. Players who finish Nos. 51-60 in the fall standings receive invitations to the first two signature events of 2027.
Playing from an awkward lie, Smotherman failed to escape a bunker on his third shot at the par-4 13th hole, and his fourth shot left him 10 feet for bogey, which he could not convert. His three-shot lead shrank to one when he finished the hole.
But he bounced back to birdie the short par-4 14th, and after going birdie-bogey at Nos. 16 and 17, he and Ghim arrived at the par-5 finishing hole with Smotherman ahead by two.
Ghim had an eagle look in the form of a 31-foot chip that could tie Smotherman for the lead. But Smotherman went first and lagged a 70-foot eagle putt to less than 2 feet from the hole to set up an easy tap-in, and Ghim’s chip narrowly missed the cup.
Smotherman said he trusted himself on the 18th to play more conservatively and go for the fat of the green, even though lag putting had been his “nemesis.”
“A lot of good shots, those drives coming down the stretch as well, just piping it down the middle of the fairway, being committed,” he said.
Ghim, who was also angling for his first PGA Tour victory and the perks that would come with, gave his playing partner a hearty congratulations on the 18th green.
He was asked how fun the battle was for him.
“Absolutely. It’s what we play for, it’s what we practice for,” Ghim said. “Obviously the money and the points are great, but as a little kid trying to win a PGA Tour event, just a chance to do that is a dream come true. …
“Today was Austin’s day. I did everything that I could, and hopefully I’ll learn from some of the mistakes and be a little bit more comfortable next time. But always grateful.”
David Ford (64) and Trace Crowe (66) tied for third at 23 under. Kevin Streelman (67) and Ben James (67) tied for fifth at 22 under.
Amateur Kihei Akina, a sophomore at BYU, finished a strong tournament with back-to-back rounds of 65 on the weekend. He finished alone in ninth at 20 under.
“I’d say go back to my roots from here in Utah, even though I’m from Hawaii, but I went to high school here and now I’m obviously in college here in Utah,” Akina said. “I hopefully can set an example for some of the Utah junior golfers out there. I’ve definitely seen that Utah junior golf is making their way up right now, so it’s really cool to see that.”
–Field Level Media
