Shriners Children’s Open Matchup Picks

The Shriners Children’s Open has the spotlight this week on the PGA Tour and two young stars are at the top of the golf odds board. Tom Kim is listed as the betting favorite at BetRivers, while Ludvig Aberg is the second choice. Those two players are likely to get a lot of attention on the golf odds betting board, as they are the only two players listed with odds of less than 20-1. TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas is the site for this week’s event and it is considered one of the easiest courses on the PGA Tour schedule. We should see some really good scores on the weekend, as birdies will be plentiful. It was not a good week for us with the matchups at the Sanderson Farms Championship, so we’ll look to bounce back this week. Let’s look at Shriners Children’s Open matchup picks.

Defending Champion: Tom Kim

Tournament Notes: TPC Summerlin is a par 71 that measures 7,255 yards. It is considered the easiest of the par 71 courses on the PGA Tour. Thursday’s opening round could see some wind but the weekend should be calm with favorable scoring conditions. Last year the field averaged 69 and that was actually higher than what the average normally is. This will be the second year of Bermudagrass fairways and bentgrass greens at TPC Summerlin. The key stats a year ago were GIR and scrambling, as those who get up and down do really well at Summerlin. Kim was 9 for 9 in scrambling a year ago.

Fortinet Championship Matchups

Aberg, Ludvig -125 vs. Kim, Tom

Kim, Tom -125 vs. Kim, Si Woo

Aberg, Ludvig -175 vs. Hojgaard, Nicolai

Kim, Si Woo -125 vs. Davis, Cameron

Poston, J.T. -125 vs. Schenk, Adam

Hojgaard, Nicolai -143 vs. Bezuidenhout, Christiaan

Spaun, J.J. -120 vs. Cole, Eric

Griffin, Ben -115 vs. Hadwin, Adam

Grillo, Emiliano -134 vs. Hoge, Tom

Hubbard, Mark -120 vs. Herbert, Lucas

Putnam, Andrew -137 vs. Smalley, Alex

Svensson, Adam -134 vs. Ghim, Doug

Norrman, Vincent -143 vs. Higgo, Garrick

Hossler, Beau -150 vs. Rai, Aaron

Rodgers, Patrick -134 vs. List, Luke

Thompson, Davis -137 vs. Suh, Justin

Noren, Alexander -134 vs. NeSmith, Matthew

Golf Picks

Kim, Tom -125 vs. Kim, Si Woo

I can’t pass up the defending champion at a short price even though I respect the way that Si Woo Kim is playing. Tom Kim is simply the better player and at a small price I will take him here.

Aberg, Ludvig -175 vs. Hojgaard, Nicolai

I said in the odds preview that I think Aberg can win this week. He is simply a future star that will get his first PGA Tour win very soon. He wasn’t even at the top of his game last week and still made a five-way playoff. I would be surprised if Aberg didn’t contend for the win this week and I’ll lay the price in this matchup.

Putnam, Andrew -137 vs. Smalley, Alex

Putnam has played well at TPC Summerlin in the past with three top 20 finishes. He has the right type of game for this week with a strong approach game and good putting. I’ll take him in this matchup against Smalley.

Svensson, Adam -134 vs. Ghim, Doug

Why get off a winner? This was one of the few good picks I had last week, as Svensson played well and Ghim did not and I see no reason that is going to change this week. I’ll take Svensson in this matchup.

Norrman, Vincent -143 vs. Higgo, Garrick

Norman has been on a nice roll with a win at the Barbasol Championship and a win at the Horizon Irish Open. He has finished in the top 25 in his last eight events. I’ll take him against Higgo.

Rodgers, Patrick -134 vs. List, Luke

This last one is simply a play against last week’s winner. I have done well in the past going against last week’s winner and will do so here and take Rodgers over List.

Check out the latest Shriners Children’s Open matchups odds at BetRivers.