Kevin Streelman … The veteran always gets off to a nice start, but he’s performed well throughout his career no matter where the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has slotted on the schedule. Since his tournament debut in 2008, he’s 8-for-8 with a runner-up finish in 2014 among five top 25s and a scoring average of 68.53. Cracked the seal on this season with a T25 at the Safeway Open where he ranked second in fairways hit, T2 in green in regulation and second in proximity to the hole. J.J. Spaun … Seeking redemption after squandering the 36-hole lead and 54-hole co-lead here a year ago. He settled for a share of 10th place with a 3-over 74 in the finale when scoring was at its easiest in the tournament. Ironically, he’s also coming off a T10 at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the eighth consecutive cut made of a streak that started at the other PGA TOUR event in Nevada with a T3 at the Barracuda Championship. His strength is tee to green with bursts of red-hot putting sprinkled in. Aggressive player. Harris English … He needed a T11 at the Wyndham Championship to secure his card for an eighth consecutive season and he won’t turn 30 until next July! With a pair of paydays to open 2018-19, he’s survived four of his last five cuts. It’s a modest pace but he achieved it just one other time over the last 12 months. Last year’s missed cut at TPC Summerlin occurred at the midpoint of an 0-for-5 autumn, but he placed T4 here two years ago with quad 67s. In 18 career rounds in competition, he’s averaged 68.94. Alex Prugh … The 34-year-old is in his sixth season with PGA TOUR status, this time as a Web.com Tour Finals grad. All six of his career top 10s in 115 starts as a professional have occurred either on or near the West Coast. While statistically improbable, it’s not surprising given his roots in Washington State. Simply put, he’s most comfortable on the left side of the country. As he readies for his sixth start at TPC Summerlin, he’s still chasing his first top 25 in the tournament despite a scoring average of 69.24. After ranking T8 on the 2018 Web.com Tour in greens hit en route to five top 10s, perhaps this is the year. Opened 2018-19 with top 40s at Silverado and the Country Club of Jackson. Martin Trainer … Assembled one of the strangest seasons on the Web.com Tour in 2018 in that he went just 9-for-21 with only four top 50s, but two were victories. He also ranked second in putting: birdies-or-better percentage and T12 in par-5 scoring. Given that all-or-nothing profile and no fear in going low — his 25-under 263 at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr. Pepper in late July equaled a seven-year low in the tournament — he’s set up to be a recurring Sleeper in shootouts in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR.
Click here to read the full article…
