Tony Finau leads the field for this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Finau finished second in the first event of the new season, the Safeway Open, and he is listed as the favorite this week at odds of +1450. Very few top players are competing in this tournament in Las Vegas, as the highest ranked player in the field is Charley Hoffman at No. 24. Hoffman is not getting much respect from the oddsmakers, as he is listed as a longshot at odds of +3250. Let’s look at this event, odds and predictions.
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Odds
Tony Finau +1450
Patrick Cantlay +1650
Webb Simpson +1650
Anirban Lahiri +2050
Chesson Hadley +2250
Kevin Chappell +2250
Gary Woodland +3050
Ryan Moore +3050
Charley Hoffman +3250
Kevin Na +3350
Bubba Watson +4050
Byeong Hun An +4050
Luke List +4050
Martin Laird +4050
Jason Kokrak +4550
Kevin Streelman +4550
Bryson Dechambeau +5050
J.B. Holmes +5050
Jamie Lovemark +5550
Smylie Kaufman +5550
William McGirt +5550
Jimmy Walker +6050
Russell Knox +6050
Austin Cook +7050
Ben Martin +7050
Chris Kirk +7050
Ryan Armour +7050
Scott Piercy +7050
James Hahn +7550
Scott Brown +7550
Billy Horschel +8050
Bronson Burgoon +8050
David Lingmerth +8050
Harold Varner III +8050
Nick Taylor +8050
Andrew Landry +9050
Harris English +9050
Kevin Tway +9050
Nick Watney +9050
Patrick Rodgers +9050
Rob Oppenheim +9050
Odds Analysis
Tony Finau +1450
Summerlin is a course that almost always plays to low scores and Finau was ninth on the PGA Tour in eagles made last season. He played well at the Safeway Open and he tied for 11th last week at the WGC-HSBC Champions. The only concern I have, and it is a big one, is that Finau played the last two legs of the Asian swing and now he comes back to North America. Can he get over the jet lag and adjust this week?
Patrick Cantlay +1650
Cantlay tied for 15th last week in China, so he comes in playing well, but like Finau, I am a bit concerned about taking a player who played last week in China. I think he is overvalued at these odds.
Webb Simpson +1650
I like Simpson to have a good chance this week, as he didn’t play in Asia. He made the TOUR Championship for the first time and he played well at the Safeway Open to start this season. He won this event in 2013 and he tied for fourth in 2014.
Anirban Lahiri +2050
Lahiri is another player coming over from Asia and he is playing well, with a tie for 10th at the CIMB Classic and a tie for 5th at the CJ Cup. He has the advantage of a week off as he didn’t play last week in China so the jet lag shouldn’t be an issue. He could have some value at these odds.
Chesson Hadley +2250
Hadley played well last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship and he won twice on the Web.com Tour last season. This will be the best field Hadley has faced in some time and I don’t know that he is ready to win yet at this level.
Kevin Chappell +2250
Chappell hasn’t played since the Presidents Cup but he did win on the PGA Tour for the first time last season. I am not thrilled about taking a player coming off a big layoff and he has never done well in Las Vegas. Chappell will likely be a go-against player for me this week.
Ryan Moore +3050
How about a local favorite to win this week? Moore won this event in 2012 and he seems to finally be healthy after dealing with a shoulder injury. He tied for 17th in the Safeway Open so he is rounding into form.
Charley Hoffman +3250
Do the oddsmakers know something with the odds on Hoffman this week or did they make a mistake? Hoffman is the highest ranked player in the field at No. 24 in the world, and yet he is not among the favorites. He hasn’t played since the Presidents Cup but this field is not that strong. Hoffman did everything right last season except win, so he is overdue. He has four top 20 finishes in his event in his career.
Course: TPC Summerlin is a par 71 that measures 7,255 yards. It opened in 1991 and features an interesting closing stretch of holes. The 15th is a par 4 that is drivable for the long hitters, the 16th is a par 5; the 17th is a par 3 with water all around, while the 18th is a solid par 4.
Event Notes
This event will see some players coming back from Asia and trying to get over jet lag, while some players will have not seen action since the Safeway Open in early October. Rod Pampling shot a 12-under par 60 last year and he used that great round as a springboard to win the event even though he started the final round a shot behind Lucas Glover. It was the first win for Pampling since 2008 when he won in Australia and his first PGA Tour win since 2006. First time winners have been common in Las Vegas, with 10 of the last 15 winners in Las Vegas getting their first PGA Tour win.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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