Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – Shriners Hospital for Children Open

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

Shriners Hospital for Children Open Fantasy Preview

With so many young studs joining the PGA TOUR at the start of a new season, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of others who have made the step up to the big time in the prior 12 months.

Collin Morikawa, a winner last term remember, offered his reminder with a top-10 at the Safeway Open, but it was left to a young man who joined the main tour in a blitz of hyperbole and headlines to remind everyone of his unbelievable talent.

Cameron Champ was arguably the hottest property in golf 12 months ago, but as tends to happen with youthful types making the switch to the pro ranks, his season tailed off into mediocrity soon after.

But for a player who can outhit almost anyone on the planet, who also happens to be blessed with a soft touch and clever imagination around the greens, it was never likely to be long before success came knocking on the door again.

And so it proved for Champ, who got into the mix at the Safeway Open and showed plenty of character to stay there – not least the manner in which he finally got over the line.

Needing par for a playoff with Adam Hadwin and a birdie to win outright, the 24-year-old had a clear decision to make: was he going to go big off the tee or play it safe on the Par 4 eighteenth?

You can probably guess what happened next. Champ blitzed a 370-yard drive straight down the middle, laid up with his second, chipped close with his third and downed a four-footer to claim a second PGA TOUR title.

It’s easy to forget about the class of 2018, what with so may new faces to get to grips with, but it would be foolhardy to write off Champ and co.

There is a major feel as the Tour stays in the West for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, with Brooks Koepka, Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland all dusting off their clubs to join many of the leading protagonists from last week in a high-quality field.

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Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Cameron Champ was the choice last week no question about it. Unfortunately we didn’t run with Champ and our quick streak of two winners out of the gate came to end; but it won’t slow us down.  

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The Shriners Hospital for Children Open Field

It’s like a US Open winners convention in Nevada this week, with Koepka, Simpson and Woodland all teeing up for the first time in a while.

They will be joined by a handful of players that have already brushed the cobwebs away in Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau and Adam Scott, while Tony Finau returns to US soil after a sojourn to Europe.

Recent winners Cameron Champ and Joaquin Niemann will be looking to double-up, while impressive young talents such as Matthew Wolff, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa will be looking to make their own mark as well.

There’s Bubba, Phil and a first start in over 18 months for the talented Canadian, Graeme Delaet, as he makes his return from a variety of injuries.

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This Week’s Course Preview

In essence, TPC Summerlin has one defense and one defense alone: the cruel wind that can whip up in this part of the Nevadan desert.

If the breeze gets up then this can be a hard place to post a low score: Patrick Cantlay won here at a mark of -9 in 2017, for example.

But then, in more benign conditions, this is a track that the great and the good can take to the cleaners: DeChambeau, Rod Pampling and Ben Martin have all won here with a score of -20 or better since 2014.

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what to expect this week from a layout that sits at 2000ft above sea level – such altitude makes even the shortest of hitters feel like they’ve been working out like Brooks.

While the course plays at 7,233 yards for its Par of 71, in reality it is much shorter than that with all players flying the ball off the tee given the altitude.

There’s really little to worry about off the tee, with some of the widest fairways on Tour welcoming the players, and receptive lush Bentgrass greens present no major worries either.

With the rough down and water/sand hazards kept to a minimum, course designers Bobby Wood and Fuzzy Zoeller must have been in a very good mood when they drew up the blueprints for TPC Summerlin.

Keep an eye out for the closing stretch, however. Both 15 and 16 are risk and reward holes, with long, straight drives rewarded with hitting the Par 4 green in one and the Par 5 in two.

With jeopardy lurking on 17 and 18 serving up birdie chances for those brave enough to attack the green, we could be in for a grandstand finish come Sunday.

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Weather Forecast for Las Vegas, NV

This is Nevada in late summer/early fall, so you kind of know what to expect.

There’s going to be lots of sunshine and hot temperatures too, with the mercury hitting 88°F on Thursday and staying there for the rest of the week.

And the moment you have all been waiting for….what is the wind predicted to be doing? Again, there’s good news for the field on that front, with speeds of 6-10 mph expected.

Last Year’s Results from the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

Talk about balls of steel!

Last year’s edition of the Shriners looked set to go down to the wire until Bryson DeChambeau conjured up a moment of brilliance to complete what was his fourth win worldwide in a phenomenal year.

