Damien Kayat looks ahead to the Shriners Hospital for Children Open which is set to take place at the TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
The US PGA Tour 2020/2021
Shriners Hospital for Children Open
TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada
8th-11th October
Sergio Garcia’s ‘no-look’ putting stroke saw him perform magnificently on the Mississippi greens last week. One wonders how many Majors he could have one if he had used this approach before. The tour moves to Vegas this week for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Originally staged in 1983, the event used to be a Pro-Am staged over five rounds and multiple courses. 2004 saw the event reduced to 72 holes while 2008 saw TPC Summerlin become the exclusive host of this event. The event has been picking up some steam in recent years, though this year’s condensed schedule has really facilitated a wonderful line-up. This is actually the strongest line-up on the PGA Tour since the US Open, with Winged Foot behemoth Bryson DeChambeau leading the markets.
TPC Summerlin was designed by Bobby Weed with the assistance of Fuzzy Zoeller. Bryson DeChambeau will be playing a much different test to Winged Foot this week: this is to Winged Foot what 20/20 cricket is to test matches. There is significant room off the tee and the Bentgrass greens are large and receptive. They are set to run at 11 on the stimp, hardly the greatest preparation for the upcoming Masters. This is consistently the easiest par 71 on the US PGA Tour (it was once again last year). Recently, the City of Sin has thrown up some quite strange results (what happens in Vegas only happens in Vegas). Take Rod Pampling taking down Brooks Koepka in 2016. But this year’s stacked field should theoretically see a more predictable conclusion.
US Open Champion and current golfing hot-topic Bryson DeChambeau says he is aiming to add even further bulk as we head towards Augusta. At what point does it start to look a bit ridiculous? It’s borderline right now. Defending champion Kevin Na is going to have a struggle on his hands to defend his title this year. The likes of Webb Simpson and Collin Morikawa have been in scintillating form this year. Sergio looks to make it back-to-back wins this week while Matthew Wolff looks to recover from his disappointing final round at Winged Foot.
Past Winners
2019: Kevin Na (-23) *playoff
2018: Bryson DeChambeau (-21)
2017: Patrick Cantlay (-9) *playoff
2016: Rod Pampling (-20)
2015: Smylie Kaufman (-16)
To Win Outright:
Bryson DeChambeau (7/1)
Webb Simpson (11/1)
Patrick Cantlay (16/1)
Tony Finau (20/1)
Hideki Matsuyama (20/1)
Webb Simpson (11/1)
Patrick Cantlay (16/1)
Tony Finau (20/1)
Hideki Matsuyama (20/1)
Value Bets
Rickie Fowler- To Win (35/1), To Place (15/2)
Fowler’s decision to leave the Harmon operation and work with John Tillery hasn’t exactly paid off. His swing changes just haven’t worked, reflected in a poor 2020. But perhaps Fowler will take some confidence from Garcia’s victory last week. All it takes is one week. And Fowler loves it here. He made his professional debut here more than a decade ago, finishing in a brilliant 7th. He also finished 4th on his last visit in 2018, which included a brilliant 63. He has a scoring average of 67.50 around TPC Summerlin. He ranked 15th in SG: off-the-tee in his last outing at Winged Foot. It was his usually reliable putting that abandoned him that week. These surfaces should suit him far more than those super-slick Winged Foot beasts.
MJ Daufee- To Win (200/1), To Place (43/1)
Yes, this could be a tad reactive. And the stronger field this week in Sin City makes the chance of a MJ Daufee surge pretty fanciful. The South African is coming off a tie for 12th at last week’s Sanderson Farms. He led the field with 1.96 shots gained approach. He also ranked 4th in the field for SG: Tee to Green. He finished in a tie for 22nd at the Workday Charity Open in mid-July (which has a far stronger field than last week). I just think there is some possible value in a sneaky place bet.
The Man to Beat
Scottie Scheffler- To Win (28/1), To Place (6/1)
While Na putted the lights out to win last year, recent stats seem to suggest that your tee-to-green game is more important around TPC Summerlin. Runner-up Cantlay was 1st in SG: Off the Tee and 2nd in SG: Tee to Green. Furthermore, five of the last eight years have seen the winner post a 62 or lower. Scottie Scheffler is a driving dynamo who recently shot a ridiculous 59 at the Northern Trust Open. He has ranked inside the top 14 for SG: Tee to Green in six of his last seven starts. He will have been hugely disappointed by the Covid diagnosis that saw him miss the US Open. He returned to action with a rusty- if efficient- T37 at last week’s Sanderson Farms. This could be the week where the real Scheffler returns.
