Some of the top players on the PGA Tour will get back to work this week when the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open tees off Thursday at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. The 2021 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open field includes 11 of the world’s top 25 players, including four-time major champion Brooks Koepka and eight other major winners. Martin Laird won last year’s event while playing on a sponsor’s exemption, and two of the Scotsman’s four PGA Tour victories have come at the Shriners Children’s Open. He also fell just short of defending his first Shriners title when Jonathan Byrd hit a hole-in-one for eagle to beat him on the fourth playoff hole in 2010. The past two tournaments at Summerlin were tied at 23-under after 72 holes and went to a playoff.
Caesars Sportsbook lists Viktor Hovland as the 20-1 favorite in its latest 2021 Shriners Children’s Open golf odds. Brooks Koepka and Sam Burns, who won last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, are listed at 22-1. Other likely contenders from the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open field include Abraham Ancer (25-1), Scottie Scheffler (25-1), Hideki Matsuyama (28-1) and Will Zalatoris (28-1), while Laird is a massive 150-1 long-shot.
Before you lock in any bets on the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open or make any PGA Tour predictions, you have to see what proven golf insider Sal Johnson has to say.
The media legend and esteemed golf insider has a strong track record on picks, and he knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour. And last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship, he nailed Burns as his winner. He noted the 25-year-old’s recent results and knew he had tied for third in Jackson two years before.
Burns went out and made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine Sunday to win his second PGA Tour title, and Johnson knew he had the momentum.
Johnson also comes off a stellar season where he showed his uncanny knack for gauging how players fit the courses. Before the U.S. Open in June, he pegged Jon Rahm among his best bets to win and touted Louis Oosthuizen at 45-1 as his top long-shot candidate. Rahm and Oosthuizen battled to the finish, with Rahm surging to his first major title.
And before the Tokyo Olympics, he had Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama among his top five golfers. Schauffele won the gold medal for Team USA, while the other three made the playoff for bronze.
He also was one of the few experts to say 55-1 long shot Kevin Kisner had a legitimate chance before he got his first stroke-play win in more than four years at the Wyndham Championship. Anyone who has followed Johnson’s advice has cashed in huge.
Now Johnson, the first producer of “Inside the PGA Tour,” a longtime ABC Sports golf producer who worked with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, and founder of the world’s top golf stats database, has released his highly confident 2021 Shriners Children’s Open golf picks, and they will surprise you. You can only see Johnson’s expert PGA Tour picks at SportsLine.
Top 2021 Shriners Children’s Open golf predictions
Shockingly, the golf expert is fading Koepka, who is one of the favorites amongst oddsmakers. The 31-year-old finished in the top six of three majors and won a tournament last season despite having major knee surgery in February. But Koepka has had a spotty record at TPC Summerlin. He was the runner-up in 2017 and tied for fourth in 2015, but he has missed the cut in his three other appearances. The golf expert doesn’t know which Koepka will show up this week, and he has several better options who might be flying under your radar.
On the other hand, Johnson has been watching Hovland’s rise and looks forward to seeing what he can do in his first Shriners. The 24-year-old ranks 14th in the world and tied for fifth at the Tour Championship last season. He finished in the top-three five times, including his victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December, and he has three worldwide wins. That includes the BMW International Open this summer in Munich, Germany. He was fifth in strokes gained off the tee last season and eighth tee-to-green, helping him post a 69.888 scoring average (ninth).
The golf expert also knows Webb Simpson isn’t the flashiest player, but he is always a threat to win. The 36-year-old won this event in 2014 and has four top-10’s in 10 appearances. He is 36-under par over his past two trips to TPC Summerlin, finishing T-13 last year and seventh the previous year. He ranked just 134th in driving distance (292.5 yards) last season, but his other stats make up for that. He was 21st in greens in regulation, 26th in driving accuracy and eighth in par breakers, all of which helped him rank 10th on tour in scoring average (69.901).
How to make 2021 Shriners Children’s Open golf picks
This week in Las Vegas, the golf expert is backing a massive long-shot who comes in at around 50-1. This golfer had a strong start to the season, and he is known to be dangerous when he gets on a roll. He could easily pull off a shocking victory at TPC Summerlin, and anyone who backs this underdog could cash in huge. You can only get this pick and the rest of Johnson’s PGA Tour predictions and analysis at SportLine.
