[Photo: Sean M. Haffey]
When Austin Smotherman played in his first final pairing earlier this year at the Cognizant Classic, he said, “I love it. It’s kind of the re-focuser for me, hitting shots in that environment. I chose to play a few times even when there was noise and things going on… it’s all part of the process. You’ve got to put yourself in it, so I felt like I did well with that.”
RELATED: Titleist to debut 2027 versions of Pro V1 and Pro V1x at this week’s PGA Tour stop in Japan
Smotherman didn’t win that event, but he learned from the experience and used it well in winning the Bank of Utah Championship.
Playing in his 100th PGA Tour event, Smotherman opened with 62-63 and took it home from there. A bunker adventure double-bogey on the 13th hole made things interesting, but Smotherman responded by hitting his tee shot on the 280-metre, par-4 14th onto the green and made birdie to provide a needed cushion. Another birdie at the 16th sealed things.
It’s often said the numbers don’t tell the whole story, but in Smotherman’s case they did.
With all facets of his game working, Smotherman ranked seventh in driving distance, second in greens in regulation, T-11 in scrambling and sixth in putts per green in regulation, the last with a zero-torque VZN.1i mallet from L.A.B. Golf.
At the long end of the bag, Smotherman leaned on a trio of reliable woods. His Titleist GT3 driver dates to 2024. His TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood is from the same year while his 19-degree TaylorMade SIM Max hybrid was on tour as early as late 2019.
Familiar clubs that helped lead to an unfamiliar result.
What Austin Smotherman had in the bag at the 2026 Bank of Utah Championship:
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist GT3 (Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 60 TX), 10 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10, 15 degrees
Hybrid: TaylorMade SIM Max, 19 degrees
Irons (4-9): Titleist T100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (46, 50 54 degrees); Titleist Vokey Wedgeworks (60 degrees)
Putter: L.A.B. VZN.1i
