Shriners Hospitals For Children Open Preview

2016 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Preview
Dates: November 31-October 6, 2016
Where: TPC Summerlin / Las Vegas, Nev.
Par/Yards: 35-36—71/7,255 yards
Field: 144
2015 champion: Smylie Kaufman
Purse: $6,600,000/$1,188,000 (winner)
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Twitter: @ShrinersOpen

Smylie Kaufman and the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

• Smylie Kaufman carded a 10-under 61 to finish the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at 16-under 268, winning for the first time on the PGA TOUR by one stroke over six players.
• Kaufman finished his round 2½ hours before the final group holed out.
• His closing 61 is the lowest finish on the PGA TOUR by a winner since Tommy Gainey closed the 2012 RSM Classic with a 10-under 60 and his seven-stroke, come-from-behind victory was the best on TOUR in the 2015-16 season.
• Kaufman’s victory in Las Vegas was one of four top-10s in his rookie season: Safeway Open (T10), Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (1st), World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (T8), and Quicken Loans National (T10).
• Kaufman ranked within the top 30 in the FedExCup through the Wyndham Championship, entering the Playoffs at No. 26. He advanced through the first three Playoffs events before ending the season at No. 43.
• Kaufman was one of 16 first-time winners in 2015-16, the second-most in a season since 1970.

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and the FedExCup

• The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open enters the fourth season featuring a wraparound schedule that bridges two years with 47 events.
• The 2016-17 PGA TOUR season includes seven events during the fall of 2016. After a seven-week break, the season will resume in January with the traditional swing through Hawaii before moving to the West Coast.
• The FedExCup Playoffs once again features four events and concludes in September 2017 with the TOUR Championship and the crowning of the FedExCup champion.
• All seven winners from the fall of 2015 qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs, while four advanced to the TOUR Championship (Emiliano Grillo, Justin Thomas, Russell Knox and Kevin Kisner).

A glance at the field At The Shriners Hospitals For Children Open

• Three members of the victorious United States Ryder Cup squad – Brooks Koepka, Ryan Moore and Jimmy Walker – and U.S. Team Captain Davis Love III.
• Six players who advanced to the TOUR Championship: Ryan Moore (7), Jimmy Walker (14), Roberto Castro (22), William McGirt (24), Sean O’Hair (27) and Kevin Na (28).
• Nine major winners: Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Keegan Bradley, Stewart Cink, Lucas Glover, Davis Love III, Graeme McDowell, Webb Simpson and Jimmy Walker.
• Ten former Shriners Hospitals for Children Open champions are in the field: Smylie Kaufman (2015), Ben Martin (2014), Webb Simpson (2013), Ryan Moore (2012), Kevin Na (2011), Jonathan Byrd (2010), Martin Laird (2009), Stuart Appleby (2003), Bob Estes (2001) and Davis Love III (1993).
• All top-10 finishers from the 2015 tournament: Smylie Kaufman (1st), Patton Kizzire (T2), Cameron Tringale (T2), Jason Bohn (T2), Alex Cejka (T2), Kevin Na (T2), Brett Stegmaier (T2), Chad Campbell (T8), William McGirt (T8), Russell Henley (10th)
• UNLV alumni: Chad Campbell, Andres Gonzales, Charley Hoffman and Ryan Moore

Notes on the field at The Shriners Hospital For Children Open

• 2012 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open winner and UNLV grad Ryan Moore will make his 11th start in the event where he owns eight made cuts and five top-25s. As the final Captain’s Pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team following his playoff loss at the TOUR Championship, Moore went 2-1 in his three matches at Hazeltine, including his 1-up singles victory over Lee Westwood to clinch the Cup for the Americans.
• PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker will return to Las Vegas for the eighth time where he owns a pair of top-10s (T4/2014 and T10/2012). Walker is making his second start of the season following the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China.
• After delaying the start of his rookie season to get married, Patton Kizzire made his first start as an official PGA TOUR member at the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and went on to finish T2 after a final-round 63. Kizzire opened his sophomore season in the same fashion, finishing as the lone runner-up at the 2016 Safeway Open, after taking a one-shot lead into the final round of the rain-delayed event.
• Davis Love III will return to competition for the first time since hip surgery in July. The 1993 champion will make his 23rd start in Las Vegas where he has just three missed cuts. Following his injury-plagued season in 2015-16, Love led the U.S. to a 17-11 win over Europe at the Ryder Cup, the first time the U.S. had won since 2008
• Las Vegas native Charley Hoffman will make his 12th start following missed cuts the last two years. Hoffman finished No. 44 in the FedExCup standings and continued his streak of 10-for-10 Playoffs appearances, one of 16 players who have advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs each season since its inception in 2007.
• Scott Piercy, also a Las Vegas native, will make his 11th start in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Following a successfully 2015-16 season which included two runner-ups (U.S. Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational), Piercy opened the new season with a 62 in the first round of the Safeway Open (finished T3), and went on to claim a T10 at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. Since 2010, Piercy has recorded six rounds of 62 or better, tied for the most in that time frame with Jimmy Walker.

