PGA Betting Predictions
The 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open comes our way from Las Vegas this week. We can expect the winner to go low – last year’s winning score by Ryan Moore was 24 under par!
2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Course: TPC at Summerlin
Date: Oct 17-20, 2013
Total Purse: US $ 4,500,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 792,000 (18% of total purse)
Defending Champion: Ryan Moore ($810,000)
The greens will reportedly run at 11 – very manageable while greens and fairways should be easy to hit as per usual. TPC at Summerlin promises once again to be one of the easiest Par 71s these players will see all year long.
So let’s take a look at some names to watch this week and who has a chance of emerging victorious on Sunday.
The Favorites:
Zach JOHNSON 12/1
Has arguably been the hottest golfer on the planet as of late. He went 3-1 in the President’s Cup and had seven top 10s in his last eight starts prior to that with a win at Conway Farms. He has one start here – a T10 in 2008 but this track certainly suits his game!
Nick WATNEY 16/1
Local guy will be looking to make good in his home town. He tied for second here in 2011 and has three other top 10s in eight starts on this track. He finished second at Conway Farms the last time we saw him. Love his game – he should contend this week!
Webb SIMPSON 16/1
Finished T4 here on 2010 and has skipped this event since. He was OK in the President’s Cup after a fourth place finish at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. He is one of the bigger names here and will get some attention based on that alone.
The Contenders:
Graham DELAET 22/1
Finished T18 here in 2010 and is absolutely due for a win. He was terrific at the President’s Cup and put himself on the map with his play there. But, to go along with that he had five top 10s in his last 13 starts on TOUR. He the PGA TOUR in total driving, ranked third in GIR and 20th in par breakers – stats too good to not have won yet!
Brendon DE JONGE 25/1
Another player that looked very good in the President’s Cup – he enters this year’s Shriners as the defending runner-up. He made 25 cuts last year but his problem was his weekend play – de Jonge was money on Thursday and Friday and struggled on the weekends.
Hideki MATSUYAMA 25/1
Off his experience at the President’s Cup he tied for third at the Frys.com Open last week. He led the field in total driving and ranked T7 in greens in regulation despite playing that course for the first time. He plays TPC Summerlin for the first time this week!
Ryan MOORE 25/1
The defending champion in this event owns the course record and the tournament record as well. He also finished T7 here in 2009. He is a Vegas guy who obviously loves this track but has been out of action for quite some time.
Jimmy WALKER 28/1
Finally recorded his first PGA win last week but has made the cut just once here in four tries here – a T10 last year. I suspect a hangover this week. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Kevin NA 28/1
Won this tournament in 2011 and didn’t play all that much in 2013 due to a bulging disc. However, he did finish T3 last week at the Frys.com Open. He has made the cut here in all four attempts and looks to be ramping up late in the year.
Robert GARRIGUS 33/1
Has played this event seven times and has made the cut each and every year – but a T16 in 2011 was his best ever finish. He finished T12 last week so we know he is in decent form.
Scott PIERCY 33/1
Yet another home-town boy is six out of seven with top 10s in his last two trips to TPC Summerlin and is an intriguing 33/1. He has been just OK on TOUR in 2013 but loves his home track.
The Sleepers (50/1 or higher):
John PETERSON 50/1
Web.com graduate had five straight top 5s on that TOUR before a T21 at the Frys.com Open last week. His putter was magical last week and if he can keep that going will contend this week.
Spencer LEVIN 50/1
Took most of 2013 off due to injury but came back last week and finished a very good T12 at the Frys.com Open. In his last two trips to TPC Summerlin, he’s placed T4 (2010) and T5 (2011).
Levin looked very competitive last week and will be looking to continue that roll this week as well.
The Pick:
I absolutely love Graham DeLaet this week at 22/1. His stats this year have been terrific on TOUR and yet he still has yet to claim victory. Jimmy Walker finally broke through last week – this week it is DeLaet’s turn.
My sleeper is Spencer Levin at 50/1 – he is a motivated guy after missing most of the year – he showed last week that the layoff was not a huge deal.
