Shriners Open Preview: What Happens in Vegas ...

The 2014-15 PGA Tour season is under way, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say that this new schedule just might be serving its purpose. What exactly is that purpose? Well, it's certainly not to steal viewers from college football on Saturday or the NFL on Sunday, but to simply improve the overall product -- and there's an argument that can be made that it's working.

The are several reasons why the product is improving, but two of the most obvious are that better players are participating in fall events in an effort to get a jump on the 2015 calendar season. Jimmy Walker rode a season-opening win at the Frys.com Open last year to a lead in the FedEx Cup standings that took months to relinquish. It didn't hurt that he also won twice early in the calendar year, but you get the point. There are plenty of points and plenty of money to be gained during this fall stretch, and the top-players realize it. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the PGA Tour reshuffle list.

For those who aren't familiar, the PGA Tour, in its infinite wisdom -- no seriously, this was a great idea -- the PGA Tour decided to scrap the Q-School process that allowed golfers to parlay a short period of quality play into a tour card, in favor of a system that rewarded golfers for their entire body of work. The result was the reshuffle list, which is a dynamic list that updates every week and gives those unfortunates souls who missed out on the top-125 last year, a chance to earn their playing privileges for the upcoming season. Any given week during fall can result in a career-changing performance for any number of players. Sure, that's true during the summer season if a golfer wins, but this time of the year, a top-10 can be nearly as important. Remember when the fall season didn't matter?

This week: Shriners Open - TPC at Summerlin, Las Vegas

Last Year: Webb Simpson shot a final-round 66 on his way to a six-stroke victory over Ryo Ishikawa and Jason Bohn.

PLAYERS TO CONSIDER

Ryan Moore

It's nice to have track history back in the equation again this week. Moore moves to the top of the list this week because of his track record. Moore has three top-10s in his last four starts here, including a victory in 2011.

Webb Simpson

Simpson is the exact type who gets pulled in by the added relevance of the fall series. Simpson won this event last year, and while it's not usually a good idea to take the defending champ, Simpson should have no trouble contending this week.

Nick Watney

Here we go again. Might as well start trying to figure out Watney now, you know, get an early jump on the season. Although he's been tough to predict the last few years, he has been pretty reliable at this event with three top-10s in his last four tries here.

Jonathan Byrd

A bit of a shot in the dark here as Byrd's track record at this event is all over the place. Then again, Byrd's track record is all over the place everywhere. Byrd won here in 2009, so we know he's capable of winning here ... if he's on.

Hideki Matsuyama

Matsuyama does not have a track record at this event, but if last week's performance is any indication, it shouldn't matter. Matsuyama is primed for another strong season, and the fall season is there for the taking.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

Jimmy Walker

Walker was the hottest player on the planet for a spell last season, but eventually, just like everyone else out here, he came back down to earth. He's performed well at this event the last two times, but he didn't look sharp at all last week, so it's safe to say he's not in the zone now.

Bryce Molder

Molder played well last week and made a big move up the reshuffle standings, but his track record here leads me to believe that he'll have trouble this week. Molder has only one top-10 in six starts at this event.

Rory Sabbatini

Sabbatini has been pretty steady the last decade, but that has not been that case at this event. In fact, Sabbatini hasn't made it to the weekend at this event since 2005.

Gonzalo Fdez-Castano

I thought that Fdez-Castano would come out strong last week after a sub-par 2013-14 season, but he picked up where he left off, missing the cut. It's certainly possible that Fdez-Castano is just not as good as we once thought.

Sean O'Hair

O'Hair spent a few years as one of the better players on the PGA Tour and much of the last five seasons have been spent being the guy who's ready to make a comeback, but now he's in the forgotten zone, and I'm not sure he'll ever make it back.

ONE AND DONE GOLFER

Last week: Brooks Koepka (T8) - $168,000; Season - $168,000

This week: Ryan Moore - Moore is about as high as I'll go on the money list during this fall stretch. Even though there seems to be more importance placed on these fall events, I still don't trust that everyone is fully invested.

YAHOO PICKS

Yahoo's fantasy game does not use the fall season, beginning in January for the traditional start of the PGA Tour season.

Last Season:

Points: 5,516
Rank: 15,723

SURVIVOR PICK

Last week: Brooks Koepka; Streak - 1

This week: Ryan Moore - I'll double-up on Moore this week as I think he's locked-in on this course. Again, it's a little risky putting all your eggs in one basket, especially in fall, but Moore is pretty reliable.