Cadillac Championship

Cadillac Championship

We had a week off at the Zurich pairs event, watching from the sidelines though it was fantastic to see the Fitzpatrick brothers land the trophy. Elder brother Matt is clearly one of, if not the, hottest golfer on the planet right now having bagged the title at Hilton Head the week before, while Alex had landed his maiden title on the DP World Tourat DLF in his previous start.

With this win though he now has a PGA Tour card through 2028, entry in to all of this years remaining Signature events, The PGA and next years Players.

What a time to be a member of the Fitzpatrick household!

The week prior as noted Matt bagged the win at Hilton Head while we landed a full place return with Si Woo Kim who finished third.

So we move on and after the change of pace for the pairs event it is straight back in to what seems to be the never ending cycle of limited field Signature events with the return of the Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral in Miami.

The Cadillac Championship was historically a feature of the PGA Tour as a WGC event and was held at the Doral course from 2007 – 2016 before relocating to Mexico.

With the event having ‘Signature Event’ status the field of 72 is made up in the normal manner for these events with this 72 on display put together from the top 50 qualifiers from the end of last season, the Next 10, the Swing 5 and sponsor exemptions.

As you would expect for an Signature event we have a very strong field on display however several big names included Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and the man of the moment Matt Fitzpatrick have chosen to swerve the tournament allowing for next weeks Signature event at Quail Hollow followed by the PGA.

The market then is dominated by Scottie Scheffler, the world number one is then followed by Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood and Collin Morikawa.

COURSE

Trump National Doral – Blue Monster Course is a par 72 measuring just on 7739 yards.

The course is was originally designed by Dick Wilson in 1962. In 2014 however, having lost some of the teeth that lead to it living up to its Blue Monster name it underwent a full redesign under the guidance of Gil Hanse.

Other redesigns conducted by Hanse on the PGA Tour include Aronimink which we will see in a couple of weeks for the PGA, Oakmont which hosted last years US Open, Colonial CC and the LA Country Club host of the 2023 US Open.

The greens are TiffEagle Bermuda.

Living up to its name of the Blue Monster 14 of the 18 holes feature water hazards.

HISTORY

For obvious reasons we have little to go on here over recent years. If you then add in the course having undergone a full redesign in 2014 if we are looking for clues in the historical events here there is probably not too much value in looking at the events here prior to then.

Following the redesign the course certainly played tougher again with Dustin Johnson winning with a 9- under total in 2015 and Adam Scott posting 12- under in 2016.

More recently the course has then played host to individual LIV Golf events in 2024 & 2025 as well as team events in 2022 & 2023.

The individual events were won by Mark Leishman in 2025 and Dean Burmester in 2024. A further look at that 2025 LIV leaderboard shows us that Leishman was chased home by Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia while in 2024 Burmester triumphed over Garcia in a play off.

While it would be dangerous to read too much in to these historical leaderboards with the course known to be wind effected you cant escape the fact that several international players and/or players with a good pedigree in windy/links course conditions have gone well here.

WEATHER FORECAST

After the potential for storms at the beginning of the week we look set for a warm dry sunny tournament with temperatures in the high 80s,

The wind, which is the most important factor here, looks like it will keep the players honest with 20-25mph gusts a possibility in the forecast all week.

As I always say though this could all change!

PICKS

I have gone with five players this week as follows;

MIN WOO LEE –  33/1 - 2pts E/W - 1/5 odds 1st 8

I will start this week with Min Woo Lee.

2026 as a whole has been a very consistent year for Min Woo to date with three top tens including a best finish of second in the Signature event at Pebble Beach.

Looking at Min Woo’s stats for the year to date it is easy to see why his results have been so strong, he currently sits 11^th off the tee, 10^th from tee to green, 50^th in approach, 49^th in putting and 26^th around the green, basically he is doing everything well.