Heading into the sixteenth on Sunday, Bryson still had stacks to do as he lined up a 60 foot eagle putt.

No problem: golf’s resident geometrist got his angles right to nail that putt and take him to the head of the field, where he ousted defending champion Patrick Cantlay by a single shot.

At one point four players enjoyed a share of the lead heading down the back straight, but Bryson showed that a history of winning really does count as he finished strong while all around floundered in the Nevada heat.

Highlights | Round 4 | Shriners 2018

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Where to Play Fantasy Golf for Shriners Hospital for Children Open this Week

On we go to another week of premium golf, in which there’s plenty to get excited about a course that we have profiled nicely now given how many years it has been in service. Hopefully, that will lead to some excellent results!

• PGA $250k Best Ball: This feels like an event where, with a nice profile to work with, a big win could be in the offing. This contest is $8 entry for a top prize of $50k, so that’s a nice spot on the risk-reward continuum to be!
• PGA $100k Club Twirl: On the theme of going big or going home, here’s a $44 entry contest with plenty of upside; namely a $20k top prize with the top 10% of players winning a minimum of $80.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

With the generous tee box conditions at TPC Summerlin, it won’t surprise you to learn that the winner will emerge from the Shriners having shown some kind of brilliance at the business end of holes.

Last year Bryson did the damage with irons and wedges in hand, finding a whopping 83% of greens in regulation and ranking third for Strokes Gained: Approach.

Twelve months prior to that, Cantlay was in his usual hot form from tee-to-green but married that to some putts well made – he ranked ninth for the week for Putting Average.

So really, the formula is conclusive: draft players who are going to be dialed in on approach, or those with a masterful short game and a hot hand with the flat stick.

The altitude is an interesting angle to factor in too. It gives every player a real lift from the tee, and so there’s no real dominance from the bombers here: the 2016 champion, Rod Pampling is testament to that, and don’t forget Bryson did not exclusively use the big stick on many holes last year.

But there is a recipe for success at altitude, with club selection key, so we’re happy to recommend those players that have performed consistently well above sea level: the Phoenix Open, the Greenbrier and the WGC-Mexico are all good starting points for your research.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

Top Tier Pick #1: 

Brooks Koepka (Odds: 9/1, FPPG: 68.0, GPFP: 54.40 Salary: $11,700)

It’s a question of motivation, rather than ability, that continues to dog Brooks Koepka outside of the majors.

But a new season should bring with it renewed vigor, and so maybe this is one of his best chances of getting something of a monkey off his back by proving that the run-of-the-mill events also get his juices flowing.

With brother Chase also in the field, Brooks should feel in a good place this week as he returns to a layout where he has delivered a pair of top-five finishes in his last three trips.

It’s funny, because ordinarily we would want to be drafting players with some kind of competitive golf under their belts in recent times.

But when you look at those at the head of the field this week, neither Cantlay nor DeChambeau particularly appeal based on their showings at the Safeway Open – the former looked off his game and the latter, with a potential win in the offing on Sunday, went absolutely ice cool with irons in hand.

The likes of Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland have also had six weeks off, Adam Scott has never played TPC Summerlin before, Hideki Matsuyama was hopeless in the Napa Valley while Tony Finau makes the long pilgrimage back to the US from Scotland.

So, by process of elimination, we land quite happily back at the door of the world’s number one golfer.

Key Stats (2018/19):

• Birdie Average – 8th
• SG: Approach – 11th
• SG: Putting – 48th

Mid-Tier Pick #1:  

Joaquin Niemann (Odds: 28/1, FPPG: 101.0, GPFP: 80.80 Salary: $9,400)

Normally when talking about a maiden winner on the Tour, we like to give them something of a ‘cooling off’ period before drafting them once again.

But the profile of Niemann is such that we aren’t afraid to give the Chilean another whirl.

He won three weeks ago, so no concerns about form there, and he also finished T10 on his debut here 12 months ago. And of course, that victory at the Greenbrier is further confirmation that he is comfortable at altitude and on Bentgrass greens.

With his debut win in the bank and celebrated, Niemann should be ready to go again ad pick up number two: TPC Summerlin looks as good a spot as any for that to happen.

