Ivins • When you talk to Phil Smith, he can almost trick you into thinking he’s a golf everyman.He’ll lament to you — almost like he’s your buddy — that he doesn’t get out on the course as much as he’d like these days.

You’ve got the makings of a Utah coup in a sports world that’s typically dominated by metropolitan regions along the coasts.

Ivins • Two days before the PGA Tour was set to return to his home state, Zac Blair huddled with doctors worried about his shoulder. The same shoulder that had kept him out of golf for over a year was flaring up again.

For St. George native Jay Don Blake, the Black Deseret Championship put a cap on his 500th career start. Blake, a former NCAA champion playing at Utah State, grew up in the Dixie Downs neighborhood a short distance from this spectacular resort and golf course where he lived in a trailer court.

The Black Desert Championship has produced an emerging star — a golf course players haven’t stopped raving about.

The PGA Tour returns to Utah for the first time since 1963 when the Black Desert Championship tees off Thursday in Ivins, Utah. Most of the 132 golfers in the tournament have never played in Utah before,

The luxury resort outside St. George in southern Utah opened last year and will host both PGA and LPGA tournaments.

The Showdown' will pit some of the finest PGA Tour and LIV Golf players against one another. Nomadness founder Evita Robinson shares her tips for saving money while traveling and explains why it's worth more than the price of airfare.