Golf enthusiasts, bettors, and sports fans alike wait with bated breath as one of the most exhilarating events on the PGA Tour calendar, the Shriners Children's Open, approaches. This golf tournament will take place at the picturesque TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada, and promises an electrifying display of skill, strategy, and perseverance.
With a field of talented golfers such as Tom Kim, Taylor Pendrith, Davis Thompson and Keith Mitchell, this will certainly be one of the more exciting golf tournaments of the shoulder season.
Why does the Shriners Children's Open captivate so many? Since it's inception in 1983, this tournament has evolved from a pro-am event into a competitive spectacle exclusively hosted at TPC Summerlin since 2008.
Golfers of all skill levels are drawn to its legacy, vying for a chance to etch their name into its storied history. For golf bettors, especially, this event holds unique opportunities as birdies abound and low scores dominate the leaderboard.
TPC Summerlin, crafted by Bobby Weed and aided by Fuzzy Zoeller in 1992, is a course designed to test and thrill in equal measure. Stretching over approximately 7,255 yards and playing as a Par-71, this course offers plenty of room off the tee and spacious bentgrass greens. With a reputation as one of the easiest par 71 tracks on the PGA Tour, golfers often find themselves in a scoring frenzy as they tackle its fairways.
The course's history is punctuated with record-breaking performances. Nine years ago, Smylie Kaufman shot a dazzling 10-under-par 61 to win, while J.J. Henry, Rod Pampling, and Patrick Cantlay have all fired jaw-dropping 11-under-par 60s.
TPC Summerlin transforms into a birdie-fest, where winners typically reach at least 20-under-par en route to victory.
Traditionally, driving accuracy wasn't a significant factor at TPC Summerlin. However, recent trends indicate that finding fairways has become critical to going low.
While the fairways remain among the easiest to hit on tour, accurate ball striking and precision iron play have emerged as key determinants of success. Competitors who can consistently reach the greens with short irons are well-positioned to capitalize on birdie opportunities.
With large, receptive greens running at around 12 on the Stimpmeter, putting prowess becomes paramount. Players who can read the greens effectively and convert birdie putts will find themselves climbing the leaderboard. Historical data shows that winners average 24 birdies during the tournament, underscoring the importance of stellar putting.
For our free play in the Shriners Children's Open, it would be effortless to just take the two-time champ in Tom Kim to win at 12/1, but what fun would that be?
We will look elsewhere, and we will go to a Head-To-Head matchup, taking Beau Hossler over Keith Mitchell at -127. Mitchell has never played well here and even though he is in good form, fact is he doesn't not play well here.
He has never finished higher than 60th in five appearances here! Hossler, on the other hand, has played very well here, finishing inside the Top 35 five out of six times!
