The First Look: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

The PGA TOUR heads to Las Vegas for the first of two events on a mini-Vegas swing. This week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open will be followed by THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, which was relocated to Las Vegas due to COVID-19. The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open marks Bryson DeChambeau's first start after his U.S. Open win, Francesco Molinari's first start since the season stopped for COVID-19 and defending champion Kevin Na. FIELD NOTES: Molinari makes his first start on TOUR since the WGC-Mexico Championship in February. He moved his family to California this year and took some time away from golf... DeChambeau tees it up for the first time as a major champion... Will Zalatoris is in the field as one of the sponsor exemptions. Zalatoris is tops on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List and is looking to increase his nonmember FedExCup points. He currently is 95 points short of special temporary membership... Smylie Kaufman returns to the tournament where he notched his first TOUR victory. The 2015 Shriners winner will make his first start on TOUR since the Puerto Rico Open in February... PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa is back in action on the PGA TOUR along with fellow young star Matthew Wolff, who has finished in the top four in the past two majors... Justin Suh, a college star in his own right alongside Morikawa and Wolff, is looking to build off his momentum from the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, where he finished T14... After starting the final day of the Southern Highlands Collegiate seven shots back, the University of Texas' Parker Coody won medalist honors and a spot in the Shriners. Coody is the grandson of former Masters champion Charles Coody. Parker's twin, Pierceson, won this year's Western Amateur. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: TPC Summerlin, par 71, 7,255 yards (yardage subject to change). Carved out of rugged desert terrain, TPC Summerlin - designed by Bobby Weed with Fuzzy Zoeller serving as a consultant - has hosted the Shriners since 1992. STORYLINES: DeChambeau captured the Shriners in 2018... How much does Patrick Cantlay love TPC Summerlin? The 2017 Shriners winner also has a runner-up (2018) and a playoff loss (2019) to his credit. He is certainly one to watch again... Other than defending champion Kevin Na, many TOUR pros playing the Shriners call the Vegas area home including Ryan Moore, Scott Piercy, and Maverick McNealy. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Ryan Moore (2012), Webb Simpson (2013). 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Chip Beck (3rd round, 1991 at Sunrise GC). TPC Summerlin record: 60, J.J. Henry (1st round, 2013), Rod Pampling (1st round, 2016). LAST TIME: Kevin Na nailed a 4-foot tester on the second playoff hole with Patrick Cantlay to claim his fourth PGA TOUR title - and second at TPC Summerlin. Cantlay three-putted the second sudden-death hole which opened the door for Na. Na's efforts on the greens a year ago were record-setting, as he set the record for feet of putts made in a 72-hole event (more than 558 feet in all). Na had a three-shot lead through nine holes in the final round but made a triple bogey on No. 10 to allow Cantlay and others to challenge. Pat Perez finished third while Adam Hadwin, Brian Stuard, and Bryson DeChambeau rounded out the top five. It was Na's third TOUR win in 15 months after going seven years between TOUR victories. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

Click here to read the full article…