Shriners Children’s Open gets Ryder Cup players, loses others

Six golfers who played in the Ryder Cup were among the late entries for the Shriners Children’s Open, but three of the biggest names expected to play have chosen to skip the tournament.

Reigning PGA Tour player of the year Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau failed to commit to the tournament, which begins Thursday at TPC Summerlin. Cantlay and DeChambeau are past champions of the tournament, and British Open champion Morikawa passed up a home game, living minutes from the course.

“We were hopeful they would come, but ultimately it is their decision, and we respect that,” said Patrick Lindsey, executive director of the tournament.

After a lengthy stretch of FedEx playoffs and Ryder Cup, Lindsey said the players are simply exhausted.

“We expect to see them again in the future,” he said.

Despite their absence, the Shriners will feature a strong field, which includes 27 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Rankings and 13 past major championship winners.

Brooks Koepka, Harris English and Scottie Scheffler from the triumphant U.S. Ryder Cup team will be in Las Vegas, along with European team members Paul Casey, Viktor Hovland and Ian Poulter.

Other top names committed to play include Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed, who is playing the Shriners for the first time in nearly a decade.

The tournament will also feature a strong contingent of players with ties to Southern Nevada, including two-time champion Kevin Na, Ryan Moore, Maverick McNealy and Adam Scott. It includes former UNLV standout Harry Hall, a Korn Ferry Tour player who received one of four sponsor’s exemption into the field.

“Overall, I’m thrilled with how it turned out,” Lindsey said of the field. “We have a really strong group of players, and the weather is going to be perfect. We’re looking forward to a really good week.”

Players will need to go low at TPC Summerlin, a course that yields a ton of birdies as long as the wind doesn’t kick in. Last year’s event, played under the calmest of conditions, led to a 36-hole cut of 7 under, the lowest score needed to play the weekend since the PGA Tour began keeping records in the 1970s.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.