Shriners Hospitals for Children update

• At this year’s tournament, the message of Shriners Hospitals will focus on a legacy of expertise within and beyond our hospital doors by showcasing patients and former patients
• National patient ambassadors
  • Every year, Shriners Hospitals for Children selects two national patient ambassadors to represent the thousands of children who receive treatment through the healthcare system.
  • This year’s ambassadors, Marius Woodward and Karolina Nogues, will be guests of the tournament and participate in a number of tournament week activities
  • In addition, 20 patients from Shriners Hospitals throughout the United States and Canada will serve as standard bearers
• Hospital Experience, Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 5:30, The Hill
  • Shriners Hospital patient ambassadors will show PGA TOUR players and others how it feels to be a patient during the third-annual Hospital Experience.
  • This unique program is designed to teach the pros occupational therapy and limb deficiency activities patients use to accomplish everyday tasks that most take for granted. In turn, players will showcase golf tips and tricks to the kids, many who have their own golf aspirations, despite physical limitations.

2015-16 FedExCup and PGA TOUR Season Notes

• The four winners of the FedExCup Playoffs events in 2016 were all inside the top 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking: Patrick Reed (The Barclays/14), Rory McIlroy (Deutsche Bank Championship/5), Dustin Johnson (BMW Championship/2) and McIlroy (TOUR Championship/3).
• 2016 FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy made history as he surpassed Tiger Woods for the most all-time FedExCup Playoffs wins, becoming the first player to capture four Playoffs titles with wins at the Deutsche Bank Championship and TOUR Championship.
• Rory McIlroy, who entered the TOUR Championship at No. 6 in the FedExCup standings, became the third FedExCup champion who ranked outside the top five heading into the TOUR Championship, joining Jim Furyk (2010) and Bill Haas (2011).
• During the 10th season of the FedExCup, a record 11 different players (Emiliano Grillo, Smylie Kaufman, Justin Thomas, Russell Knox, Kevin Kisner, Brandt Snedeker, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy) held the lead in the FedExCup standings this season, with Day holding the lead the longest period, a total of 11 weeks.
• Adam Scott (T4/The Barclays, 4/Deutsche Bank Championship, T4/BMW Championship, T8/TOUR Championship) is the fourth player to finish inside the top 10 in all four FedExCup Playoffs events in a single season, joining Rory Sabbatini in 2007, Padraig Harrington in 2009 and Dustin Johnson in 2012.
• For the first time in FedExCup history, two rookies (Emiliano Grillo and Si Woo Kim) qualified for the TOUR Championship. In 10 years, only nine of 300 players to qualify for the Playoff finale were rookies.
• With nine straights seasons with a PGA TOUR title, Dustin Johnson owns the longest active streak of seasons with a win
• Dustin Johnson led the TOUR in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.172) to earn the Byron Nelson Award. Johnson also finished first on Official Money List ($9,365,185) to earn the Arnold Palmer Award
• With a T6 finish at the TOUR Championship, Johnson led the PGA TOUR in top-10 finishes in 2015-16 with 15, tied with Jordan Spieth (2014-15) for second-most since Vijay Singh recorded 18 top-10 finishes during the 2005 season
• Fourteen different winners under the age of 30 accounted for a total of 18 PGA TOUR titles in 2015-16
• The 2015-16 season featured 16 first-time winners, the second-most in a season since 1970, and two short of the record of 18 (2002). The start of the season set the pace for first-timers to dominate in 2015-16 with the first five events being won by players earning their first PGA TOUR victory
• With his 13th career PGA TOUR title at the season-ending TOUR Championship, Rory McIlroy owns the most wins on the PGA TOUR since 2010 ahead of Jason Day (10), Dustin Johnson (10) and Bubba Watson (9)
• Of the six multiple winners in 2015-16, three won in back-to-back starts: Dustin Johnson (2016 U.S. Open, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational), Jason Day (2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard, World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play) and Adam Scott (2016 The Honda Classic, World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship)
• A total of 29 of 44 stroke play events in 2015-16 were determined by a one-stroke margin (16) or a playoff (13).
• Two events were won in wire-to-wire fashion last season and current world No. 1 Jason Day was the champion at both. Day led from start to finish to claim the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in March and again at THE PLAYERS Championship in May.

SOURCE: PGA TOUR