The PGA Tour is off to Las Vegas this week where South Korea’s Tom Kim will be looking to win the Shriners Children’s Open for the third successive year.
TPC Summerlin has been a long-established stop on the Tour and players should relish the ball flight generated by the high altitude, so we can expect a competitive tournament with plenty of potential challengers to Kim’s dominance.
- ERIC COLE TO WIN (EACH-WAY)
- DAVIS THOMPSON TO WIN (EACH-WAY)
- TAYLOR PENDRITH TO WIN (EACH-WAY)
Cole Looks Primed For A Challenge
Eric Cole’s most recent memory of TPC Summerlin is the closing 62 he posted last year to earn him third spot at the Nevada track and he should be equipped to build upon that when he returns to Vegas this week.
He was 16th at the Sanderson Farms Championship in his last outing and it has been a decent second half of the year for the man from Delray Beach, Florida.
He was sixth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the end of June and then seventh at the John Deere Classic where he carded rounds of 62 and 64.
Cole’s closing 63 was the best Sunday round as he finished seventh at the Wyndham Championship and this looks like another instance where he can have a strong presence.
ERIC COLE TO WIN (EACH-WAY)
Thompson Can Star In This Company
Davis Thompson would have posted a much better challenge in this event last year had he not carded a second-round 73, but he shouldn’t be disheartened by that 35th place and the 12th he claimed 12 months earlier is a cause for optimism in the run-up to this week’s tournament.
The promising 25-year-old was second at the low-grade Myrtle Beach Classic in May, but he really kicked on after tying for ninth at the US Open.
Second spot at the Rocket Mortgage and a four-shot win at the John Deere Classic followed quickly after that and this is the sort of tournament that he is capable of taking by the scruff of the neck.
He has not been seen since the BMW Championship at the end of August, but he should be refreshed and the man from Atlanta can hit the ground running.
DAVIS THOMPSON TO WIN (EACH-WAY)
Consistent Pendrith Is A Big Threat
Canada’s Taylor Pendrith was third at TPC Summerlin last year and his recent form suggests he can be a force in Vegas again this week.
He was 14th in the Tour Championship at the beginning of last month and has finished in the top 25 in 12 of his last 15 tournaments, with the only missed cut in that run coming in the US PGA Championship.
Included in that run was a victory at the CJ Cup and top-five finishes at the Barracuda Championship and the 3M Open, so he should be confident he can improve on last year’s performance when he finished two shots behind Kim.
TAYLOR PENDRITH TO WIN (EACH-WAY)
