While the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open might lack the star power of many PGA Tour events, what it does have is an impressive group of recent event champions who have proven ability to compete in big time tournaments.
Here are four former Vegas champs to keep an eye on at TPC Summerlin:
WEBB SIMPSON
After establishing himself as one of the best players on Tour from 2011-2014, a span where he won four times, including the 2012 U.S. Open and 2013 Shriners, Webb Simpson saw his game sink considerably in 2015, 2016, and the first half of 2017.
In the second half of last season, however, Simpson saw a resurgence. He has not missed a cut since early May, finished solo-third at the Wyndham Championship, and was a force in the FedExCup playoffs, finishing T13 or better in three of the four events.
WORLD: 37 | LAST 5: T17, T13, T9, T75, T6 | ODDS: 16-1
RYAN MOORE
The 2017 season was a huge disappointment for former UNLV star Ryan Moore. The 2012 Vegas champion was unable to parlay momentum from a hot 2016 finish into better things.
Moore had just two top 10s last season, but one of his best outings on the season was at the Shriners, where he finished T15 and shot in the 60s in all four rounds.
WORLD: 51 | LAST 5: T17, T20, WD, T49, T24 | ODDS: 28-1
KEVIN NA
This will be Kevin Na’s fourth start of the new season. While he has yet to finish inside the top 30, the 2011 Shriners winner did have a few strong results late in the 2016-17 season, including a T4 at the Wyndham Championship and a T6 at the Dell Technologies Championship.
Na missed the cut at TPC Summerlin last season after following up a first round 68 with a surprising second-round 75.
WORLD: 72 | LAST 5: T47, T44, T37, T53, T6 | ODDS: 33-1
SMYLIE KAUFMAN
A T4 at last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship was a desperately-needed high finish for Smylie Kaufman, who was terrible in 2017, missing 14 of 26 cuts and notching just one top 10.
Kaufman shot a final-round 61 in his 2015 Shriners win, but was unable to replicate that performance in his title defense last year, finishing T72 and posting just one round under par.
WORLD: 191 | LAST 5: T4, 75, MC, WD, T27 | ODDS: 50-1
Credit: Getty Images
