Shriners Hospitals for Children Open betting tips and preview
There are some big names lurking at the top of the market, but Tony Finau will be making the trip back from China after being denied in a playoff last week, while Fowler, Spieth, DeChambeau and Simpson all enter the week off the back of at least five week’s rest.
That’s why I’m drawn to some of the younger players in the field who have a point to prove, and like Niemann, Sam Burns (66/1, 7 places) has looked very good in fleeting appearances on the PGA Tour and is worth chancing at a similar price.
The 22-year-old made his professional debut on the PGA Tour just over 12 months ago at the Sanderson Farms Championship – last week’s event – and then followed that up with a T20 at this tournament.
Since then, he’s proved that he has what it takes to compete, and indeed win, at this level.
At the Honda Classic, Burns was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round and beat him by two shots as he secured a top-10.
The LSU graduate has since locked up his PGA Tour card after impressing on the Web.com Tour, including getting his first win at the Savannah Golf Championship in April.
He enters the week off the back of a T3 at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and he looks to have every chance of going close and notching his first win at this level.
I’ll close with two other recent Web.com Tour graduates, Adam Schenk (80/1, 7 places) and Denny McCarthy (80/1, 7 places).
Look past the former’s ill-fated last name and you’ll see a player that is bang in form with top-15 finishes in each of his last five starts.
Schenk picked up over seven strokes on the field with the putter last week on his way to a tie for seventh and, with this event often proving to be a birdie-fest, a hot putter is always going to help.
A 20th place finish on debut here last year is a promising sign, too.
As for McCarthy, the UVA graduate didn’t do enough to automatically keep his PGA Tour card last year, and so he made the trip to the Web.com Tour Finals.
He finished inside the top-13 in each of the first three events before running away with the Tour Championship by four strokes to pick up his first pro title.
Clearly playing with plenty of confidence, McCarthy picked up his second best PGA Tour finish last week at the Sanderson Farms with a T7 as he led the field in strokes gained: putting.
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Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
