At the Bank of Utah Championship, the PGA Tour’s different fall chases were on display

Austin Smotherman won the Bank of Utah Championship, but the tournament was about more than his first PGA Tour title in 100 starts. For Doug Ghim, David Ford and Trace Crowe, the fall event was part of a different fight — for status, form and better opportunities in 2027.

Ghim finished runner-up, two shots behind Smotherman. For the 30-year-old American, it was his 192nd start in pursuit of his first PGA Tour title.

“That’s what we play for and practice for. Obviously the money and the points are great, but as a little kid trying to win a PGA Tour event, just having the chance to do that is a dream come true,” Ghim said.

He earned full-time PGA Tour status ahead of the 2020 season. Across seven seasons, Ghim has made 116 cuts in 192 starts and earned more than $10 million on the course. Smotherman left Utah with the trophy, a two-year PGA Tour exemption and a place in the 2028 Championship Series.

Ghim’s runner-up finish also transformed his position: he began the week 89th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and moved into the top 60. If he finishes the fall strongly, he can retain his PGA Tour card and earn spots in the first two Signature Events of 2027.

The PGA Tour’s fall season is different from the rest of the schedule. Most of the game’s best players are either at home or competing in Europe, while the remaining players are chasing different goals. Winning is still the biggest prize and can be career-changing, as it was for Smotherman. But for many players, the priority is preserving some form of PGA Tour status for 2027 or building a strong platform for the new season.

Two players immediately behind Ghim on the leaderboard were pursuing something else.

David Ford, previously a college star at North Carolina, earned his PGA Tour card by finishing No. 1 in the PGA Tour University standings last season. He struggled afterward and missed three months earlier this season because of tendonitis and an ankle impingement.

Ford returned at the first fall event in Asheville and missed the cut. At Black Desert Resort, he shot 65-64 over the weekend to finish T3. That moved him from 158th to 124th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, with six events remaining.

“I was on medical all summer, so my expectations were pretty low. I was just trying not to get ahead of myself and see how my body was feeling. Obviously the goal is to win, but I didn’t really know where my body was. I’m just really thankful to be in the top 10,” Ford said.

Ford will have status next year regardless of his finish because of a medical extension. If he finishes outside the top 100, he can use that extension, but he is now within reach of the top 100 and avoiding it. His goal over the next six weeks is simply to find his game.

“I think the goal is to get as many points as possible in the fall. It would obviously be great to lock up my card before the end of the fall. If I play great in the last five events, that would be amazing. I’m just trying to celebrate this week, take the events as they come and keep getting better,” Ford said.

Trace Crowe, who finished T3 alongside Ford, is in a similar position. The 29-year-old missed the first 11 events of the year with a broken wrist and struggled during the summer while trying to find his form. He made eight of 13 cuts and had just three top-25 finishes, ending the season 153rd in the FedEx Cup standings.

After finishing T38 at the Wyndham Championship and T24 at the first fall event, Crowe led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach in Utah. He is now 117th in the standings and hopes to avoid using his major medical extension in 2027.

“The whole point of playing this fall is to try not to have to use our medical next year and just earn it outright. If I keep doing what I’ve been doing, I should be all right,” Crowe said.

He will not play this week’s limited-field Baycurrent Classic in Japan, but plans to return for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in three weeks. After recovering from his broken wrist, Crowe’s tee-to-green game is finally trending upward, and he knows this is the time to capitalize.

As Smotherman celebrated a win 10 years in the making, Crowe offered what might be the unofficial motto of the FedEx Cup Fall and the career-changing opportunities it creates:

“I’m playing everything until they say we can’t play anymore.”

Source: Josh Schrock, GOLF.com.