Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 13 October 2009 / Leave a comment

Summerlin is a low-scoring course and this 'huge-hitting birdie machine' will love that, says Paul Krishnamurty

"Garrigus is unlikely to ever contend on a course that demands accuracy and sound course management, but has shown a liking for Summerlin before, finishing third in 2007."

It's doubtful that there is any single tournament on the calendar where it makes better sense to back outsiders than this week's JT Shriners Hospital Open. The course, Summerlin, has hosted various PGA Tour events, and this decade has produced some of the unlikeliest winners ever seen at this level. Of nine Summerlin champions this century only two started at less than [100.0].

Besides this tendency towards big-priced winners, the other key characteristic of Summerlin is that it always yields very low scores. The highest score in the last five years is 22 under par. It must therefore make sense to look at the 'birdie average' stats, and particularly the man who tops that list over the past 12 months, [130.0] chance Robert Garrigus.

Garrigus is, in short, a huge-hitting birdie machine. He is unlikely to ever contend on a course that demands accuracy and sound course management, but has shown a liking for Summerlin before, finishing third in 2007. Recent form is decent too, with top-25s on six of his last 11 starts.

Tags: JT Shriners Hospital Open, Robert Garrigus, Summerlin