The 2023 Shriners Children's Open witnessed Tom Kim successfully defending his title with a one-stroke victory over Adam Hadwin on Sunday, October 15.
There were some remarkable performances throughout the week by Kim and Hadwin, along with the likes of Taylor Pendrith, J.T. Poston, Eric Cole, and Ludvig Åberg.
However, not everyone had a great outing at the Shriners Children's Open, and a few big names struggled to bring their A-game to the event. In this article, we will delve into the performances of five big names who failed to impress at TPC Summerlin.
Five Worst Performers at the Shriners Children's Open
1) James Hahn
James Hahn was the worst performer among the golfers who made the cut at the Shriners Children's Open. He started with a 72 in the opening round but was able to make the cut with a 67 in the following round.
However, his game went downhill on the weekend, and he was 6-over in the final 36 holes at the event. Hahn made 13 cuts in the 26 starts this season, and his best performance was a T6 finish at the Barracuda Championship.
2) Hayden Buckley
When Hayden Buckley shot a 67 in the first round at TPC Summerlin, he wouldn't have expected that he would finish so low on the leaderboard. However, over the next three days, he carded 71, 73, and 71 to conclude the event at T64 after aggregating at 2-under.
Buckley finished the year at 60th in the FedEx Cup and currently sits at 67th in the FedEx fall season.
3) Nicolai Højgaard
The Shriners Children's Open was Nicolai Højgaard's first start since the 2023 Ryder Cup success earlier this month. However, it didn't go as expected, as the golfer finished at T56 after aggregating at 6-under.
Barring a 6-under 65 on Friday, October 13, Højgaard didn't shoot any rounds below 70. This PGA Tour season, he has missed just three cuts in 13 starts and also finished as the runner-up at the Corales Puntacana Championship.
4) Ben Griffin
Although Ben Griffin was placed second at the Sanderson Farms Championship, he shot a 74 in the final round to give away the 54-hole lead. Since then, he seems to have lost his rhythm.
Following a 73 on the opening day at the Shriners Children's Open, Griffin posted a 70 in the second round, making it the third consecutive score in the 70s. He played a whopping 33 events this PGA Tour season, made 21 starts, and finished 63rd in the FedEx Cup. He is currently at 52nd in the FedEx Fall.
5) Troy Merritt
For Troy Merritt, this week was the worst so far in the FedEx fall season. He finished T64 after aggregating at 2-under at TPC Summerlin. In the first two events of the fall season prior to this week, he hadn't finished outside of the top 10.
At the Fortinet Championship, Merritt was just five strokes behind the leader and just two strokes behind at the Sanderson Farms Championship. However, this week, he was 18 strokes off the lead.