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Hello, and welcome back to the Horse For The Course article at RotoBaller. I'm happy to have you as I am taking on a new piece for the site and enlightening everyone on the best course history plays of the upcoming week. Up next is a familiar place to the PGA Tour schedule as the fall season rolls into Sin City to TPC Summerlin for the Shriners Children's Open.
Last week's absence was due to the Black Desert Championship being a brand-new addition to the tournament schedule and at a venue that just opened in May 2023; therefore there was no course history to speak of. However, TPC Summerlin is perhaps the most course-history-rich stop on the fall circuit, which provides plenty of numbers to sink our teeth into.
Horse For The Course is an article highlighting players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For some of the favorite DFS plays of the week check, out the Core Four article written by my buddy, Joe Nicely here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: TDG for an extra discount at checkout!
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2024 Shriners Children's Open
Celebrating its 41st consecutive year, the Shriners Children's Open has been a PGA Tour staple for many years. That longevity inevitably gives us one of the stronger fields than other events in this fall swing. This week will feature four players inside the top 50 in the world.
The 2024 field is led by the 25th-ranked player in the world, Tom Kim, making his first tournament start since being the spark plug of the International Team in Montreal in September.
Kim will attempt to win this event for a third consecutive time, making him only the seventh player to accomplish that feat (the last being Steve Stricker at the John Deere in 2009-11). Several quality players are looking to keep that from becoming a reality, and at a place known for its dramatics, it should make for a fun event to follow for anyone looking for a distraction from a failing fantasy football team (talking to myself).
You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles and Player News/Matchup Outlook Posts to help you win big!
The Course: TPC Summerlin
Par 71 - 7,255 Yards | Greens: Bentgrass | Designed By: Bobby Weed/Fuzzy Zoeller
TPC Summerlin has been a popular tour stop since 1996 when Tiger Woods began his historical career by capturing his first-ever title at this event. Since then, it has paved the way for other stars of the sport including Fuzzy himself, Davis Love III, and Jim Furyk.
Nestled on the west side of Las Vegas, NV, it is one of the premier places to play anywhere in the United States, which is seemingly why it continues to draw somewhat of a spectacle given its "off-season" place in the schedule.
Unlike last week in Utah, TPC Summerlin is a place where solid ball striking--both off the tee and on approach--is king. Yardages from 100-175 yards are the most frequent distances into greens (54% of approach shots), and driving accuracy reigns supreme over distance.
Recent Shriners Children's Open Winners
- 2023: Tom Kim (-20)
- 2022: Tom Kim (-24)
- 2021: Sungjae Im (-24)
- 2020: Martin Laird (-23)
- 2019: Kevin Na (-23)
The Horse
Tom Kim
Even if Tom Kim didn't have an incredible history over his limited starts at this event, I would still be curious to see what we get from him after the display during the Presidents Cup a couple of weeks ago. His bark was much more aggressive than his bite in Canada, as the fiery passion in his second go at team competition only netted a 1-2-1 record on the week, but drummed up a load of controversy.
The good news for DFS players is that nothing gets golfers over a sore butt and bruised ego like coming to a course they love. And Tom Kim loves TPC Summerlin.
It will be important for him to get comfortable on the greens, as he leads the field in SG putting at this venue but has lost strokes over his last three events in 2024 (averaging -0.60 in that span). This part of the game can luckily be subjective at times, and I look for Kim to gain some level of confidence back with the flat stick here.
The Ponies
Adam Hadwin
Being in this field for Adam Hadwin is merely a sign of comfortability at this event since he finished the season at 47th in the FedEx Cup and secured his status for 2025. There's nothing to gain here for him but cash and the ability to thwart the rust.
The Canadian has dominated this event with impressive approach numbers (3rd in the field coming in) but has struggled mightily with this part of his game as of late, averaging -0.687 SG on approach over his last four starts.
He didn't end the regular season very strong and hasn't recorded a Top 25 finish since The Memorial Tournament. That isn't the best thing to have on your conscience heading into your 11th season on tour if you're Hadwin, so hopefully Vegas is kind to him again.
Harry Hall
Harry Hall has been a name to watch on leaderboards since early July, racking up a win, two T12s, a T18, and a T24 over his eight starts. He's had an issue finishing off tournaments on Sunday as of late, but this article doesn't care about that.
The important thing here is that he leads the field in SG Putting at TPC Summerlin for guys with 12 rounds played, and is fourth in the entire field in total strokes gained at this venue. The approach numbers are the only worrisome spot, both at this layout and as of late, and the 27-year-old will need to improve upon that to have any chance of legitimately contending this week.
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Matthew NeSmith
Matthew NeSmith is hoping to catch some familiar magic at TPC Summerlin, as the 31-year-old has missed three of his last four cuts and desperately needs to make something happen. And it should be comforting that he has only finished outside the top 20 in this tournament once in five total starts.
He leads the field in approach stats at this layout and does everything else well enough to feel comfortable all around this place. The former Gamecock is somewhat of a creature of habit, so don't be surprised by a serviceable output this week.
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