The PGA Tour returns to Las Vegas, Nevada and the TPC Summerlin Golf Course this week for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open this week. This tournament was pushed back to November and as a result of a clerical error by the PGA there will be 144 golfers competing in this week’s event, which will make it that much more difficult to pick winners. A close look at the field reveals how wide open this week’s tournament should be with out a single top-10 player set to compete. There will be no Jordan Spieth, no Dustin Johnson, no Rory McIlroy and no Jason Day lurking in the grass. It’s truly a wide-open event, which means you’ll really have to dig down deep to find value and you’ll have to be careful not to over-invest in the favorites. Here is our preview of the weekly PGA Tour event, which starts on Thursday.
Event
Event Details: Shriners Hospital for Children Open
Category: PGA
Date: November 3-6
Location: TPC Summerlin Golf Course, Las Vegas, Nevada
A year ago it was Smylie Kaufman that stole the show in the final round when he came back from a seven-stroke deficit with a 10-under 61 to win the Shriners Hospital for Children Open. Kaufman won with a minus-16 score as the 70.080 average score the field posted that week represented an eight-year high. It will be very interesting to see if the scoring comes down this week with the conditions expected to be nearly flawless once again. That should help the field post better scores.
Past Five Winners
2015: Smylie Kaufman – 16
2014: Ben Martin -20
2013: Webb Simpson -24
2012: Ryan Moore -24
2011: Kevin Na -23
What To Know About The Course
The heat and dry conditions at TPC Summerlin make it a speedy track to play on. The weather is expected to be ideal again for this year’s tournament with light winds and sunny skies throughout the week. Driving Distance is relevant but the key stat to keep an eye on is Driving Accuracy after half of the top-10 a year ago finished inside the top-10 in that category. Five of the top-10 finishers also finish inside the top-10 in Greens In Regulation, which should be another category to keep an eye on this week.
The Field
The field for this week’s event should be wide open with Ryan Moore, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm among the sports betting favorites to win this event outright at +1800 odds or greater. Chris Kirk and Francesco Molinari are also among the top five betting favorites with Scott Piercy, Kevin Na and Brandan Steele expected to contend. The sportsbooks clearly aren’t expecting Kaufman to repeat at this year’s winner as he is listed at +8000 odds to win outright.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Scott Piercy over Martin Laird
This matchup is about finding the best possible value to play off of Piercy and Laird seems to be a safe pick to bet against this weekend. Piercy is a local resident with three top-10 finishes and another two top-25 finishes at this tournament since 2009 so his track record indicates he will deliver another strong result this week. Piercy might not finish in the top-five but a top-10 result isn’t unlikely and he should have the edge over Laird at this tournament.
Top-Five Pick: Ryan Moore
Moore is at the top of his game right now following a pair of top-25 finishes at the CIMB Classic and the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions so a return home couldn’t have come at a better time. Moore won this event in 2012 and then posted a top-10 finish his title defense here so he has demonstrated a track record for success at this event. He might not win this tournament outright this week but he should be the best bet on the board to finish among the top-five at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this week.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Ryan Moore +1650
Brooks Koepka +1850
Jon Rahm +2250
Francesco Molinari +2250
Billy Horschel +2250
Chris Kirk +2250
Scott Piercy +2550
Kevin Na +2850
Graeme McDowell +3250
Tony Finau +3250
