2022 Shriners Children’s Open: Top 10 power rankings at TPC Summerlin
The PGA Tour goes from one extreme to the other, departing from the Bible Belt at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi, to the desert climes of Las Vegas for the Shriners Children’s Open.
The event originated in 1983 and has been a staple on the PGA Tour schedule ever since. It bounced around courses until settling on TPC Summerlin in 2008 where it remains.
TPC Summerlin was designed by Bobby Weed with consultation 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. Missing fairways can still lead to some tricky shots out of unpredictable lies.
This event generally attracts a pretty solid field for its spot on the schedule. There are 144 players seeking to make the 36-hole cut of top 65 and ties.
There are 12 top-50 players in the Shriners Children’s Open.
Weather for the week is warm and dry, as expected, with temperatures in the 60s-80s with no rain and light winds.
Let’s dive into the top 10 players to contend for the title in Vegas.
Seamus Power arrives at the Shriners Children’s Open for the fifth time and just the second since 2018. The Irishman has made three cuts at TPC Summerlin, including a personal best result of T-21st (66-68-69-67) last year.
Power didn’t make a double bogey or worse that week. He was second in the field in total strokes gained approach (6.522) and was eighth in SG tee to green (7.043).
He’s playing some of his best golf in his mid-30s. That’s how pro golf used to be, but in the midst of a youth revolution, it’s intriguing to see Power do what he’s doing.
He picked up his one and only PGA Tour win at the 2021 Barbasol Championship. He’s got a slew of high finishes in the past few years to go with it.
Last season, he finished 25th in the FedEx Cup in the regular season and 43rd after the playoffs. Power recorded 13 top-25s and five top-10s. The East Tennessee State alum had his best year at the majors, making three cuts all inside the top 27 led by T-9th at the PGA Championship.
Power finished in the positive in every SG category last season. His strength was putting, where he was 40th (.283).
Power got his 2022-23 season underway last week. He posted rounds of 71-71-67-71 to take T-30th at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
If he can add another win to his resume and continue to be supremely consistent, Power has what it takes to make his first European Ryder Cup team when it comes to Italy in 2023.