First Round Leader: Cam Davis looking to harness the hype in new 'Sports City'

LAS VEGAS -- It's amazing these days how much is going on in Las Vegas, seemingly every week. The G2E (Global Gaming Expo) has been underway since Monday at the Sands Convention Center. The expo floor, a maze of new casino games, technology and the latest and greatest in the relatively new world of Sports Betting, all on display for the tens of thousands in attendance.

Down the street, the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Green Bay Packers also on Monday evening. On Tuesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights unveiled their championship banner to the home crowd after pulling a slot machine on the ice that came up all Stanley Cups. U2 resumes its residency at The Sphere with concerts Wednesday and through the weekend, and LPGA star Lexi Thompson will tee it up at the Shriners Children's Open, which begins Thursday at TPC Summerlin.

And that is just scratching the surface of entertainment options available.

On the local news this morning, LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal both spoke about how they want to own the NBA team that will eventually comes to Vegas. It seems Vegas will have Major League Baseball here shortly, too. Oh, and that football game they call the "Super Bowl" is being held here in February. It's incredible where this town has come on the sports world map in just the last five years. "Sin City" has become "Sports City."

I believe all of this is great for golf and for the Shriners Children's Open. The sports buzz in Las Vegas is at a fever pitch these days, and for sports fans, sports bettors and golfers, that elevates everything -- including this week's PGA TOUR event.

With what ought to be a tournament filled with highlights throughout, let's jump to the front of the line and see if we can correctly identify who will be your leader after Round 1 is complete on Thursday.

TPC Summerlin, where Tiger Woods won in his first professional start in 1996, is a par 71, measuring just over 7,200 yards. The fairways are wide and the Bentgrass greens are above TOUR average in size. The course is easy for the professionals as this event is at the top of the leaderboard for "birdie-fests" on TOUR. The average winning score over the last four editions has been 23.5 under par.

I've played this course many times: The wide fairways are a welcome sight, as keeping the ball in play is not overly challenging. But oddly enough, we have seen Strokes Gained: Driving Accuracy be more of a factor here in winning than we have Driving Distance. SG: Approach is paramount, as it always is at this level. Birdies or Better Gained is another statistic I looked at because if you aren't on pace to be 20 under or better, you're more likely to be back at the hotel pulling a slot machine than you are to be hoisting the trophy on Sunday. Most of one's approach shots will come from 100-150 yards out. The majority of the par 4s fall between 400-450 yards. Scrambling has proven to be a key winning ingredient and so too has SG: Putting (Bentgrass).

Over the last five Shriners Children's Opens, the First Round Leader has come from the morning wave of start times, with an average score of 62.4. The forecast on Thursday is calling for winds in the neighborhood of 14-17 mph in the morning, with it dying down to under 10 mph in the afternoon. With that, I'm going to look at two players teeing off in the late wave and one in the morning.

In recent Shriners Children's Open history, Cam Davis owns the lowest first round scoring average at just a hair over 67. Over the last 24 rounds, he ranks 17th in this field for SG: Approach, 11th for Birdies or Better Gained, is third in Hole Proximity from 125-150 yards and is also third on the par 4s measuring 400-450 yards. His putting is not the best, but he is the best on golf courses of this length. Davis will tee off in the morning wave, amidst the higher winds expected. Being an Australian, I trust his ability and experience to do well navigating such conditions.

This will be the seventh time Spaun has played in this event. Three times he has finished in the top 15 and twice, he has opened with a round of 66. He is 19th in this field for SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds, No. 1 for Good Drives Gained, 18th in Scrambling and eighth on the par 4s of 400-450 yards. Spaun is currently fifth on TOUR in Bogey Avoidance and 21st in First Round Scoring Average. On six occasions at this tournament, Spaun has opened with a round that has gained three or more strokes on the field.

Laird is a two-time winner of the Shriners Children's Open and will be making his 15th start in the event. In the past, he's opened with rounds of 65, 64 and as low as 63. In addition to his two wins, Laird has also recorded an 18th place finish, an 11th and a runner-up. Good, accurate driving and Scrambling are two of his biggest strengths, ranking third in this field over the last 24 rounds for Good Drives Gained, third for Greens in Regulation Gained and 13th for Scrambling. He is also 19th in the field for SG: Putting on bent grass greens. Since 2018, Laird has shot five rounds at this tournament that have gained three or more strokes on the field. Both Spaun and Laird will tee off in the late wave, when the lighter winds are expected.

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