Tournament History
First staged in 1983, the Shriners Children's Open used to be a pro-am staged over five rounds, played out on multiple courses. In 2004 they reduced the event to just 72-holes and since 2008, TPC Summerlin has hosted the event alone.
Venue
TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Course Details
Par 71, 7.255 yards
Stroke index in 2021 - 68.93
Designed in 1992 by Bobby Weed (and aided by Fuzzy Zoeller), TPC Summerlin is a very easy track. There's plenty of room off the tee (although fairways do need to be found), the bentgrass greens are large, receptive, and usually set to run at 11 ½ on the stimpmeter, although they won't reach 11 this year.
After a hot summer, all fairways and greens have been replaced with new grass and as a result, the greens will be fractionally slower this year.
TPC Summerlin is consistently the easiest par 71 encountered on the PGA Tour although last year's field average of 68.926 (2.074 strokes under-par) was a three year high.
The 2019 scoring average of 68.86 was a record low since its debut in 1992 and the 2020 average of just 68.34 was the lowest of all par 71s on the PGA Tour in 16 completed seasons.
Changes were made to the course before the 2018 renewal, with all 102 bunkers redone. The sand was replaced and in many cases they were moved to fit better with the strategy of today's game but it made no difference to the scoring.
TPC Summerlin is at altitude so it doesn't play anywhere near as far as the yardage suggests and it's a very easy track for the world's best players. As an indication of how easy the course is, Smylie Kaufman shot a 10-under-par 61 to come from off the pace to win seven years ago, while J.J. Henry in 2013 and Rod Pampling in 2016 both shot 60.
In benign conditions, it's a very easy course and given the rough is cut to as short as two and half inches, there's a decent chance that someone might break 60.
Sung Kang opened up last year's event with a 61 and the winner, Sungjae Im, fired a 62 in round four to win by four.
TV Coverage
Live on Sky Sports all four days. Red Button coverage starts at 14:30 on Thursday and the full coverage begins at 17:30.
Last Seven Winners with Pre-event Exchange Prices
2021 - Sungjae Im -24 44.043/1
2020 - Martin Laird -23 (playoff) 250.0249/1
2019 - Kevin Na -23 120.0119/1 (playoff)
2018 - Bryson DeChambeau -21 16.531/2
2017 - Patrick Cantlay -9 22.021/1 (playoff)
2016 - Rod Pampling -20 550.0549/1
2015 - Smylie Kaufman -16 300.0299/1
What Will it Take to Win the Shriners Children's Open?
It's probably best to largely disregard the 2017 result, when extremely windy weather kept a lid on the scoring. Patrick Cantlay's winning score of nine-under-par was far from typical. The eventual 10th, JJ Spaun, was on 11-under at the halfway stage and the highest winning score prior to 2017, since the event became a 72 hole event in 2008, was 16-under-par seven years ago. And the last four winners have all got to double-digits under par.
The Shriners is a low scoring birdie-fest and if we take out the 2017 result, the average winning score for the other 17 editions (since it became a 72-hole event) is 22-under-par. On average, the winners have made 24 birdies en route to victory. Im made 26 last year.
He ranked first for both Greens In Regulation and Scrambling, as well as well as first for Strokes Gained tee-to Green but a good angle in is to concentrate on the fairly straight hitters as finding fairways appears key to going low here.
Driving Accuracy used to be a completely irrelevant stat here but that's all changed of late. The fairways are wide, some of the easiest on tour, and the rough is minimal so it's hard to figure out why accuracy is so important now but it clearly is.
When Bryson DeChambeau ranked fourth for DA in 2018, he was the 10th winner in-a-row to rank inside the top-18 for that stat. The five winners prior to 2009 had an average DA ranking of 43rd so something's changed and it looks like something to be wary off.
Even though it's a resort course with minimal rough, indiscriminately bombing it off the tee with a disregard for accuracy hasn't got the job done here recently.
As many as three of the last five winners have ranked inside the top five for Driving Accuracy and the last six victors have all ranked better for accuracy than they have for distance. The last winner to rank higher for length than accuracy was Kaufman in 2005, who ranked fifth for DD, but he still ranked as high as seventh for accuracy.
Is There an Identikit Winner?
We've seen a few well-fancied winners of late but lots of big outsiders have prospered.
In the old five-round, multiple-course format, outsiders went in year after year and between 2004 and 2010 every winner went off at a triple-figure price. The likes of Phil Tataurangi, Andre Stolz and Wes Short Jr, to name but three, were almost impossible to spot before the off.
The 2020 winner, Martin Laird, was matched at a high of 400.0399/1 before the off and the three winners before Cantlay in 2017 were huge outsiders too.