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting – 1st
• Birdie Average – 2nd
• SG: Approach – 13th

Mid-Tier Pick #2: 

Brian Harman (Odds: 80/1, FPPG: 96.3, GPFP: 102.03 Salary: $7,800)

Sometimes you have to ride the wave of momentum that fires a player forward.

Brian Harman has started the new season in fine fashion, with a T3 at the Greenbrier followed by T14 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

That continues a medium-term run of five top-20 finishes in nine starts, so now all the left-hander has to do is get his head around actually winning the thing.

TPC Summerlin could be an ideal venue for the Georgian, who is comfy on Bentgrass and who possesses the firepower to compete in low-scoring events where -20 might be the winning mark.

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting – 11th
• Birdie Average – 14th
• SG: Approach – 28th

Mid-Tier Pick #3: 

Bud Cauley (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 81.3, GPFP: 65.00 Salary: $7,400)

There are some really good signs in Bud Cauley’s game at the moment, from a hat-trick of 67s in the T14 at the Greenbrier to the third round of 66 at the Safeway Open last week.

One of the surprising elements of his start to his season is just how well the 29-year-old is putting. That’s not usually a strength for a player that is a premium ball-striker, so it raises aspirations that more good form is on the horizon.

A T10 finish here last year also catches the eye, and if Cauley can match his improvement in his putting with his trademark approach play then something similar is certainly in the offing.

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting – 4th
• Total Birdies – 7th
• Scrambling – 25th

Low-Tier Pick: 

Cameron Percy (Odds: 140/1, FPPG: 80.3, GPFP: 64.26 Salary: $7,000)

Three Australians have won this event since 2003, and their comfortability in the heat and wind is clearly a factor in that.

Cameron Percy is on fire at the moment, so he will have ambitions of adding a fourth Aussie winner to that roll-call.

T11 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Percy was in even better touch at the Safeway Open last time out in his T7 return.

Most pertinently, he was tremendous on Sunday; in his round of 67, he ranked first for both SG: Tee-to-Green and on Approach.

Key Stats:

• Par 4 Birdie or Better Leaders – 27th
• Greens in Regulation – 27th
• SG: Putting – 52nd

Sleeper Pick for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

Andrew Putnam (Odds: 66/1, FPPG: 102.8, GPFP: 83.35 Salary: $8,100)

Given that TPC Summerlin is quite open and exposed in parts, the layout should suit Andrew Putnam nicely.

Here’s a guy who has won the Barracuda Championship and banked top-fives in both the Scottish Open and Sony Open.

We can respect a player that has looked to hone his craft in various European Tour events, and that attitude of improvement – rather than just staying on the PGA TOUR treadmill – could lead to exponential gains in his game.

The 30-year-old boasts the profile we’re looking for this week: he may not be the best driver of a golf ball, but excellent on approach and on the greens Putnam could take care of business this week.

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting – 5th
• Birdie Average – 18th
• SG: Approach – 32nd

Alternative Sleeper Pick for the Shriners Hospital for Children Open

Kyle Stanley (Odds: 125/1, FPPG: 29.8, GPFP: 23.80 Salary: $7,100)

The definition of a sleeper pick is somebody who should outperform their salary and deliver a handy points haul.

With that in mind, we’re willing to give Kyle Stanley a try based on his performance level at the Safeway Open.

He may have missed the cut, but for those opening 36 holes he gained +2.43 strokes on the field on approach – an incredible effort.

So how did he miss the cut? Clearly, he putted like a 20-handicapper, and that’s something that continues to dog his game.

But if you’re looking for a sleeper pick who *could* deliver a big performance from a low-owned position, Kyle Stanley could be the man this week.

Key Stats (2018/19):

• SG: Approach – 45th
• Par 5 Scoring Average – 60th
• Greens in Regulation – 73rd

This Week’s Sample DraftKings Lineup

Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only.  Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2019-2020)

[skill_bar heading=”Total Top 3s” percent=”14.28%” bar_text=”3 out of 21 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 10s” percent=”14.28%” bar_text=”3 out of 21 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Top 25s” percent=”28.57%” bar_text=”6 out of 21 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Winners Picked” percent=”66.67%” bar_text=”2 out of 3 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Runners-Up Picked” percent=”33.33%” bar_text=”1 out of 3 events” style=”background-color: #5fb341″][skill_bar heading=”Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)” percent=”61.90%” bar_text=”13 out of 21 picks” style=”background-color: #5fb341″]

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