The PGA Tour’s eight-event fall schedule rolls into Las Vegas for its fourth event at this week’s Shriners Children’s Open, which begins Thursday at TPC Summerlin.
While the event lacks the unique storyline that Lexi Thompson brought to last year’s field, it does feature Tom Kim gunning for a rare three-peat. The two-time defending champion, Kim also is the highest-ranked player in the field.
Kim faces plenty of worthy competition from players trying to improve their playing status for next season, and our golf experts preview the event while offering their favorite prop picks and best bets to win this week.
SHRINERS CHILDRENS OPEN
Location: TPC Summerlin (Par 71, 7,255 Yards)
Purse: $7M (Winner: $1.26M)
Defending Champion: Tom Kim (2022-23)
FedEx Cup Champion: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Sunday: 5-8 p.m. ET (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 9:45 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (Featured Groups)
X: @ShrinersOpen
PROP PICKS
–Matt McCarty to Beat Adam Hadwin (-125 at DraftKings): Give oddsmakers credit, inserting the red-hot McCarty as the favorite while coming off a whirlwind week following his maiden PGA Tour victory. Hadwin finished second here last year, posting four rounds of 68 or better, and has made his past three cuts. But we’re betting on the recent form of McCarty, who has won four of his past 10 starts including the Korn Ferry Tour.
–Rickie Fowler Top 40 Finish (+100 at BetRivers): Fowler returned from a lengthy layoff to finish T16 at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He currently sits 111th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and plans to play at least one more fall event in an effort to secure spots into more signature events next year. Fowler is well-rested and hyper focused on maximizing his fall starts. Of concern is that he has failed to reach the weekend in his past three trips to TPC Summerlin, although Fowler did finish T4 in 2018.
–Ben Kohles to Make Cut (-190 at DraftKings): Kohles has missed eight of 24 cuts during his rookie season, but only two over his past 13 starts. That stretch started with a heartbreaking runner up at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, but Kohles has rebounded nicely to post four top-30s in his past 11 starts. He has made the cut in each of his first three fall starts.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 47-54
BEST BETS
–Tom Kim (+1200 at DraftKings) understandably enters as the big pre-tournament favorite as the two-time defending champion. This is his first stroke-play event since the first leg of the playoffs, but he did participate in last month’s Presidents Cup, where he fueled the event’s most intense drama.
–Taylor Pendrith (+2200) won earlier this season and finished the season T14 in the standings. This is his first start since the Canadian finished an impressive T8 at the Tour Championship.
–Davis Thompson (+2500) won the John Deer Classic earlier this year, and tees it up for the first time since the BMW Championship.
–Stephan Jaeger (+3000) is coming off a runner-up in Utah and won the Houston Open earlier this year.
–Matt McCarty (+3500) is coming off his first PGA Tour victory in just his third career start.
–Maverick McNealy (+4000) is a Las Vegas resident with a two career runner-up finishes but is still seeking his maiden PGA Tour victory.
NOTES
–This is the fourth of eight events on the FedEx Cup Fall schedule, which finalizes the top 125 players who will retain exempt status for 2025. Nos. 126-150 after the fall will retain conditional status. Players who finished Nos. 51-70 in the FedEx Cup have secured their tour cards, but are competing for spots in the first two signature events after the season-opening The Sentry on Jan. 2-5.
–Kim is attempting to become the first player to win the same tournament three consecutive years since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic from 2009-11.
–Field Level Media