Yahoo DFS Golf: Shriners Children's Open Picks and Strategy
Shriners Children's Open
Las Vegas, Nevada
TPC Summerlin - Par 71 - 7,255 yards
Field - 144 entrants
Purse - $8M
The Preview
The PGA Tour heads west to Sin City with several Presidents Cup competitors making their 2022-23 solo debuts in Las Vegas, as another relatively weak fall-series field is highlighted by tournament favorite and No. 4 player in the world, Patrick Cantlay. As it has since 1992, TPC Summerlin once again plays host to the Shriners Children's Open, which is slated to develop into its typical birdie fest as each of the past four champions have reached at least 21-under-par here. The 7,255-yard, par-71 layout plays shorter than it looks on paper due to elevation and the desert climate, while tame winds are expected to leave the course with minimal defense throughout the upcoming week. Aside from a couple reachable par-5s, driving prowess takes a back seat to approach proximity and putting on these large bentgrass greens.
Recent Champions
2021 - Sungjae Im
2020 - Martin Laird
2019 - Kevin Na
2018 - Bryson DeChambeau
2017 - Patrick Cantlay
2016 - Rod Pampling
2015 - Smylie Kaufman
2014 - Ben Martin
2013 - Webb Simpson
2012 - Ryan Moore
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Birdie or Better percentage
SG: Putting (bentgrass)
Proximity
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Sungjae Im - $46
The defending champion is a combined 54-under-par through three trips to TPC Summerlin and Im still isn't even close to being this field's ultimate horse for the course, with Patrick Cantlay ($50) finishing T8-2-2-Win in a four-year stretch here from 2017 to 2020. Cantlay is certain to foster a ton of rostership at the top of the board, which could leave Im just slightly less rostered at a similarly expensive $46 salary. Im has had more than a week to recover from the Presidents Cup after-party where he busted out the dance moves on the heels of a respectable 2-2-1 record for the International Team given the stiff competition he faced.
Tom Kim - $41
Kim burst onto the scene with his win at the Wyndham Championship in early August, and he gained an average of 4.6 strokes per event on his approach shots throughout the final five events of his 2021-22 campaign from the 3M Open to the BMW Championship. The 20-year-old carried the buzz into the Presidents Cup where he provided quite a spark for the International Team, winning his matches in Rounds 3 and 4 before giving Max Homa a test in their Singles battle. Over his past 12 measured rounds on Tour, Kim ranks second to none among this week's field in both SG: APP and Opportunities Gained.
Aaron Wise - $40
Wise has placed T15 or better in half of his six career outings at TPC Summerlin, notably tying for eighth here last year when he finished T4 in greens in regulation en route to 22 total birdies. He's now making his first start since the TOUR Championship, but over his last 12 rounds, Wise ranks third in par-5 efficiency and sixth in proximity.
Glue Guys
Emiliano Grillo - $30
Grillo went T25-T5 to open the 2022-23 season at the Fortinet Championship and the Sanderson Farms Championship, but his salary actually dropped $3 to $30 this week, so it's a pretty evident misprice and he figures to be a popular value play as a result. The Argentinian has generally been known as a poor putter throughout his career, but he's actually gained at least 1.8 strokes with the flat stick in six consecutive measured events dating back to the John Deere Classic, which has guided Grillo to third in Birdie or Better percentage across his past 24 rounds.
Matthew NeSmith - $28
This won't be a week where NeSmith flies completely under the radar given his finishes of T14-T8-T18 the past three years in Vegas, and he also just rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts by tying for ninth at the Country Club of Jackson where he ranked third in SG: Approach and 11th in putts per GIR. He racked up nine final-round birdies on the way to an eight-under 64 on Sunday, improving to fifth in Birdie or Better percentage over his past 12 rounds.
Thomas Detry - $28
Detry followed up his T5 at the DP World Tour's BMW PGA Championship with results of T12-T9 to begin the 2022-23 PGA Tour campaign, most recently holding a share of the 36-hole lead this past week in Mississippi where he recorded three scores of 68 or better while gaining 4.7 strokes with the flat stick. Through the first eight rounds of the season, he's gained 10.6 strokes from tee to green as well.
Bargain Bin
Nick Hardy - $26
Hardy paced his peers at the Sanderson Farms Championship in SG: Approach en route to a T5 finish, and he tallied 19 total birdies despite gaining only 0.359 strokes on the greens. Additionally, he's top-20 in both par-5 efficiency and Birdie or Better percentage over his last 24 rounds.
Mark Hubbard - $24
Like Hardy, Hubbard also tied for fifth last week at the C.C. of Jackson while relying on his approach play, but a better putting performance allowed the latter to surpass the 20-birdie mark as he ranked fifth in putts per GIR and 23rd in SG: Putting. Hubbard is second among this week's field in SG: Approach over his past 24 rounds and 13th in Opportunities Gained during this stretch.
Taylor Moore - $23
Moore broke par in all four rounds this past week at the Sanderson Farms Championship, combatting a poor driving performance by ranking eighth in SG: Approach as he extended his consecutive cuts made streak to 10 events. He averaged five birdies per round on the way to a T24 finish at last year's Shriners Children's Open, gaining 6.6 strokes putting in the process.
