Back in the states after three-week tour of Asia, the PGA Tour is in Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, hosted at TPC Summerlin. Several high-profile players will make their season debut in the desert, giving this event one of its strongest fields since first teeing it up in 1983. Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson and Bryson DeChambeau will all make their first appearance since the Ryder Cup and all are among the top-5 favorites with Fowler and Tony Finau heading the field at +1100. There are also several intriguing matchups to wager on and we’ll examine some of them more in depth.
2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Matchup Odds
Rickie Fowler -135 vs. Bryson DeChambeau +115
Rickie Fowler -105 vs. Tony Finau -115
Bryson DeChambeau +110 vs. Tony Finau -130
Jordan Spieth -110 vs. Webb Simpson -110
Jordan Spieth -125 vs. Patrick Cantlay +105
Webb Simpson -115 vs. Patrick Cantlay -105
Gary Woodland -155 vs. Aaron Wise +135
Gary Woodland -175 vs. Kevin Na +155
Aaron Wise -125 vs. Kevin Na +105
Cameron Champ -125 vs. Chesson Hadley +105
Matt Kuchar -125 vs. Andrew Putnam +105
Beau Hossler +100 vs. Ryan Moore -120
Joaquin Niemann -115 vs. Patrick Rodgers -105
Sungjae Im -120 vs. Scott Piercy +100
Abraham Ancer +110 vs. Lucas Glover -130
Si Woo Kim -110 vs. Bronson Burgoon -110
Sam Ryder -110 vs. Ryan Palmer -110
Denny McCarthy -115 vs. Adam Schenk -105
Martin Laird -110 vs. Kevin Tway -110
Russell Henley -120 vs. Austin Cook +100
Cameron Davis -110 vs. Jim Furyk -110
Jason Kokrak -120 vs. Sam Burns +100
Kevin Streelman -120 vs. Shawn Stefani +100
Chris Kirk -110 vs. Harold Varner III -110
Danny Lee -115 vs. Rory Sabbatini -105
Need To Know
TPC Summerlin has hosted this event since 2008, so returning players aren’t getting anything new. The course is straight forward with few hazards, and firm fairways allow short hitters to make up distance off the tee. Given the conditions of the course and the average 7,255-yard layout, there will be an emphasis on short irons and wedges. And of course whoever can drain putts will have an advantage. The forecast calls for little to no wind, making a winning score of -20 or better realistic. But the weather is unpredictable in the desert and it will cause havoc on scores if it starts blowing.
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Matchup Picks
Cameron Champ -125 vs. Chesson Hadley +105
The odds are long, but with a name like Champ and after watching him destroy the field at the Sanderson Farms Championship last week, he’s hard to resist. He won that event by four shots with a nice 21-under. With distance and accuracy from the tee box, Champ should set up well for a low score. But his short game has yet to catch up, though there were signs last week that everything is falling into place. This is a much deeper field than he saw last week, so he will have to contend with that, but I don’t see him having much trouble navigating a relatively easy layout.
Bryson DeChambeau +110 vs. Tony Finau
This pick is more about fading Finau then it is backing DeChambeau. Finau opened as the co-favorite on the odds board, but he got blasted with a double-whammy last week and that’s going to be hard to overcome in a few short days. Not only did he squander a three-shot lead in the final-round and lose in a playoff at the WGC-HSBC Champions, he had to fly back from China to get ready for this event. Finau is still hurting from the loss, but he may be too jet-lagged to feel it. I don’t like the combination and I’m staying away from him this week. DeChambeau is rusty after not playing since the Ryder Cup, but he probably feels much better than his counterpart in this matchup.
Webb Simpson -110 vs. Jordan Spieth
This matchup has the potential to be a true head-to-head battle with both players among the favorites and likely to be in the final grouping on Sunday. Both are also making their season debuts following the Ryder Cup. But for Spieth this is his first time on the TPC Summerlin course. And some are even questioning his motivation for being here this week. Makes you wonder if there’s truth to those rumors and what it all means. Simpson won this event in 2014 and shared fourth in 2015, probably because he course reminds him of what he grew up playing. Past success, course knowledge and recent form give Simpson the edge.
Golf Betting Odds
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