⛳️ LIV Gets Denied

Plus: Shriners Bets, Shane Lowry Busts Chops, and more.

Author

The Shanks Gator
October 10, 2023

Good afternoon! Welcome to Shanks. We just wanted to share a friendly reminder that while golf is booming and there’s been lots of drama in pro golf over money… the best part of golf is… you know… playing it. Not arguing about OWGR or whether Ryder Cuppers should be paid, but playing the beautiful, frustrating, wonderful game of golf.

Golf Trivia: Who has the most PGA Tour wins without ever winning a major?

Answer Below.

Here's what we've got for ya today:

  • Doin Lines: Shriners Children’s Open

  • LIV Denied OWGR

  • Shots Heard Round The World

  • Shane Lowry Busts Chops

  • Thing We’d Buy If We Weren’t Broke

Doin Lines: Shriners Children’s Open

TPC Summerlin

🚩 Location: TPC Summerlin

💰 Purse: $8.4M - $1.5M to 1st.

👑 Previous Winner: Tom Kim

👀 Watch On: Golf Channel & Peacock

The Field at a Glance

The field this week is slightly better than last week, but that’s not saying much.

Tom Kim is the highest ranked player in the field and will be there to defend his title, while Ludvig Aberg is the most likely to snatch it away.

Outside of Tom and Ludvig, the field features a few more golfers from the top 70 in OWGR; Emiliano Grillo, Si Woo Kim, JT Poston, and Adam Schenk.

Also, as we mentioned earlier in the week, Lexi Thompson will be in the field, so that adds a little “battle of the sexes” intrigue (we will be surprised if she makes the cut though seriously).

The Course

Expect a birdie fest this weekend in Vegas.

TPC Summerlin is known to be a pretty easy course as far as pro setups go and the final scores are likely to be in the 20-under-par range.

Previous Winners

2018 – Bryson Dechambeau

2019 – Kevin Na

2020 – Martin Laird

2021 – Sungjae Im

2022 - Tom Kim

Shanks Picks

Today we have a first for Caddyshanks - we’re picking one of the favorites to win despite the short odds.

All odds via Fanduel.

Outright Winner: Ludvig Aberg +1200

  • The young man is due for his first tour victory and while the number is short, we don’t care. Golf gods, let this week be the week.

Top Five: Adam Schenk +600 

  • We’ve seen Adam Schenk mentioned all over the place as a pick to win outright at +3000 and we wouldn’t blame you if you took him at that number, but we like him to finish top five. No pressure bro.

Top Ten: Aaron Rai +450

  • Accuracy plays well at TPC Summerlin, and the dry desert air makes up for lack of distance. This could be the course for Aaron “Two Glove” Rai.

Top Twenty: Ben Griffin +220

  • Tough loss last week, we like him to rebound a little bit, just like us after the worst card ever.

Longshot: Webb Simpson +15000

  • Webb might be the oldest player in the field, we don’t know because we didn’t look it up, but he has played well here historically and that’s good enough for us - it’s a longshot after-all.

Make The Cut Parlay: Ludvig Aberg, Tom Kim, Adam Schenk, Emilliano Grillo, and Aaron Rai to all make the cut. +242 on Fanduel.

LIV Golf Denied OWGR

Report Originally From AP

LIV Golf is playing only for cash, not world ranking points, after the Official World Golf Ranking board determined it could not fairly measure the 48-man league with the other 24 tours around the world.

The OWGR rejected the application from Saudi-backed LIV Golf, first submitted in July 2022 after the league already had played two of its 54-hole, no-cut events.

“We are not at war with them,” Peter Dawson, chairman of the OWGR board, said when contacted by The Associated Press. “This decision not to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing in a format where they can be ranked equitably with the other 24 tours and thousands of players trying to compete on them.”

Shots Heard Round The World

Shane Lowry Busts Chops

Golf Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke

Adorned with the adage, ‘Every Stroke a Blessing, Every View a Masterpiece,’ the Blessings Glove was designed to keep your grip in place so you can keep full-focus on your mental game. A velcro closure and interior fleece band allow for ultimate comfort, swing after swing. Tune in, turn on, and hole out.

Trivia Answer: Harry Cooper

That’s all folks! See you Saturday Morning.