Ben Martin went off at 250.00249/1 eight years ago, Smylie Kaufman was a 300.0299/1 chance seven years ago and very few people could have picked out Rod Pampling in 2016, who was matched at a high of 670.0669/1.
In-between 2011 and 2013 there was a three-year blip where the winners were quite well-fancied. Kevin Na was well-backed in 2011, Webb Simpson was the second favourite in 2012 and Ryan Moore went off favourite a year later. Na went off at a triple-figure price in 2019, when winning for a second time but the two winners before him, and last year's winner, Im, had been easy enough to pick.
PGA Tour rookies and first-time winners are commonplace at Summerlin too. The last four winners had all won previously but Cantlay was the seventh first time PGA Tour winner to take the title in 11 years and its 26 years since a certain Tiger Woods broke his duck here. Previous course form is a big plus though.
Im had been 15th and 13th on his two previous visits, Laird was winning for the first time in seven years in 2020, but he was winning his second Shriners title, having won the 2009 edition in extra time, and he was the second two-time winner in-a-row. Na had won the title for a first time back in 2011 before doubling up in 2019 and both men have also finished second at TPC Summerlin.
It's a tricky event, that often goes the way of an outsider, so backing previous winners at triple figure prices is not a bad tactic given two of the last three results.
Winner's Position and Exchange Price Pre-Round Four
2021 - Sungjae Im - solo 6th - trailing by three 11.521/2
2020 - Martin Laird - tied for the lead 6.611/2
2019 - Kevin Na - led by two strokes 2.3211/8
2018 - Bryson DeChambeau - tied for the lead 2.588/5
2017 - Patrick Cantlay T4 - trailing by four 13.525/2
2016 - Rod Pampling - trailing by one stroke 14.527/2
2015 - Smylie Kaufman T28 - trailing by seven 1000.0999/1
In-Play Tactics
The 2017 finish was very odd but it can be explained by the conditions. Alex Cejka lost in a playoff, having been matched at 1000.0999/1 and having trailed by eight with a round to go and the other two playoff protagonists had trailed by four and five strokes through 54 holes but Cejka got lucky. He played in benign conditions before the wind buffeted the leaders and caused havoc and, with the exception of another strange result, in 2015, up with the pace is where you have needed to be here.
Smylie Kaufman was also matched at 1000.0999/1 seven years ago but his final round 61 form seven adrift and tied 28th was enough to see him win by one over a bunch of six players that included Patton Kizzire, who himself shot 62!
The 2015 and 2017 results show it's definitely possible to win from off the pace, especially if the weather has its say, but the vast majority of winners are up with the pace throughout and even the two off the pace winners had started the tournament well.
Na trailed by five in a tie for 43rd after round one in 2019 and that's the furthest any winner has trailed after the opening round in as far back as I've checked (1996). And that's including the old five round editions, so a decent start is imperative.
Im sat second after round one and he led at halfway before he slipped back in round three to sit sixth, Laird was inside the front four places all week two years ago and Na was never headed after a 62 in round two in 2019. As many as nine of the last 15 winners have been in front after 36 holes.
The three winners before Im were all in front after 54 holes and 10 of the last 16 winners have been leading or co-leading with a round to go.
In calm conditions, it's very hard to make up ground late on here but a tight finish isn't uncommon and three of the last five renewals have gone to extra time.
Market Leaders
Patrick Cantlay returns after missing last year's renewal and with course form figures reading 1-2-2-8, he's an understandably warm favourite.
He entered the final round of the 2020 edition tied for the lead with the eventual winner, Laird, but just never got going, posting 73 to fall to eighth.
Although he played in the Presidents Cup two weeks ago, we haven't seen Cantlay in a stroke play event since he finished down the field in the Tour Championship, but he won the BMW Championship in his penultimate stroke play start and he's a very worthy favourite.
Having finished runner-up in three of his last five starts, the defending champ, Sungjae Im, has to be respected at a venue that clearly suits.
He played nicely enough in the Presidents Cup and he finished tied for second behind Rory McIlroy at the Tour Championship when last sighted in a stroke play event so he's in fair form.
Course form stands up brilliantly and it would be no surprise to see him be the first to defend since Jim Furyk in 1999.
Selection
I like a number of outsiders here, which I'll cover in tomorrow's Find Me a 100 Winner column, so I've just got one pick for now, the 20-year-old Korean sensation, Tom Kim.
It's very hard to gauge just how good the Wyndham Championship winner is and I'm happy to take a small chance on him here at 28.027/1.
Accurate driving is just one of the young Korean's strengths, and I can see him taking to this venue immediately.
Wyndham winners Ryan Moore and Webb Simpson have both won this event and two of the last three winners here, Im and Na, have finished second in the last two editions of the Wyndham so form crosses over nicely.
Selection:
Tom Kim @ 28.027/1
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