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This week, the PGA Tour train rolls in the state of Nevada, where the Shriners Open will take place at the Las Vegas venue of TPC Summerlin. With lots of top players missing, who will thrive in what should be something of a birdie fest in the desert?
Won last year by impressive youngster Tom Kim, the Shriners Open, played on a course with wide fairways and sizable putting surfaces, is an opportunity for players to get on the attack. Ahead of what should be an four days of golf in Las Vegas, it’s time to sniff out some each-way value.
What is Each-Way betting?
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Before we get into the tips, let’s quickly look at the basics of each-way betting. If you’re not up to scratch with each-way betting, fear not, it’s really simple. With an each-way bet, all you’re really doing is betting on a golfer to both win the tournament and to fill one of the places, which means to come second, third, fourth or fifth. Occasionally, more than five places are paid on each-way bets. Ahead of the Shriners this week, some bookmakers are paying up to eight places on each-way bets, so it’s always a good idea to shop around and find the best each-way terms.
Right, let’s say that you place a £10 each-way bet on Tom Kim to win the Shriners this week at odds of 12/1. Doing so will mean that you’ll be placing a full stake of £20 (£10 to win, £10 to place). If Kim wins, you win both bets. If he doesn’t win, but finishes in one of the places, say fifth, you lose the win bet, but win the place bet.
Each-way betting tips for the Shriners Open
In addition to the main Shriners Open picks, let’s also look at the each-way betting and see what we can uncover in terms of value there ahead of this week’s action in Vegas.
Adam Schenk @ 30/1 (eight places, Coral)
First up we’ve got Adam Schenk, who was last seen finishing in a tie for ninth place at the Tour Championship. That effort came a fortnight after the 31-year-old played superbly to finish T6 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Schenk may never have won on the PGA Tour, but he’s no stranger to positioning himself in a lofty position on the leader board, that’s for sure. Since March, he’s posted seven top-ten finishes, which is somewhat impressive.
In addition to plenty of solid effort this season, Schenk is a player who has previously played well at this event. Last year, he finished T12, which was respectable, while in 2022, he finished third in his own right. He’s also made each of the last four cuts at TPC Summerlin, finishing outside of the top 20 in just one of those three appearances.
Fourth on the list of those to have played more than four rounds at the Shriners since 2016 in terms of strokes gained: total, Schenk may just have a little more in his favour than early odds of 30/1 suggest, and while such a price is available, I’ll be having a little each-way bet that says he can make his presence felt.
Tom Hoge @ 33/1 (eight places, Coral)
At slightly bigger odds, Tom Hoge also catches the eye this week. Fourth at this tournament 12 months ago, Hoge comes into this event off having regained a little bit of form in recent weeks. His 21st-place effort at the BMW Championship wasn’t bad, especially as he finished strong with a final-day 65, while he took a clear step forward to finish T13 at the Sanderson Farms Championship last week, posting two very solid sub-70 rounds.
One of the things that I really like about Hoge here is that he’s one of the very best players in this field in terms of birdie average. This course presents players’ with the opportunity to play attacking golf, so the fact that Hoge tends to score plenty of birdies bodes well.
What’s more, players strong on approach tend to thrive at TPC Summerlin, and this is certainly a man who can get the ball on the dance floor with regularity. Hoge ranks as the ninth best player on the PGA Tour for strokes gained: approach right now. With the eight players currently ranked above him not set to feature this week, he’s actually the number one player in this field for strokes gained: approach this season. I certainly won’t be ignoring such a stat.
Ultimately, this is a player who should be suited by this week’s test, as he was last season, and after re-finding his feet over the last couple of weeks, Hoge is absolutely a player capable of going very low this week, and at odds of 33/1, that’s exactly what I’m betting on him to do.
Matthew NeSmith @ 66/1 (eight places, betfair)
Finally, completing the trio of each-way troops, we come to Matthew NeSmith, who at 66/1, looks to have slipped under the radar a little bit here. Now, this is not a player who has been setting the game alight of late, but the 30-year-old make something of a return to form at the Sanderson Farms last week, which bodes well, especially as he’s played well at the Shriners before, and not just once.
NeSmith finished second behind Tom Kim last season, and that wasn’t the first time that TPC Summerlin has brought out the best in the man from South Carolina, oh no. In 2022, he finished in a respectable tie for 14th, while he was eighth back in 2020.
In terms of strokes gained stats at this tournament since 2016, NeSmith ranks very highly indeed. In fact, he ranks behind only two players in terms of strokes gained: total. If we remove those players in this field to have only played at the Shriners just once before, then NeSmith ranks as the best player in the field for strokes gained: total, while he also ranks fourth for strokes gained: approach, which we know is a very important metric at TPC Summerlin. I like such a stat, and as he’s put it to good effect here before, I’ll be having an each-way nibble at 66/1.
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