Another positive for the Min Woo this week is he has a strong record in Florida over the recent years including a sixth this year at Bay Hill and an 11^th and second on the resume at the Cognizant, both of which should correlate reasonably well for this week.

Long off the tee at 32^nd in driving distance and with Aussies having an excellent record at Doral there is plenty to like about Lee’s profile this week and I am keen to have him on side.

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ADAM SCOTT –  28/1 – 2pts E/W – 1/5 odds 1^st 8

Continuing the Aussie theme and with little to go on here it would seem stupid to ignore the obvious credentials of Adam Scott.

The main plus for Scott here of course is his record at Doral which has seen him win on his most recent visit and 4, 25, 3, 13 & 6 on his previous five starts on the Blue Monster.

With the caveat then that three of those visits were prior the re design it is clear that this is a venue Adam hugely enjoys and will be delighted to see back on the schedule.

Looking at Adam’s form in 2026 and he is quietly putting together an excellent year having made every cut with a best of fourth at Riviera. This finish on another of Adam’s favourite venues also gives us the positive reminder that he tends to play well at the same courses repeatedly.

At 45yrs old Adam still pops a punch off the tee ranking 18^th in driving distance this year while he sits third in approach with all is stats positive.

It is six years since Scott last won on the PGA Tour, however I am sure he will have been inspired by the efforts of Justin Rose and this looks an excellent opportunity for him to return to the winners enclosure.

GARY WOODLAND– 50/1 - 1pt E/W – 1/5 odds 1^st 8

Next for me this week I will take Gary Woodland.

Following what appears to have proved to be a cathartic admission of the PTSD issues he has been experiencing following his well documented brain surgery Gary has had a renaissance of form, which saw him land the trophy in Houston before finishing 33^rd at Augusta and eighth at the Heritage.

At second on tour in driving distance Woodland has the tools to cope with the Blue Monster while as a former winner in Florida we know he is comfortable on the Bermuda greens, something he showed again when winning in Texas recently.

We can also take some comfort from the fact that Gary does have some prior experience here having posted three top thirty finishes on the track in the old WGC event.

Riding the crest of a wave at the moment Gary looks an ideal fit to go close again this week.

RYAN FOX –  90/1 – 1pt E/W - 1/5 odds 1st 8

Next up is Ryan Fox.

Prior to being derailed by kidney stones Fox was quietly putting together a really solid season on the PGA Tour notching four straight to 25 finishes with a best of seventh at Riviera.

Following his treatment Ryan understandably had a bit of a dip as he got back in the swing of things missing the cut in Houston and at the Masters, he bounced back to form though last time out with a 16^th place at Hilton Head so it would seem that any lingering effect from his surgery is now behind him.

Assuming so and Ryan looks a strong fit for Doral. As mentioned before international players have performed really well here over time, something that you would think would be down to the windy conditions the course often offers up. As a player then who has thrived over the years in the wind Ryan should be more than comfortable here.

Add in then that he is longer than average off the tee and you have to think he will enjoy the challenge here.

Fox is very much a seria winner and with the first of his two wins on the PGA Tour last year coming at this time of year he looks primed to get in the hunt once more again this week.

ALDRICH POTGIETER  100/1 – 1pt E/W - 1/5 odds 1st 10

Finally with the caveat that you never really know what you are going to get from him I cant resist siding with the longest player on tour Aldrich Potgieter.

Lets be honest Potgieter was all at sea at the Masters recently missing the cut after an opening 84.

Credit to the young man though he had a reset the following week and posted a very creditable 25^th at Hilton Head. A track you really wouldn’t expect to be to his liking.

2026 has seen Aldrich miss six cuts in nine starts including when we were onboard at Torrey Pines. He then popped up with a seasons best though of fifth at Riviera in a Signature event that boasted a stringer field than this week.

There is no doubting Potgieter’s prodigious talent and in event where we are hunting for clues it seems more than logical to side with another international player who clearly has the length to cope here.