PGA Tour preview: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Some of golf’s biggest names are back on Tour this weekend for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.    

Recent U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau headlines the 38th annual event as the +700 favorite. Currently ranked No. 6 in the world, the 27-year-old California native won the Shriners back in 2018, when he defeated Patrick Cantlay (+1400) by one stroke.

Both golfers could find themselves in another heated battle this weekend, as Cantlay has posted top-two finishes in all three of his career appearances at the Shriners.

Before falling to DeChambeau in 2018, Cantlay won in a playoff in 2017 and lost in extra holes to two-time winner Kevin Na (+6000) in 2019.

Webb Simpson eyes second win at Shriners

Former champion and course record-holder Webb Simpson (+1000) is another player to look out for in Vegas. Simpson claimed the Shiners in 2013, when he finished with an aggregate score of 260, tied with Ryan Moore (2012 winner) for the lowest.

Simpson landed eighth at Winged Foot in September and showed some of the best form on Tour, following the COVID-19 hiatus. He won the RBC Heritage in late June and finished third, sixth, and 12th at the Wyndham Championship, The Northern Trust, and Tour Championship.

Simpson should excel at the par-71, 7,255-yard Summerlin course, where he has competed each year since his inaugural win.

Other familiar faces in this weekend’s star-studded event include Hideki Matsuyama (+1800), Rickie Fowler (+3000), last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship winner Sergio Garcia (+3500), and PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa (+1600).  

You will also see a rare appearance from Francesco Molinari (+12500), who hasn’t played on Tour since his 53rd-place finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship in February. Molinari won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2019, then finished fifth at the Masters a month later. Since then, his form has hit a sharp decline and he has yet to post a Top 10 over the past year.

The player with the best shot to win at Summerlin will be the one who can hit the ball accurately off the tee and avoid bunkers in the fairway, gain strokes on approach, hit plenty of birdies on this low-scoring course, and putt well on bentgrass.

Simpson is solid in all of the above categories. At the end of the 2019-20 season, he ranked first on Tour in birdie or better percentage, sixth in strokes gained approaching the green, and 18th in driving accuracy. He’s also done pretty well on bentgrass courses, such as Augusta National and TPC Boston.

How to watch the Shriners Open

The winner of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open will receive 500 FedEx Cup points and $1.26 million of the $7 million purse. You can catch all the action on the Golf Channel Thursday through Sunday or stream on PGA Tour Live.

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Find the latest odds on the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at BetAmerica