Daily Fantasy Golf Course Primer: Shriners Children's Open
The PGA Tour's swing season is in full...swing...now with the Shriners Children's Open upcoming as the second event in an eight-week stretch before the Thanksgiving break.
As usual, the event -- despite its name tweak -- will be held at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
What should we know about the course to help our preparation for this week?
TPC Summerlin Course Information
Par: 71
Distance: 7,255
Average Green Size: 7,400 square feet
Green Type: Bentgrass
Stimpmeter: 11.5
Past 5 Winning Scores: -23, -23, -21, -9, -20
Past 5 Cut Lines: -7, -5, -3, +1, -3
There's an outlier season in here with 2019 when Patrick Cantlay won at -9 and the cut was a shot over par. That year, there were heavy wind gusts getting up past 35 miles per hour at times. Only two other times was the winning score worse than 20-under.
So, yeah, crank up the importance of birdies this week.
Also, the greens are quite large relative to the average PGA Tour course, which can -- in a way -- de-emphasize some iron play, but we still want it this week.
TPC Summerlin Hole-by-Hole Breakdown
| TPC Summerlin | Par | Yards | vs Average PGA Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 408 | 95% |
| 2 | 4 | 469 | 109% |
| 3 | 4 | 492 | 114% |
| 4 | 4 | 450 | 104% |
| 5 | 3 | 197 | 100% |
| 6 | 4 | 430 | 100% |
| 7 | 4 | 382 | 89% |
| 8 | 3 | 239 | 121% |
| 9 | 5 | 563 | 100% |
| 10 | 4 | 420 | 97% |
| 11 | 4 | 448 | 104% |
| 12 | 4 | 442 | 103% |
| 13 | 5 | 606 | 108% |
| 14 | 3 | 168 | 85% |
| 15 | 4 | 341 | 79% |
| 16 | 5 | 560 | 99% |
| 17 | 3 | 196 | 99% |
| 18 | 4 | 444 | 103% |
| Total | 71 | 7,255 | 99% |
Notably, the par 71 is about average for the PGA Tour, but we have, of course, some holes that don't line up with the typical holes relative to par.
There is a long par 4 (the 3rd, a 492-yarder) and a long par 3 (the 8th, a 239-yarder) on the front nine, each of which rate out at least 114% of the PGA Tour average for holes at those pars.
It's offset a bit with two short par 4s that are under 385 yards (the 7th and the 15th). The 15th is particularly short at 341 yards. There's also a 168-yard par 3 on the back nine.
Key Stats for Shriners Children's Open at TPC Summerlin
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Around the Green
- Driving Accuracy
- Birdie or Better Rate
- Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass
With very few holes rating out as abnormally long, driving distance hasn't really emerged as a vital stat for TPC Summerlin. Distance is always an advantage, but the shorter hitters will only have to be penalized on two of those holes, and one of them is a par 3.
Datagolf shows an emphasis on approach shots from 100 to 150 yards here, which is a potential angle to factor in. But overall approach play is key regardless (as always).
There's a pretty interesting trend on the importance of strokes gained: around the green here. It's one of the few courses where around-the-green play is worthy of being a key stat.
Greens are bentgrass, and again, we need birdies.
Golfers With Great Course History at TPC Summerlin
Among golfers with at least two starts here since 2012, these are the ones who have gained at least 1.2 strokes per round at TPC Summerlin, according to FantasyNational.
- Matthew Wolff (2.4)
- Webb Simpson (1.8)
- Matthew NeSmith (1.8)
- Sungjae Im (1.6)
- Ryan Moore (1.5)
- Patton Kizzire (1.5)
- Joaquin Niemann (1.4)
- Francesco Molinari (1.4)
- Hideki Matsuyama (1.3)
- Si Woo Kim (1.3)
- Adam Hadwin (1.3)
- Luke List (1.2)
- Abraham Ancer (1.2)
- Robert Streb (1.2)
Past winners among the field include Martin Laird (2009 and 2021), Kevin Na (2011 and 2020), Webb Simpson (2014), and Ryan Moore (2012).
