Shriners Children’s Open 2024 FRL Tips: Four to start fast on Thursday

The Shriners Children's Open begins at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday and in addition to his outright tips, our resident Golf expert Jamie Worsley has taken a look at the First Round Leader market.

Read on for his Shriners Children's Open 2024 FRL tips.

The Shriners Open begins tomorrow and with the forecast predicting a potentially significant draw bias, we can considerably reduce the list of players who are likely to take the first-round lead at TPC Summerlin.

The forecast for tomorrow morning is a kind one, with pleasantly warm and bright conditions accompanied by a mild breeze, which will gust at between 8-12mph.

As the temperatures rise throughout the day, so will the wind. It will blow at a constant of between 17-22mph over the course of the afternoon, and we could see gusts reaching as high as 40mph.

This represents a striking change from those morning conditions and if the forecast does come to fruition, it would be a huge surprise to see the first-round leader come from the later starters. Therefore, each of my four selections will come from the early wave.

1pt Eric Cole each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 45/1

Start time: 08:12

Eric Cole has been consistently impressive with his irons and putter in recent months. Having proven an ability to go low here last year when finishing third, he can take advantage of his early start time to lead the way on day one.

Cole has been in good form across his last 10 starts, missing just one cut and recording five top-20 finishes. The latest of which came when 16^th in the Sanderson Farms Championship two weeks ago. He’s been excellent in approach over this time, ranking ninth in this field across the last three months and is also 36^th on the greens for the same time period.

He had been in good first-round form in June/July, firing a 66 to sit fourth after round one of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, while a 62 took him to third thru 18 holes of the John Deere Classic. However, these fast starts had dried up prior to the Sanderson Farms, but a six-under 66 in the opening round there signals that he may be ready for another swift start in Vegas.

Cole opened with a four-under 67 here in 2022 to sit inside the top 25 after round one but missed the cut following a 72 in round two. He started worse last year, though followed with strong rounds of 66 and 67, before signing off with a nine-under 62 – the joint-best round of the week – to finish third. I’m hoping that he can put this low scoring at TPC Summerlin to good use on Thursday.

0.5pts Matt Schmid each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 50/1

Start time: 08:23

Matti Schmid arrives here having missed just one of his previous 13 cuts. After looking good on debut here last year, where he made a strong start, he looks a likely candidate for the first-round lead.

Across those 13 starts, Schmid has recorded five top-20 finishes, the best of which came last week when he finished fifth at the Black Desert Championship. He’s been especially strong off-the-tee over this period, ranking seventh and has also been good on the greens ranking 26^th, with last week’s putting display on those bent grass surfaces rating as his second-best of the year.

Impressively, Schmid has opened with an under-par round in each of those last 13 efforts, even when recording his only missed cut in the Scottish Open. Low rounds have been flying in throughout these performances, and it’s noteworthy how two of his best rounds have come at altitude, as he shot a 62 in the final round last week and closed out his week in the Omega European Masters in the Swiss Alps with a 63.

Schmid shot a six-under 65 to sit in sixth place after round one here last year, and he then closed out with a superb 63 to finish 26^th. Currently playing the best golf of short pro career so far, he has every chance of finding another of those low rounds tomorrow.

0.5pts David Skinns (1/4 - 5 places) @ 90/1

David Skinns shot an incredible 12-under 60 to take the first-round lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship two starts ago. That was his second first-round lead in nine events after opening with an eight-under 62 in the Canadian Open. With his persistent quality in approach, he can claim a third first-round lead in 10 starts this week.

This is Skinns’ second stab at the PGA Tour having played his rookie season in 2022. He struggled there but has been much better on return, recording seven top-25 finishes that has him sat at 114^th in the FedExCup, and with every chance of remaining on tour next season.

His approach play has been the main contributor to these results, ranking 16^th in this field and he’s also been solid on the greens. However, it’s his ranking of 23^rd in round one scoring that particular appeals in relation to this week.

Skinns hasn’t played here before but has played well at altitude on the Korn Ferry Tour, finishing second in Colorado and eighth in Utah in 2021. He can rely on those experience to make a promising start on debut at TPC Summerlin tomorrow.

0.5pts Alejandro Tosti (1/4 - 5 places) @ 110/1

Start time: 08:34

Alejandro Tosti has had a difficult time in his rookie season, leaving him languishing in 136^th place in the FedExCup and in need of some strong performances to retain his playing privileges. There was some encouragement on show last week and having been at his best in the opening rounds this season, this aggressive player can hit the top of the leaderboard in Nevada.

After finishing 18^th in the Olympics five starts ago, Tosti missed his next three cuts on the PGA Tour. However, there was a little more promise to be found at the Sanderson Farms two weeks ago, as he missed narrowly by one after an opening 68 and he carried this over into last week.

He eventually finished 43^rd there but was sat in 28^th position going into the final round following three successive rounds in the 60s. He ranked as the second-best driver in the field – no surprise for a player who ranks 15^th for the season – and he was also better on the greens than in recent starts.

Despite his disappointing results this year, Tosti is still a player who makes plenty of birdies+, ranking 62^nd in birdie or better percentage. In addition, his ranking of 56^th in round one scoring far outweighs his performances in the other rounds, in which he ranks outside the top 150 in each one. Having gone well at altitude in Colorado on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, finishing fourth, he should appreciate the challenge of TPC Summerlin.

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