Ryan Moore returns home as Shriners betting favorite
Considering what he has accomplished this year, Ryan Moore is a deserving favorite in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this week.
Obviously, it also helps that Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth did not make the trip to Las Vegas.
“It’s not a very good field. None of the really recognizable names,” Westgate sports book manager Jeff Sherman said. “The way Moore is playing right now, it’s easy to make him the favorite.”
Moore is atop the odds board at 15-1, followed by Brooks Koepka at 20-1. Moore is a sentimental favorite, too, because he’s a Las Vegas resident and former UNLV player who won the NCAA individual championship in 2004.
Before scoring the clinching point for Team USA in the Ryder Cup a month ago, Moore’s summer on the PGA Tour included a win at the John Deere Classic and a playoff runner-up to McIlroy at the Tour Championship.
Moore is familiar with the desert course at TPC Summerlin, but play on the greens will determine the winner, and it’s a wide-open race to handicap.
“You’ve got to play long shots, because it’s a putting contest,” said Brian Blessing, a golf handicapper and radio host (Sportsbookradio.com).
Las Vegas residents Moore (2012) and Kevin Na (2011) won the tournament in back-to-back years. Na and another local player, Alex Cejka, tied for second last year. Blessing said it’s worth a shot to bet Na at 25-1 odds and Cejka at 60-1.
Also keep an eye on Las Vegas’ Scott Piercy at 25-1. Piercy, who tied for second in this year’s U.S. Open, is a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.
Jimmy Walker, who won this year’s final major at the PGA, figures to draw wagering action at 40-1.
Blessing’s long shots include Martin Laird (30-1), Patton Kizzire (40-1) and Cody Gribble (50-1).
“Laird won here in 2009, and he’s capable of going low,” Blessing said. “Kizzire was the runner-up here last year and two weeks ago at the Safeway Open. His time could be now. If current form means anything, it’s hard to ignore Gribble.”
Gribble arrives in Las Vegas off his first career PGA Tour win at the Sanderson Farms Classic in Mississippi. He shot in the 60s in six of his past eight rounds.
“It wouldn’t be Vegas without a chance of hitting the jackpot,” said Blessing, who’s also touting Fabian Gomez at 100-1 odds.
Gomez tied for fifth in the Deutsche Bank Championship in early September. That event was won by McIlroy. But McIlroy is not here this week, and neither are Adam Scott and Tiger Woods.
Contact sports betting reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow on Twitter: @mattyoumans247