19th Hole
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open betting tips and selections
PGA Tour pros will be traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada this week for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. This tournament was founded in 1983, and it has always been a part of the PGA Tour’s fall swing.
The event is currently held at TPC Summerlin. This tournament has typically attracted a somewhat better field than some of other other fall series events, and this year is no different. Abraham Ancer, Sam Burns, Paul Casey, Harris English, Rickie Fowler, Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Brooks Koepka, Jason Kokrak, Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Na, Joaquin Niemann, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed, Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, and Will Zalatoris will all be teeing it up this week at TPC Summerlin.
TPC Summerlin is a par 71, measuring 7,255 yards. It was designed in 1991 by Bobby Weed and Fuzzy Zoeller. Water comes into play on four holes. The fairways are Bermuda-grass, the rough is Bermuda-grass, measuring two inches on average, and the 7,400 square foot on average greens are Bent-grass.
TPC Summerlin is a typical TPC venue with a number of risk reward holes that tend to yield low scores from aggressive play. Similar to most courses that we see during the fall swing, TPC Summerlin is generally torn up by PGA Tour pros. Outside of a wind-swept year in 2017 where Patrick Cantlay won at nine-under par, the winning score has been 20-under or below in eight of the last ten years. TPC Summerlin has annually ranked inside the ten easiest courses on Tour for each of the last three years. Last year, players had to shoot six-under par just to make the cut.
Along with wedge play and the ability to control the occasional long iron, I am primarily looking for players that are comfortable in easy scoring conditions and have experienced success before on Bent-grass greens. I know I sound like a broken record during the fall swing, but it’s true, birdies are the name of the game in this portion of the season. It should not be overlooked that some players are more comfortable than others in a tournament where the winning score is -25.
Let’s dig into my outright selections.
Brooks Koepka (22/1, Bet365)
I do not typically pay up for elite talent on courses where putting is so important, but I feel it necessary to make an exception this week for Brooks Koepka. The four-time major championship winner appears a perfect fit for TPC Summerlin, as evidenced by fourth-place and a runner-up finishes across five appearances. His desert golf resume also includes two wins at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Over his last 36 rounds, Koepka ranks first in strokes gained off the tee, 15th in strokes gained approach, 16th in birdies or better gained, fourth in opportunities gained, and third in proximity from 100-125 yards, out of all players in this field. While typically known for his affinity for difficult courses, Koepka is downright elite at making the most out of opportunities with a scoring club in his hands. Coming off a brilliant Ryder Cup performance, expect Koepka to pick up PGA Tour win number nine in Las Vegas.
Hideki Matsuyama (30/1, FanDuel)
Speaking of desert golf resumes, Hideki Matsuyama is another player who has recorded multiple top-20 finishes at TPC Summerlin and multiple wins at TPC Scottsdale. The 2021 Masters Champion has had a bit of an up and down season after securing his first major victory, but his game finally seems to be rounding into form. In his last start at the Fortinet Championship, Matsuyama gained two strokes off the tee and 4.5 strokes on approach, en route to a sixth-place finish. The six-time PGA Tour winner was stifled from securing victory in Napa only because he lost 1.4 strokes putting. Of course, the flat-stick will always be the greatest concern with Matsuyama, but returning to Bent-grass, the same surface that he won the Masters on earlier this year, figures to yield a more inspired performance.
Matthew Wolff (45/1, FanDuel)
I have been a little more conservative in terms of taking my chances with Matthew Wolff despite his undeniable ceiling. With that being said, I was incredibly encouraged by what I saw from him last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The Oklahoma State product gained strokes in all four major categories for the first time since, coincidentally, his runner-up finish at this tournament last year. Wolff’s statistical profile has been checkered with inconsistencies throughout the entirety of the 2020-2021 season, so the fact that he has finally returned to a positive baseline figures to be an indicator that his game is rounding into form. Now he returns to a course that he has already recorded an 18th place-finish and a runner-up. I expect him to continue his strong play in the desert.
Talor Gooch (80/1, FanDuel)
I always find myself higher on Talor Gooch than the market, and this week is no different. The Oklahoma State product enters this tournament on the back of a fourth-place finish at the Fortinet Championship where he gained 0.7 strokes off the tee, 2.6 strokes on approach, 5.5 strokes around the green, and 1.9 strokes putting. As previously alluded to in my argument for Matthew Wolff, I love when players are gaining strokes in all four major categories. It displays a high baseline level of consistency that is hard to find on the PGA Tour. Now Gooch returns to Las Vegas, where he finished top-five last October at the CJ Cup, and bent-grass greens, which has historically been a preferred putting surface for the Oklahoma native. 80/1 feels a fair price for a player primed for a major breakthrough.
Hank Lebioda (250/1, BetMGM)
Let’s travel back to August, when Hank Lebioda was a popular selection at prices as low as 60/1. Since his summer string of three consecutive top-eight finishes at the Travelers Championship, the Rocket Mortgage, and the John Deere Classic, which were all Bent-grass birdie-fests for those keeping track at home, the Florida State product has cooled considerably with three consecutive missed cuts. Yet on deeper inspection, Lebioda’s game is on the upswing. In his last start, the Florida native missed the cut on the number at the Fortinet Championship, while gaining 3.9 strokes on approach, good for his best iron week in nearly five months. Now he returns to another course that features bent-grass greens, where birdies are the price of admission. I will gladly buy low on a player that has contended over the weekend in three of last six starts.
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19th Hole
Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year
While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.
Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…
— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”
The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.
Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships
While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.
“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.
“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.
“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’
“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.
“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”
Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.
Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items
The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Since then, more details have emerged about the case.
According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.
Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”
The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.
Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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