2021 Shriners Children’s Open: Top 10 power rankings at TPC Summerlin

The first three events of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season have players pinballing back and forth across the U.S.

Things began a few weeks ago at the Fortinet Championship in Napa. After a week off for the Ryder Cup, the PGA Tour continued back up for the Sanderson Farms Championship last week in Mississippi. We’re back in the Pacific time zone for some desert golf at the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.

This event has been a staple on the schedule since debuting in 1983. It had the highest purse of $750,000 when it was created and was formerly a 90-hole tournament until 2004.

Now, the winner alone gets over $1.2 million of a $7 million purse.

Ten venues hosted the tournament before TPC Summerlin came on board in 2008.

TPC Summerlin was designed by Bobby Weed with consulation from Fuzzy Zoeller and opened in 1991. It plays at 2,700 feet of elevation, which is about half of the elevation players see at the Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California.

The course plays at 7,255 yards for a par 71. The course is very gettable for short hitters, as evidenced by recent Shriners wins by the likes of Kevin Na, Martin Laird, etc. TPC Summerlin’s bentgrass greens tend to roll faster than PGA Tour average.

Like most desert courses, there isn’t much rough to worry about, but missing fairways can still lead to some tricky shots out of native areas.

The weather forecast hints that winds could be gusting in the teens miles per hour with little to no chance of rain. Temperatures will be in the upper 50s to mid 80s.

This tournament tends to attract one of the stronger fields during the fall portion of the schedule. There are only two top 10 players from the Official World Golf Rankings, but there are 10 from the top 25.

It’s time to predict who will contend for the title in Sin City: