PGA DFS: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Course Breakdown
PGA DFS: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Course Breakdown
Sitting at 7,243 yards and at a Par of 71, Summerlin will feature Bentgrass on the Greens and Bermuda Grass on the Tees, Fairways, Rough. With the greens rolling out to an average of only 11ft on the stimpmeter, we are going to see lots of longer slower putts as the average green sizes stretch out to a massive 7,600 sq ft. – which brings us to our next point only 56% of drives have found the fairways historically on this track, but this will become a moot point as the rough length at Summerlin will be kept and cut at a moderate 2.75″, something you’d expect out of your local Saturday Municipal. With this rough not becoming much of a factor and because the greens are pretty large and easy to hit, Greens in Regulation average is at a whopping 72% almost 10% higher than tour average. This is a firm, fast course that sports an average of 295 yards Off the Tee in tour average, but will ultimately come down to the second shot as proximity to the holes will become the most important factor. We return this week to our customary course which has 3 Par 5’s, we are no longer spoiled with the extra birdie hole as we’ve had to target in the previous weeks. Average hole length will be between 400-550 yards, with an average approach shot distribution between 125-175 yards.
If we are looking at where the most birdies are made besides the obvious Par 5s, we have three particular par 4s that have given up an average of 28% of birdies. Hole 7 features a short 382 Par 4 giving up 23% of birdies, Hole 15 at 341 yards is giving up 40% of birdies, and Hole 1 will feature a 402 yard Par 4 giving up 22% as well. These are holes that need to be taken advantage of, leaving approach shots in the 125 yards or less, something to consider among the tougher stretches where bogeys can be made. Once again with the greens being relatively larger and easier to hit, we can focus less on the scrambling this week and put a little more weight on the putting. Not many putts are made outside 18ft, and most who found themselves heading home on Friday has not been able to dodge the big 3 putt, as this avoidance will be key this week.
Finally, we are going to factor in weather and ELEVATION. Some of you may have caught Rory Mcilroy in Switzerland after the Tour Championship. Competing at Crans-Montana which sat 4,920 ft above sea level, Rory was hitting drives that seemingly never ended and carried nearly 20 yards further than normal. TPC Summerlin is not as drastic as this but does sit at 2,700 feet above sea level, so we will see balls travel a little further, and our field will have to make adjustments on the fly to accommodate an extra 8-10 yards of carry, as lower air density and drag force will allow the balls to travel further. Did I get all Bryson on you there? Apologies. He is, in fact, the defender, and despite all the criticism he has taken lately, he is the type of player to target- one that can adapt to change quickly. As far as the weather, we will see sunny skies and a high of 80 degrees, a slight breeze at 6-8 mph on Thursday and Friday with projected winds picking up to 12-13 mph on the weekend that might hinder scores a bit.