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IVINS, Washington County — The PGA Tour's first contested event in Utah in more than 60 years will feature a bevy of local talent, including a former Masters champion and the country's top-rated high school golfer when they were revealed Thursday as sponsors exemptions.
Former 2003 Masters champion and 2024 Presidents Cup international captain Mike Weir, along with fellow Utah residents Zac Blair, Peter Kuest, Patrick Fishburn, Jay Don Blake and Kihei Akina will compete in the inaugural Black Desert Championship at Black Desert Resort in Ivins, the first year of a contracted four-year cycle on the FedEX Cup fall tournament series that tees off in October.
"The Black Desert Championship is truly Utah's tournament, and we invite the entire state to come out and support their local heroes," said Black Desert Resort managing partner Patrick Manning in a statement. "We're excited to offer exemptions to Mike, Peter, and Kihei and are thrilled to have them join our field in October.
"It's also an honor to welcome 2024 Presidents Cup international captain Mike Weir and to highlight the incredible talent of Kihei Akina, recognized as one of the nation's top junior golfers. Additionally, we're pleased that former BYU star Peter Kuest, along with standout alumni Patrick Fishburn and Zac Blair, are committed to competing."
Weir, 54, currently competes on the PGA Tour Champions while living out of Park City. The former BYU golf star turned pro in 1992 and won eight times on the PGA Tour, including donning the coveted green jacket at Augusta National in 2003.
In 2009, Weir received Canada's highest civilian honor, the Order of Canada, prior to being inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.
Akina, who lives in Alpine and preps at Lone Peak High, is the No. 1-ranked golfer in the Class of 2024 by Golfweek and the 20234 USA TODAY national boys golfer of the year.
The 18-year-old BYU commit won medalist honors at the 6A state tournament as a freshman and sophomore en route to five consecutive team titles for the Knights, as well as runner-up honors for second at last year's championships. He made his Korn Ferry Tour debut in August at the Utah Championship, where he finished tied for 49th with a 13-under finish.
"The Korn Ferry Tour was cool, and probably the biggest tournament I've ever played in," Akina told KSL.com, noting the opportunity to play with several of his former idols on the Utah golf scene, from Weir to Blake to Kuest, and more. "But this one tops even that. I'm just really grateful to be able to play down there."
Blake, 65, currently competes on the PGA Tours Champions. The native of St. George who played collegiately at Utah State has won seven times in his pro career, including the Shearson Lehman Brothers Open in 1991.
The Dixie High graduate who still makes his home in St. George will celebrate his 500th career PGA Tour stop in his newly minted hometown event.
Kuest, 26, was a former BYU golf prodigiy from 2016-20, winning 10 individual titles and the 2017 West Coast Conference championship before debuting professionally with a Utah Open title in 2020.
The 26-year-old from Fresno, California, who lives in American Fork has made 24 starts on the PGA Tour while competing full-time on the Korn Ferry Tour and other events around the country.
A native of Salt Lake City who grew up in Ogden, Blair has racked up two top-10 finishes and 11 cuts in 28 starts on the PGA Tour in 2022-23, including a T2 at the ISCO Championship, where the former BYU and Fremont High star fell in a five-man playoff. The 2023 Utah Open champion and his wife Alicia currently live in St. George with the couple's children.
Another BYU and Fremont High product, Fishburn has lived in Ogden since turning pro in 2018. The 32-year-old finished No. 19 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour points list to earn his PGA Tour card for the first time and teamed with Blair to finish tied for fourth at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier this year — his first career top-10 finish on tour.
At BYU, Fishburn won two individual titles and was named the 2017-18 West Coast Conference golfer of the year, with All-WCC first-team honors in 2017 and 2018.
"Those are some really good players," said Akina, who grew up playing in the Jay Don Blake junior golf tournament in St. George. "I think it's just cool to have a bunch of locals in this field; it'll bring some more hype to this tournament, and make it more special. There are a lot of really cool stories behind the exemptions, too, like Jay Don Blake's 500th PGA Tour start. These are all legends to come out of Utah."
The 72-hole Black Desert Championship tees off Oct. 10, with a 36-hole cut for the weekend Oct. 12-13. An official pro-am event, which is open to the public, will precede the competition Oct. 9.
Tickets are available at BlackDesertEvents.com.
