It’s hard to believe, but the PGA Tour is already in the fifth week of the wrap-around portion of its 2018-19 season. The early stops have seen some worthy winners with Kevin Tway (Safeway), Marc Leishman (CIMB), Brooks Koepka (CJ), Xander Schauffele (WGC-HSBC), and Cameron Champ (Sanderson Farms) all making bold moves towards a banner season.

Now, the Tour reaches its annual stop in Las Vegas for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. It’s a bit of a difficult spot in the schedule as many of the top PGA Tour players are recovering from a hectic 2017-18 season and a three-week swing in Asia, while the best of the best in Europe will be in Turkey for the opening leg of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai playoffs.

Despite all the built-in hurdles, the tournament organizers put together one of its most impressive fields in recent memory, headlined by five members of the 2018 U.S. Ryder Cup team: Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, and Webb Simpson, along with defending champion Patrick Cantlay, and last week’s winner Cameron Champ. Other big names include Gary Woodland, Matt Kuchar, Ryan Moore, Jason Dufner, Ernie Els, Chesson Hadley, and Si Woo Kim, among others.

THE SKINNY

Tournament: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open
Dates: Nov. 1-4, 2018
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada
Course: TPC Summerlin
Distance: Par 71, 7255 yards
Architect: Bobby Weed
Format: 132 players, 72 holes, 36-hole cut, stroke play
Purse: $7,000,000
Winning Share: $1,260,000
FedExCup/OWGR Points: 500/40
Defending Champion: Patrick Cantlay
Marquee Players: Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Tony Finau, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland, Matt Kuchar, Ryan Moore, Chesson Hadley, Russell Henley, Si Woo Kim, Jason Dufner, Jhonattan Vegas,Austin Cook, and Cameron Champ.

TV & ONLINE

Rd1: Thu 4:30 – 7:30 pm (GOLF)
Rd2: Fri 4:30 – 7:30 pm (GOLF)
Rd3: Sat 4:30 – 7:30 pm (GOLF)
Rd4: Sun 3:30 – 6:30 pm (GOLF)

Online: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Wikipedia

HISTORY

The PGA Tour’s yearly excursion in Las Vegas once had a reputation for big payouts, as the event regularly drew impressive fields by offering one of the largest purses on Tour. First teeing off in 1983, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has the distinction of being the first Tour event to offer a purse in excess of $1 million – doing so in 1984, its second edition.

Originally, a five-round tournament, the inaugural 1983 title was captured by 10-time PGA Tour winner Fuzzy Zoeller.

Over the years, notable winners of the Sin City event include Curtis Strange, Greg Norman, Paul Azinger, Davis Love III, Bob Tway, and three-time champ Jim Furyk, who’s the only player to win the tournament multiple times.

Perhaps its most notable winner, however, was Tiger Woods, who won notched victory No. 1 of his illustrious 80-win career in Vegas, way back in 1996, defeating Davis Love III in a playoff as a then 20-year-old.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open has always contested its tournament in the Las Vegas area, but originally rotated between several area courses, before settling on TPC Summerlin as the permanent host venue in 2008. From 2008-2012, the tournament was notable for including the name of superstar entertainer Justin Timberlake in its title. Timberlake, an avid golf fan, was a tournament sponsor and host during that time.

RECENT WINNERS
2018: Patrick Cantlay
2016: Rod Pampling
2015: Smylie Kaufman
2014: Ben Martin
2013: Webb Simpson
2012: Ryan Moore
2011: Kevin Na

LOW SCORE
260 (-24): Ryan Moore (2012); Webb Simpson (2013)

LOW ROUND
59 (Chip Beck – Sunrise GC)
60 (JJ Henry, Rod Pampling – TPC Summerlin)

DEFENDING CHAMPION

With a final-round 4-under 67, Patrick Cantlay came from five shots back after 54 holes to complete one of the PGA Tour’s great comeback stories: a playoff triumph at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas

Once a can’t-miss amateur prospect who shot a second-round 60 at the 2011 Travelers Championship (as an amateur), Cantlay returned to the PGA Tour in 2016 after years of serious back injuries and a personal tragedy kept him sidelined.

Just 15 events later, of which he did not miss a single cut, Cantlay outdueled Whee Kim, 46-year-old Tour veteran Alex Cejka, blustery conditions, and a devilish 18th hole that he had to play three times on Sunday, for the inspirational win at the same tournament where Tiger Woods had his first career PGA Tour victory in 1996.

FINAL TOP 5

1 Patrick Cantlay -9
2 Alex Cejka -9
2 Whee Kim -9
4 Patton Kizzire -8
4 J.T. Poston -8
4 Chesson Hadley -8

FULL FIELD: WORLD RANK & ODDS

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open | TPC Summerlin | Las Vegas, NV | Nov. 1-4, 2018