Welcome to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, where the desert is hot and the golfers are hotter. In the 10 years that the Las Vegas event has been a four-round tournament, only once has the winner shot less than 20 under par.
Last year, Webb Simpson posted 24 under, en route to a tournament-record, six-stroke victory over Jason Bohn and Ryo Ishikawa. Simpson didn’t shoot higher than 67 in any round last year. In the last five years no champion has shot higher than 68, and no winner at Las Vegas has had a round in the 70s since Jim Furyk in 1999.
The field average has been in the 60s every year since the TPC Summerlin became a par-71 course in 2009. Four times in the last five years more than half of the rounds were in the 60s. The Shriners was one of four Tour events last season where players were in the 60s in more than half their rounds. Expect the low scoring to continue this week.
Going low at TPC Summerlin: 2009-2013
| Year | Winner | Score | Field avg. | Rounds in 60s | 65s or better |
| 2013 | Webb Simpson | -24 | 69.55 | 208 of 405 (51.36%) | 36 |
| 2012 | Ryan Moore | -24 | 69.71 | 203 of 408 (49.75) | 24 |
| 2011 | Kevin Na | -23 | 68.82 | 249 of 418 (59.57) | 37 |
| 2010 | Jonathan Byrd | -21 | 68.96 | 260 of 409 (63.57) | 37 |
| 2009 | Martin Laird | -19 | 69.15 | 238 of 408 (58.33) | 41 |
Tournaments with the highest percentage of rounds in the 60s in 2014
| Tournament | Percent of rounds in 60s | Par |
| Humana Challenge | 58.11% | 72 |
| Wyndham Championship | 56.77 | 70 |
| Sony Open | 56.52 | 70 |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children Open | 51.36 | 71 |
| John Deere Classic | 49.57 | 71 |
Casting his Webb
During his victory, Simpson finished in the top five in the field in Las Vegas in greens in regulation (T-2), proximity to the hole (fourth), scrambling (T-3), strokes gained/putting (first) and putting from more than 10 feet (first). Simpson made 15 putts from more than 10 feet in 2013, no other player in the field made more than 12 from that distance.
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open leaders in putting from more than 10 feet in 2013
| Player | Putts made/total | Percentage | Tournament finish |
| Webb Simpson | 15 for 49 | 30.61% | Won |
| Will Mackenzie | 12 for 40 | 30.00 | T-15 |
| John Huh | 12 for 43 | 27.91 | T-30 |
| Stephen Ames | 12 for 46 | 26.09 | T-48 |
| Jason Bohn | 11 for 45 | 24.44 | T-2 |
Home cookin’
Simpson’s victory a year ago ended a streak of Shriners winners who live in Las Vegas, as Kevin Na in 2011 and Ryan Moore in 2012 didn’t have to commute far to get to TPC Summerlin. Charley Hoffman came close to making it three straight home winners a year ago, finishing fourth. In addition, Las Vegas resident Nick Watney finished second in 2011 and former UNLV player Chad Campbell was T-2 in 2009.
Can a player with ties to the host city win again this week? Eleven players in the 2014 Shriners field went to school in Las Vegas or live in the city. Seven of them have finished in the top 10.
How players with Las Vegas ties have fared in the Shriners
| Player | Shriners starts | Cuts made | Top 10s | Best finish |
| Chad Campbell | 11 | 10 | 2 | T-2 in 2009 |
| Alex Cejka | 8 | 4 | 0 | T-24 in 2009 |
| Derek Ernst | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Andres Gonzales | 4 | 2 | 0 | T-63 in 2006 |
| Charley Hoffman | 10 | 6 | 3 | Fourth in 2013 |
| Bill Lunde | 7 | 4 | 1 | Fifth in 2012 |
| Ryan Moore | 8 | 7 | 3 | Won in 2012 |
| Kevin Na | 8 | 6 | 1 | Won in 2011 |
| Scott Piercy | 8 | 6 | 2 | T-6 in 2012 |
| Alex Prugh | 3 | 2 | 0 | T-29 in 2011 |
| Nick Watney | 9 | 7 | 4 | Second in 2011 |
Moore than enough
Ryan Moore is the only player to shoot four rounds in the 60s at the Shriners in each of the last two years. Moore won in 2012, shooting 24-under 260, including an opening 61. It was quite an October for Moore, whose wife, Nichole, gave birth to baby Tucker two weeks later.
Last fall, Moore shot 69-63-69-68—269 to finish T-9, nine strokes back of Webb Simpson.
Simpson, by the way, has shot nine consecutive rounds in the 60s at TPC Summerlin, including four in 2010 and one in 2009. Simpson did not play the tournament in 2011 or 2012. Carl Pettersson also has nine straight rounds in the 60s at Summerlin, having played every other year since 2009.
Here’s the list of players in this year’s field who had four rounds in the 60s in 2013.
Four rounds in the 60s at TPC Summerlin in 2013
| Player | Rounds in 2013 | Finish | Consecutive 60s at TPC Summerlin |
| Webb Simpson | 64-63-67-66 | Won | 9 |
| Jason Bohn | 67-64-69-66 | T-2 | 4 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | 67-66-68-65 | T-2 | 4 |
| Charles Howell III | 67-69-67-65 | T-5 | 5 |
| Ryan Moore | 69-63-69-68 | T-9 | 8 |
| Carl Pettersson | 68-67-69-66 | T-12 | 9 |
| Andrew Svoboda | 68-67-67-69 | T-15 | 4 |
Picking up where he left off
Billy Horschel, the 2014 FedEx Cup champion, makes his 2015 season debut at the Shriners. He took a short, one-month break to enjoy his windfall for winning the BMW Championship, the Tour Championship and the $10 million annuity that goes with the Cup – not to mention the birth of his first child, daughter Skylar, two days after the Tour Championship ended. Now he returns, hoping to extend his winning streak to three straight events.
Since 2000, two players have ended one year with a win and began the next season the same way. Tiger Woods has done it three times and Jonathan Byrd did it once. We’re not talking about a season-ending/season-opening tournament, but the last and first start by a particular player in the given years.
Players who won their last start of one season and first start the next since 2000
| Player | Last start | First start |
| Tiger Woods | 1999 WGC-American Express | 2000 Mercedes Championship |
| Tiger Woods | 2006 WGC-American Express | 2007 Buick Invitational |
| Tiger Woods | 2007 Tour Championship | 2008 Buick Invitational |
| Jonathan Byrd | 2010 Shriners Las Vegas | 2011 Hyundai T of C |
One final thought: Martin Laird, T-3 last week at the Frys.com Open, has a strong resume in Las Vegas. The Scotsman made the Las Vegas stop his first PGA Tour win in 2009 and he was second a year later. In 2010 Laird lost a playoff to Jonathan Byrd, who became the first player to win a playoff with a hole-in-one, ending Laird’s hopes of a repeat victory with an ace on the fourth extra hole.
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