Black Desert Championship: Best Bets, Course Info, and Key Stats
Last week's PGA Tour event -- the Sanderson Farms Championship -- went into a playoff before Kevin Yu emerged victorious over Beau Hossler.
This week, just two golfers -- Chris Kirk (41st) and Lucas Glover (49th) -- in the field are in the top-50 by the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
With a wide-open field and a new-to-the-PGA-Tour course, how can you consider betting this week's event, the Black Desert Championship?
All golf odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.
Black Desert Championship Event Info
Black Desert Resort Golf Course Info
Data from GCSAA, PGA Tour, and data golf's course table unless otherwise noted.
- Par: 71
- Distance: 7,371 yards (long)
- Average Fairway Width: 30 yards (estimated; average)
- Average Green Size: 7,000 square feet (large)
- Green Type: Bentgrass
- Stimpmeter: 12
- Recent Winning Scores: N/A
- Recent Cut Lines: N/A
This is a new course, so new that its back nine wasn't fully opened until May 2023.
The course runs long by yardage for a par 71 but is in elevation (roughly 3,000 feet) and should play a lot shorter as a result. It's not quite Castle Pines (in the 6,000 range) but is more elevated than TPC Summerlin (around 2,000).
Black Desert Resort Golf Course Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
- Strokes Gained: Putting
- Par 5 Scoring
- Birdie or Better Rate
Black Desert Championship Best Bets
These picks stand out relative to their FanDuel Sportsbook golf betting odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All stats cited below originate at datagolf and reference ranks relative to the field over the past 50 rounds unless otherwise noted.
Seamus Power
- Odds to Win Black Desert Championship (+2500)
- To Finish Top 10 (+280)
Power leads the field in true strokes gained over the last 50 rounds (+1.01) with nobody else above a +0.86 in that span, and this datagolf metric will help account for amateur, Korn Ferry Tour, and other events for newcomers to the field.
Over the last six months, Power's at a +0.88, trailing only tournament favorite Keith Mitchell (+0.94).
Power is a plus in all four strokes gained stats in this six-month span and has (slightly) positive distance and accuracy off the tee.
His long-term form makes him stand out among the favorites this week.
Chan Kim
- Odds to Win Black Desert Championship (+3300)
- To Finish Top 10 (+360)
- To Finish Top 20 (+160)
Chan Kim's putting definitely needs to be addressed, as he's averaging -0.53 strokes gained putting per round after field strength adjustments, according to datagolf, over 45 ShotLink rounds in his last 50 total rounds.
Kim, though, ranks fourth in strokes gained: ball-striking in that 50-round sample and also has positive around-the-green splits (11th in the field).
Kim is fresh off of a T33 at the Sanderson Farms Championship where his irons went cold -- but that should turn back around based on his long-term sample.
Mac Meissner
- Odds to Win Black Desert Championship (+4000)
- To Finish Top 10 (+400)
- To Finish Top 20 (+200)
Meissner ranks 9th in ball-striking and 15th in around-the-green play over the last 50 rounds and has top-20 accuracy off the tee.
With elevation in play, his slightly-below-average distance shouldn't matter as much this week.
Meissner played last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship, finishing T37 with solid-across-the-board strokes gained stats.
Doug Ghim
- Odds to Win Black Desert Championship (+4500)
- To Finish Top 10 (+450)
- To Finish Top 20 (+200)
Ghim has the second-best irons in the field over the last 50 rounds, and if you pair that with 18th-ranked off-the-tee splits, he's the 3rd-best ball-striker in this week's field.
He's also top-20 in accuracy, which could come in handy if the fairways do play tight.
The problem for Ghim -- still -- is his putting (111th in the field). He's not that far removed from a string of five straight top-20 finishes to kick off the 2024 calendar year.
Ben Kohles
- Odds to Win Black Desert Championship (+8000)
- To Finish Top 10 (+700)
- To Finish Top 20 (+300)
Kohles finished T16 at the Sanderson Farms Championship last week after ranking 13th in strokes gained: approach.
He was 15th in approach at the Procore Championship, and he'd have ranked 10th at the Wyndham Championship (if he had made the cut and maintained his iron play).
He's striping it and ranks top-30 in putting while being the most accurate driver in the field.
New to FanDuel Sportsbook? You’ll receive $300 in Bonus Bets if your first bet of $5+ wins! See here for full terms and conditions. Learn about today’s other offers at FanDuel Sportsbook Promos.
Looking for more golf betting opportunities? Check out all the golf odds and markets at FanDuel Sportsbook.
Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!
The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.