Shriners Children’s Open Picks in 2021 – PGA Tour Best Bets

The PGA Tour’s two-week Las Vegas swing gets underway this week at TPC Summerlin. The Bobby Weed design recently emerged from overseeding, and the weather in Vegas should be ideal. Throw in the traditionally low scoring at this venue (23-under-par got into a playoff here the last two years), and all signs are pointing toward an action-packed weekend.

As far as the betting sheet goes, Brooks Koepka headlines a stacked field. 11 of the top 25 in the OWGR are set to tee it up in Sin City; 12 players are priced at +3000 or lower to win. In terms of my top Shriners Children’s Open picks, let’s dive in.

There are lots of intriguing names once you scroll past the favorites. Aaron Wise (+6600) immediately comes to mind, he’s spent a lot of time at this golf course and has played well here before. Wise finished T26 last week in his first go-around with a broomstick putter (44^th in SG: Putting) and showed flashes of a more confident stroke.

Still, it’s a major switch. I’ll need to see a bit more before I go back to Wise’s well.

Here are two players I am willing to roll the dice on.

Finally, Matthew Wolff has got some pep in his step. It took a 35-foot bomb on his final hole on Friday just to make the cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but then, the floodgates started to open.

His stellar play on Saturday and Sunday vaulted him into a tie for 17^th – now he gets a crack at a golf course he shredded in 2020. On the heels of 18 birdies and 4 eagles, Matthew shot 23-under-par here last October, ultimately losing to in a playoff. 

Look for Wolff to once again make mincemeat of this venue.

You don’t have to overpower TPC Summerlin to shoot low scores. The fairways are rock hard and the course plays short, it’s more about chipping and putting than anything else. Hence, Kevin Na has won here twice (2011, 2019); Webb Simpson is a former winner and an established “horse for this course.”

Enter Brian Harman as one of my best PGA picks this week.

As for his record at this particular track, Harman’s landed inside the top 15 in each of his last two trips. This includes last year’s T13 when he was 18-under-par through 54 holes.

Six men who competed in the 2021 Ryder Cup are in the field this week. Among that crop, Viktor Hovland (+2000) and Scottie Scheffler (+2500) pique my interest.

Will Zalatoris is a pristine ball-striker who will get lots of looks, and I agree, targeting robust ball-strikers is a great strategy to lean on. With that in mind, I’ve got my eye on a pair of the game’s best.

After a rare week off, Sungjae Im returned to the links in Mississippi where he shot 13-under-par (T31). Good for his 11^th straight made cut, Im now cruises into a golf course that really suits his eye.

Considering the best places to bet on golf have 12 golfers priced at +3000 or lower, the value attached to Sungjae is palpable.

Like Im, Conners is a ball-striking savant who’s always going to be in contention when he’s putting well. Or perhaps “putting well” is a bit overrated when it comes to winning golf tournaments.

Sam Burns won the Sanderson Farms by losing 1.98 strokes putting.

He's the first to win*, while losing strokes putting since JT at the 2020 WGC FedEx.

It's the second-worst putting performance by any winner dating back to 2010. Steven Bowditch lost 2.43 at the '14 Valero. pic.twitter.com/WuVE0raodm

— Rick Gehman (@RickRunGood) October 4, 2021

Just two golfers ended last season ranked inside the top 10 in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach. Their names were Jon Rahm and Corey Conners.

Know that the 29-year-old Canadian arrives in Vegas playing some really solid golf; he’s riding seven straight made cuts and has finished 22^nd or better in six of his last seven starts. His tee-to-green game was on point last week (9^th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 11^th in SG: Approach), not to mention, his flat stick was somewhat cooperating (T9 in putts per GIR; 43 in SG: Putting).

Ready to get on board these Shriners Children’s Open predictions?