Shriners Open to return in October with fans
Southern Nevada golf fans will finally get a chance to again watch professional golf up close and personal this October when the newly renamed Shriners Children’s Open returns to TPC Summerlin.
Tickets are now on sale for the annual PGA Tour event, previously known as the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Set for Oct. 4-10, Martin Laird will defend the title he won last fall when the tournament was held without any spectators on site.
A second PGA Tour event held the following week — the CJ Cup — and tournaments held this spring by the LPGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour were also played with almost no fans. But that won’t be the case in October.
Patrick Lindsey, executive director of the tournament, said attendance is currently capped at 15,000 daily, though that number could rise if the situation around the pandemic continues to improve.
Pre-COVID, the tournament would draw a little less than that on weekdays and get between 15,000 and 20,000 spectators for weekend play.
Three levels of tickets are available: general admission; access to The Hill, the perch that gives spectators a good look at the 16th, 17th and 18th holes and better food and drink options; and The Hive, an all-inclusive venue overlooking the 17th hole.
Lindsey said the 2020 event taught his team a lot about behind-the-scenes elements, including improving the broadcast and branding for the Shriners brand. On the course, he just wants fans to feel a sense of normalcy again.
He and other tournament officials have been tinkering with the fan experience for several years, and they felt like things were in great shape before the pandemic hit.
“We worked on changing the experience since 2015,” he said. “We felt like 2019 was the experience we want.”
Lindsey and his team have been working on finalizing commitments from sponsors and other projects. But with the tournament now just three months away, they will turn more attention to securing player commitments and other things that will spur interest and bring in spectators.
“We feel like we’ll have a great field this year,” he said, noting how the tournament grows in status among players each year. “Coming two weeks after the Ryder Cup, we’re hopeful we can get some of those top international players.”
By late July, Lindsey expects to start releasing the names of players who commit to the event. They’ll already have a good start if past champions like Patrick Cantlay, Bryson DeChambeau, Webb Simpson and Kevin Na return.
Last year’s tournament also featured several major champions, including recent winners Collin Morikawa, Hideki Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari.
The return of spectators also means the need for more volunteers. Marshals, ShotLink reporters, standard bearers, hospitality workers and numerous other spots need to be filled. About 600 people have already registered, and at least 400 more are needed.
“There is definitely a need, and there are lots of different options,” Lindsey said. “The more, the merrier.”
Tickets and volunteer information can be found at the tournament’s website, shrinershospitalsopen.com.
State Match Play Qualifier
Christopher Carson birdied five of his first seven holes on the way to a 4-under 67 at TPC Las Vegas, leading 14 qualifiers for the Nevada State Match Play Championship.
Hazen Newman (2-under) and Cormack Goecke (1-under) shot the only other sub-par rounds in the qualifier for the 32-player event, set for July 27-30 at SouthShore Country Club in Henderson.
Other players to make it through the Southern Nevada Golf Association qualifying include Josh Goldstein, Gary Carpendale, Joseph Fortunado, Brian Frye, Jody Paulsen, Greg Hudson, Glenn Hogle, Dane Pendleton, Dakota Gillman, Robert Futrell and Rashon Williams.
They will join a number of exempt players and representatives from the Northern Nevada Golf Association to complete the field.
Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com .