This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.
SHRINERS OPEN
Purse: $6.4M
Winner's Share: $1,152,000
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: Las Vegas
Course: TPC Summerlin
Yardage: 7,255
Par: 71
Defending Champion: Ben Martin
Tournament Preview
Following last week's Frys.com Open playoff win by Emiliano Grillo, the PGA Tour heads to Las Vegas to play the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The par-71 TPC Summerlin course was a collaborative effort of Bobby Weed and Fuzzy Zoeller, featuring natural amphitheaters carved from the Nevada desert to treat fans to remarkable spectating views. The final four holes offer exciting risk-reward drama, complete with the drivable par-4 15th, reachable par-5 16th, and two strong finishing holes that bring water into play. Rickie Fowler and Las Vegas resident & former champ Kevin Na join all but one of the 35 graduates from the Web.com Tour finals to form a youth-heavy field yearning to start off the new season strong. Nine of the past 13 winners have been first-timers at this event, giving up-and-coming players added confidence heading into this week.
Key Stats to winning at TPC Summerlin
• GIR Percentage
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Current Form
Past Champions
2014 - Ben Martin (TPC Summerlin)
2013 - Webb Simpson (TPC Summerlin)
2012 - Ryan Moore (TPC Summerlin)
2011 - Kevin Na (TPC Summerlin)
2010 - Jonathan Byrd (TPC Summerlin)
2009 - Martin Laird (TPC Summerlin)
2008 - Marc Turnesa (TPC Summerlin)
2007 - George McNeill
2006 - Troy Matteson
2005 - Wes Short Jr.
Champion's Profile:
TPC Summerlin has hosted this event without interruption since 2008, thus everything since then is considered in my research. Past champs since 2008 have little in common, other than their putting prowess when they won in Vegas. It seems the player who pairs decent ball-striking with an extraordinary putting week is the recipe for success, but predicting a putting hot streak is like finding a needle in a haystack. However, seeking players with above average GIR percentage and positive strokes gained putting over the long-term have the best chance to show up on the leaderboard.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Rickie Fowler - $12,200 (Winning Odds: 11%)
Brooks Koepka - $10,900 (5%)
Emiliano Grillo - $10,200 (4%)
Brandt Snedeker - $10,100 (4%)
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Jimmy Walker - $9,900 (4%)
Tony Finau - $9,800 (3%)
Webb Simpson - $9,400 (3%)
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Brendan Steele - $9,100 (2%)
Hunter Mahan - $8,900 (2%)
Brendon Todd - $8,500 (2%)
Chris Stroud - $8,400 (2%)
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Russell Henley - $7,500 (1%)
Martin Laird - $,7800 (1%)
Chez Reavie - $7,300 (1%)
Ryo Ishikawa - $7,000 (1%)
Stewart Cink - $6,900 (1%)
Roberto Castro - $6,500 (1%)
Chad Campbell - $6,400 (1%)
Boo Weekley - $6,300 (1%)
Shawn Stefani - $6,000 (1%)
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Cash Game Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Brandt Snedeker - $10,100
Webb Simpson - $9,400
Brendon Todd - $8,500
Kevin Streelman - $7,900
Patton Kizzire - $7,600
Adam Hadwin - $6,500
The cash game lineup pairs five players with solid histories at this event with a hot rookie from the Web.com Tour in Patton Kizzire, who makes his first tour start as a PGA Tour member after dominating the Web.com Tour money list last season. Snedeker and Simpson provide established talent and a combined four top-10s in six starts between them. Todd brings solid putting and a historical T12 in 2014 while Streelman brings top-25s his last four starts here dating back to 2009. Finally, Hadwin posted a T7 at last year's Shriners Open en route to a season that included three total top-10s.
Higher-Risk Tournament Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Rickie Fowler - $12,800
Brandt Snedeker - $10,100
Steven Bowditch - $7,200
David Hearn - $7,100
Ryo Ishikawa - $7,000
Chad Campbell - $6,400
Rickie Fowler is far and wide the best player in the field and impossible to ignore in a weaker field. Snedeker makes both my lineups due to recent form and last year's top-10 at TPC Summerlin. Bowditch enters off his best season yet in 2014-15, where he posted 10 top-25 finishes, while Hearn finished T7 at last year's Shriners Open and is represents a solid boom-or-bust lineup differentiator. Ishikawa tied for runner-up here two years ago and followed that up with a top-30 last year. Rounding out the lineup is bargain bin option Chad Campbell who has made 10-of-12 career cuts at the Shriners including near wins in 2008 and 2009.