Who wins the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open? Where do Viktor Hovland and Webb Simpson finish? And which huge long-shot is a must-back? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Sal Johnson’s full leaderboard, picks and analysis for the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open, all from the insider who knows what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, and find out.
2021 Shriners Children’s Open odds, field, top contenders
Brooks Koepka 20-1
Viktor Hovland 20-1
Sam Burns 22-1
Abraham Ancer 25-1
Webb Simpson 25-1
Kevin Na 25-1
Louis Oosthuizen 25-1
Scottie Scheffler 25-1
Hideki Matsuyama 28-1
Will Zalatoris 28-1
Harris English 30-1
Patrick Reed 30-1
Paul Casey 33-1
Corey Conners 33-1
Sungjae Im 33-1
Si-Woo Kim 35-1
Adam Scott 40-1
Cameron Tringale 40-1
Matthew Wolff 45-1
Jason Kokrak 45-1
Joaquin Niemann 45-1
Erik Van Rooyen 45-1
Maverick McNealy 50-1
Charley Hoffman 50-1
Kevin Streelman 50-1
Brian Harman 50-1
Mito Pereira 50-1
Russell Henley 60-1
Talor Gooch 66-1
Marc Leishman 66-1
Ryan Palmer 80-1
Adam Hadwin 80-1
Taylor Moore 80-1
Ian Poulter 80-1
Cameron Davis 80-1
Emiliano Grillo 80-1
Aaron Wise 80-1
Rickie Fowler 100-1
Patton Kizzire 100-1
Carlos Ortiz 100-1
Pat Perez 100-1
Doug Ghim 100-1
Luke List 100-1
Stewart Cink 100-1
Sebastian Munoz 100-1
Seamus Power 100-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 100-1
Chad Ramey 100-1
Kevin Kisner 100-1
Lanto Griffin 100-1
Denny McCarthy 100-1
Danny Willett 100-1
Joel Dahmen 100-1
Sahith Theegala 100-1
Henrik Norlander 100-1
Lucas Glover 100-1
Charl Schwartzel 125-1
Garrick Higgo 125-1
Roger Sloan 125-1
Russell Knox 125-1
Joseph Bramlett 125-1
Cameron Young 125-1
Rasmus Hojgaard 125-1
Ryan Moore 125-1
Stephan Jaeger 125-1
Scott Stallings 150-1
Tom Hoge 150-1
Hayden Buckley 150-1
Brendan Steele 150-1
Martin Laird 150-1
Francesco Molinari 150-1
Harry Higgs 150-1
Brandt Snedeker 150-1
Dylan Frittelli 150-1
Seth Reeves 150-1
Chez Reavie 150-1
Hudson Swafford 150-1
Adam Schenk 150-1
Kyle Stanley 150-1
Troy Merritt 150-1
Scott Piercy 150-1
Brendon Todd 150-1
Matt Kuchar 150-1
Charles Howell 150-1
Nick Watney 150-1
Matt Jones 150-1
Zach Johnson 150-1
Mark Hubbard 175-1
Chesson Hadley 200-1
Chun-An Yu 200-1
Keith Mitchell 200-1
Matt Wallace 200-1
Sam Ryder 200-1
Peter Malnati 200-1
James Hahn 200-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Sepp Straka 200-1
Robert Streb 200-1
Matthew NeSmith 200-1
Nate Lashley 200-1
Rory Sabbatini 200-1
Brian Stuard 200-1
Greyson Sigg 200-1
Michael Thompson 200-1
Doc Redman 200-1
Kevin Tway 200-1
Aaron Rai 200-1
Davis Riley 250-1
Adam Svensson 250-1
Hank Lebioda 250-1
Bronson Burgoon 250-1
Wyndham Clark 250-1
Trey Mullinax 250-1
J.T. Poston 250-1
Brandon Hagy 250-1
Brice Garnett 250-1
Andrew Landry 250-1
Andrew Putnam 250-1
