David Lipsky eagled his final hole and found himself part of a four-way tie for the lead when play was suspended due to darkness at the Bank of Utah Championship on Thursday in Ivins, Utah.
Lipsky posted a 6-under-par 65, as did Sweden’s Jesper Svensson and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen. Austin Cook was 6 under through 13 holes when play was halted at 6:47 p.m. local time. The round will resume Friday morning.
The tournament at Black Desert Resort is in its second season as part of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall schedule. Players who finish the fall inside the top 100 are guaranteed full tour cards for the 2026 season.
That means Thursday’s strong start is good news for Lipsky, who entered the week No. 99 in the standings, as well as Svensson (No. 115), Olesen (No. 116) and Cook (No. 204).
Lipsky, 37, has won on the European and Asian tours but not yet on the PGA Tour.
At the par-5, 610-yard finishing hole Thursday, his second shot traveled 292 yards and settled less than 9 feet from the pin, allowing him to sweep in an eagle putt to close a round with five birdies and one bogey.
Svensson was bogey-free, while Olesen birdied five of his last seven holes after beginning his round on the course’s back nine.
One stroke off the pace, a seven-way tie featured former PGA Tour winners Cameron Champ, Nick Dunlap and Ryan Gerard at 5-under-par 66.
Sahith Theegala, working his way back from a neck injury that disrupted his summer, opened his tournament with a 3-under 68, as did Australia’s Jason Day.
Matt McCarty, the tournament’s inaugural champion, shot a 2-under 69 Thursday.
