The FedEx Cup Fall continues to heat up with the third event of the swing season this week at the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open. Welcoming the strongest field of the fall to TPC Summerlin, the Shriners Children’s Open has a great chance to produce the same type of fireworks on display last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Five of the 30 Tour Championship participants will be in the field at TPC Summerlin and are headlined by defending champion Tom Kim. Kim leads the betting action at +1000 after a stellar end to his 2023 regular season. The young South Korean has now finished inside the top 25 in seven straight tournaments between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and looks to successfully defend his title.
He is trailed closely by Ludvig Aberg at +1200. The young Swede nearly pulled off his first career victory on the PGA Tour as a member of the 5-man playoff at Country Club of Jackson, but he instead fell short. Aberg will look to bounce back quickly as his busy schedule continues to ramp up following his Ryder Cup debut.
Cameron Davis and Si Woo Kim round out the names of players listed below +3000 to begin the week on this par 71 in the Las Vegas desert.
2023 Shriners Children’s Open Betting Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Tom Kim | +1000 |
| Ludvig Aberg | +1200 |
| Cameron Davis | +2200 |
| Si Woo Kim | +2500 |
| Adam Schenk | +3000 |
| Eric Cole | +3000 |
| Tom Hoge | +3000 |
| JT Poston | +3300 |
| JJ Spaun | +3500 |
| Beau Hosler | +4000 |
| Andrew Putnam | +4000 |
| Adam Svensson | +4000 |
| Vincent Norrman | +4000 |
2023 Shriners Children’s Open Betting Picks
Si Woo Kim (+2500 to win)
Over the last six months, there have been few players better than Kim in this field. The South Korean ranks second in terms of strokes gained tee to green, first in driving accuracy, and top 20 in strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained approach, and strokes gained around the green.
The putter has let him down, but he should be able to find it around TPC Summerlin as he has done in the past. Arriving off a gold medal performance at the Asian Games to earn an exemption from South Korean military service, Kim and his comfort level will be at an all-time high. He has two T-8 finishes at the Shriners Children’s Open over the last three years.
J.T. Poston (+3300 to win)
The Shriners Children’s Open has seen its winning score approach 30 under on a number of occasions. With this in mind, the skillset required for the test is a two-fold attack consisting of strong approach play and hot putting. No one has been better in those two areas of the game than Poston since the John Deere Classic.
He is one of two players in this field to rank inside the top 10 in strokes gained putting and strokes gained approach over the last three months. During this time, Poston has collected top 10s at the Scottish Open, 3M Open, and the Wyndham Championship. He finished in a tie for 20th in last year’s tournament without much help from the flat stick.
J.J. Spaun (+3500 to win)
Spaun appears close to finding the winner’s circle as he arrives off a nice T-11 effort at the Fortinet Championship thanks to another well-rounded performance. Spaun ranks seventh in this field in total strokes gained over the last three months and sixth in strokes gained tee to green during this same frame.
The reason for his lack of winning success boils down to the putter, but he has shown an affinity for the greens at TPC Summerlin in recent years. He has gained strokes on the greens at this tournament in three straight years including last season when he notched his third top-15 finish in his last five appearances.
Beau Hossler (+4000 to win)
There has been a lot of consistent play from Hossler, but nothing extraordinary. He has cashed a pair of top 30s in the two FedEx Cup Fall events and gained strokes throughout the bag in both starts but not enough to make his way into contention.
The Shriners Children’s Open could prove to be different as TPC Summerlin is perfect for his skill set. Somewhat wild off the tee and very adequate on the greens, Hossler has collected a paycheck in all five trips to Las Vegas. He contended at this tournament in 2018 and will once again if he is able to avoid the desert with the big stick.
Nick Taylor (+8000 to win)
Taylor is coming off the best season of his career in terms of total strokes gained and strokes gained approach all while winning his home country’s open, the Canadian Open. While we haven’t seen Taylor since the Tour Championship, he is a sound statistical fit for this golf course. He projects well using long-term data and has proven to be capable when in the heat of contention.
Tom Kim (+160 to finish inside the top 10)
The South Korean is playing the best golf in the field and his place atop the betting board is warranted. Now without a win for a full year, Kim will come close to putting this streak to an end as he arrives with seven straight top 25s under his belt between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
He ranked inside the top five in terms of strokes gained tee to green, strokes gained approach and strokes gained putting en route to victory last season, and his recent play suggests him being capable of replicating this performance. The iron play is trending, the putter remains reliable, and all signs point to Kim threatening for his third career win on the PGA Tour.
