Shriners Childrens Open

One of the easiest tracks of the year for the Shriners Children's Open, TPC Summerlin plays at altitude so doesn't play the full length on the scorecard. Tom Kim and Sungjae Im were two of the more fancied winners of this event the past two years, but prior to that Martin Laird landed the spoils at a huge 250/1.

The birdie fest does offer up the chance of a surprise result and if either Tom Kim or Ludvig Aberg don't oblige it is wide open thereafter. Birdie or better percentage is again worth another look this week, similar to last week and form across easy scoring courses in desert conditions another aspect worthy of analysis before narrowing down the field of potential winners.

Shriners Childrens Open Tips | Niall Lyons Golf Betting Tips

In terms of composite courses you'd look to The Summit that has held the CJ Cup as well as the Desert courses in California that make up the AMEX and Waste Management events. Driving accuracy is high up the list of important stats with three of the last six winners here ranking inside the top five in that statistic throughout the week. It's important to hit approaches from the short grass as any birdie opportunities missed will be extremely costly.

Tom Kim to Win at 12/1

What was evident last week was just how dangerous the top players in the game are in weakened fields, even if they are coming straight from a Ryder Cup. Ludvig Aberg didn't seem to break sweat all week and managed to get into a playoff as his peers flapped around in the dark on the back nine in Mississippi. Fitzpatrick got the job done comfortably in Scotland and this week could be the turn of Tom Kim.

Patrick Cantlay is a course specialist here with a victory and three runner up finishes and even he couldn't cope with the brilliance of Kim last year trailing the winner by three shots after 72 holes. The defending champion has been on his travels since July to Scotland, back to the States then to Surrey and Paris.

 

His consistency throughout that spell has been tremendous and following a disappointing mid season he has bounced back to his supreme best and he will prove a tough nut to crack this week. His accuracy from the tee together with his stellar approach play is a potent combination around here and he deserves to be comfortable favourite over Aberg this week.

The Swede will certainly be under pressure fatigue wise following the last couple of weeks but more importantly the course fit here just doesn't add up. Strong driving was important last week, but his length from the tee isn't as much of an asset here as it was in Jackson. Kim is the perfect fit for this place and he can continue in the mould of Cantlay and build a superb record here. 

4pts WIN T.Kim  12/1 Bet365, Sky Bet, Betfred

Tom Kim - 4pts @ 12/1

Davis Thompson at 45/1 (Eight Places)

Jackson CC is a course where the contenders notoriously putt well throughout the week and Davis Thompson didn't fit that bill. He ranked 51st on the greens of those who made the cut, and 69th around the greens. That would never see him win but to finish 6 shots behind despite that shows us how good his ball striking was.

5th off the tee and 9th on approach combined for one of the best ball striking efforts on the week and he can count himself a shade unlucky it didn't happen on the greens. The frightening thing about the way he is hitting it is how straight he has been lately whilst hitting the ball a long way. Last week he ranked 14th for driving accuracy and 23rd for driving distance.

That is a potent combination and although he'd maybe be better suited to a longer track this week I can't ignore how well he is hitting the ball. Last week backed up nice ball striking efforts in his previous few appearances and having gone close in the Desert before (2nd to Rahm AMEX 2023) he must be closely watched this week.

1.5pts each-way D.Thompson  45/1  (1/5 8)  Bet365 8 place market, Paddy Power, William Hill

Davis Thompson - 1.5pts e/w @ 45/1

Joel Dahmen at 125/1 (Eight Places)

Joel Dahmen didn't quite hit the heights with his iron play needed for contending last week but 13 under par was a very decent total and I'm hoping his tie for 13th place is not a bad omen for teeing off on Friday the 13th this week.

Dahmen is 80th in the rankings courtesy of an impressive ending to 2022. 16th, 3rd, 9th and 5th where his final four efforts last year and he may just be starting another run following his play in Jackson. Dahmen has made his last five cuts here on the trot with a best finish of 9th place back in 2020.

He will benefit from a return to a course at altitude where length doesn't play a big part and at 125/1 would be a dangerous opponent should he kick on from last week's effort. 

1pt each-way J.Dahmen  125/1  (1/5 8)  Paddy Power, 888sport

Joel Dahmen - 1pt e/w @ 125/1

Adam Long at 250/1 (Eight Places)

Just about anything can happen this week and from 10/1 to 500/1 winners so I'm prepared to take the odd chance, and one worth including at big odds is Adam Long. At 146th in the FedEx standings Long is just inside the Conditional status, but needs to get into the top 125 to earn a full card.

There hasn't been much to shout about this term but 35th last week was fair effort and was comfortably his best effort with the irons in a while. He ranked 72nd on the greens which is a shame as the putter has been the one semi consistent club in the bag all season.

Adam is certainly more accuracy based than length and that's important around Summerlin and if he turns up with a similar iron game this week he should get plenty of chances. He has a victory in the Californian Desert back in 2019 and an 8th placed finish at Scottsdale so together with his decent long game last week the 250/1 on offer is interesting.

0.75pt each-way A.Long  250/1  (1/5 8)  Sky Bet, William Hill

Adam Long - 0.75pts e/w @ 250/1