2021 Shriners Children’s Open PGA Betting Preview

Joe Cervenka

2021 Shriners Children’s Open PGA Betting Preview

This fall swing on the PGA Tour continues this week from TPC Summerlin in fabulous Las Vegas for the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open. We are treated to a stellar field here, as 11 of the Top 25 ranked golfers in the world will be in Sin City for the tournament.

Tourney / Course Overview

This 7,255-yard Par 71 will be yet another track that yields more than its fair share of birdies and eagles, as we can expect a winning score north of 20 under par. It is a typical desert golf layout, lined with raw landscape features, plenty of water hazards, and Bentgrass greens.

Last year, Martin Laird made one of the best up and downs you will ever see on the 71st hole of the tournament to propel him to his first TOUR victory in 7+ years, ultimately winning on the 1st playoff hole over Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff.

The Picks

Not often will I tout a player north of 200/1 to win a tournament, but Brendan Steele (+20000) will time and again pop up near the top of the leaderboard on a Sunday afternoon. The 38-year-old has historically done most of his damage in these fall swings, and he led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over the weekend at the Sanderson Farms. If he can get his putter working and keep top form with the irons, we have great value on his Top 20 and Top 10 props, and he’s worth a sprinkle on the outright number as well.

Perhaps a fresh perspective on a new season will make the difference for Rickie Fowler (+8000), who showed a few signs of life near the end of last season. Fowler should find himself playing with extra motivation this year after falling out of grace as an upper-echelon player, missing out on majors and the Ryder Cup after growing accustomed to competing in all the sports’ top events. Rickie made five of his past seven cuts to finish the season and should have used the extra time in the “offseason” to work on his game. A win is too much to ask, in my opinion, but I will play his Top 10 and Top 5 props.

Jason Kokrak (+4500) is being a tad disrespected by bookmakers this week. A two-time winner on TOUR last season, Kokrak was quiet during the FedEx Cup playoffs, but I still think he is one to keep an eye on for the ’21-’22 season. He should build on the form he had a year ago, led by his sixth-ranked putter that performed best on Bentgrass greens. Another thing to note is that his first wins last year (also, the first on TOUR in his career) came here in Las Vegas at the CJ Cup, so the big man out of Xavier University should be feeling quite confident when he arrives in Sin City.

All Odds courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook.