Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Power ranking the top 10 at TPC Summerlin

The PGA Tour is in Sin City this week as the opening of the 2018-19 schedule marches on. This week’s stop: the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

The PGA Tour is back on American soil for its first full field event in nearly a month, though its at a city unlike any other in the U.S., Las Vegas. The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has been played here in the desert for decades and has called TPC Summerlin home since 2008.

If you like to see birdies, this is the tournament for you. TPC Summerlin ranks as one of the easiest on Tour and has produced a winning score 20-under or better seven of 10 times. Last year was an outlier as Patrick Cantlay won at 9-under.

The course is a par 71 measuring at 7,255 yards though Las Vegas sitting 2,000 feet above sea level negates some of that distance. There isn’t much to protect this course from low scores save for native areas where you can lose a ball or draw a clean lie by the same roll of the dice.

Two of the three par-5s are driveable. Length is an asset on this course, but shorter hitters can get it done, too. In most birdie barrages, it’s going to come down to who can roll the rock on these bentgrass greens.

Unless you’re planning on leading the field in GIR, a top-10 putting week is likely needed.

The forecast calls for temperatures in the 70s and 80s, sunny and negligible winds.

There’s plenty of course history to build off of this week. If you want to look further, guys who have had success at TPC Scottsdale, another desert course, have generally fared well here, too.

With the PGA Tour’s new rule dictating players must add a new tournament to their schedule they haven’t played the previous four years, some household names appear to have chosen Vegas as their event.

For fantasy players and bettors, keep in mind that we’re back to a full-field, 36-hole cut event after three weeks in Asia featuring limited field, no-cut events.

Let’s go!