Many of the PGA Tour’s best will tee it up at an old tour stop for the inaugural Cadillac Championship at Doral.
Cadillac sponsored the old World Golf Championship event at Doral, and the PGA Tour returns to the Blue Monster in southern Florida.
As the name suggests, water is lurking at every corner on what is one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour. As such, distance is certainly an advantage, though with so much water, precision is just as if not more important.
Despite all the water on the property, most of it comes into play on approach rather than off the tee, so driving accuracy isn’t vital, but playing out of the fairway is significantly easier than the Bermuda rough.
Interestingly, there’s a significant crossover between Doral and Augusta National. The last PGA Tour event held at Doral back in 2016 featured five Green Jacket winners in the top five. The likes of Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Adam Scott have all been successful at Doral, while Bubba Watson is a three-time runner up.
Although the course is already long, it’s made longer still by the ever-present water forcing layups on certain holes, and though the wind looks benign enough this week, conditions can also affect scoring.
Players can breathe a sigh of relief when they finally get to the putting surfaces, which are Bermudagrass.
Rory McIlroy has opted to skip a second Signature Event, extending his post-Masters break ahead of next week’s Truist Championship at his favoured Quail Hollow before the PGA Championship from Aronimink.
It leaves Scottie Scheffler as the big favourite for the week, with the 29-year-old topping our Power Rankings. But who makes the top five? Find out below.
5 - Tommy Fleetwood
It’s not a big sample size, but some of Tommy Fleetwood’s recent performances have left a lot to be desired. There was a bit of a dip in Fleetwood’s typically stellar iron play last year before turning things around to win his first PGA Tour event.
This year so far has been marked by inconsistency. The Englishman started the season T4-T7 at Pebble Beach and Riviera respectively, but followed that up with a disappointing 48th at Bay Hill. He was then T8 and T10 at the Players and Valero Texas Open, but followed that up with a T33-T52 run at the Masters and RBC Heritage.
His hot streak with the putter has cooled somewhat, but Fleetwood does have all the tools to contend at a place like Doral. His elite ball-striking should set up nicely, and his record in Florida – recording top-fives at all four regular PGA Tour stops – suggests he has no problem adapting to golf in this part of the world.
With the likes of McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Aberg and Robert MacIntyre all missing, this is a prime opportunity for Fleetwood to get a big win under his belt.
4 - Russell Henley
In many ways, this week looks perfect for Russell Henley. While he’s far from the longest off the tee, the Georgian can navigate long courses with his superior driving accuracy and long iron play.
Henley didn’t have his best stuff at the RBC Heritage, a course that ought to suit him due to how much it negates distance off the tee, but he comfortably led the field in SG: Approach at the Masters, and has a T6 and T13 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship respectively to his name in the last couple of months.
Henley has nice results in Florida having won the Cognizant Classic under its more demanding Honda Classic guise and won last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. He also thrives on the Bermuda greens found in this part of the world.
Henley fits the bill of players with good Masters records at Doral, and his excellent recent ball-striking makes him a real player this week.
3 - Collin Morikawa
The only question at the moment around Collin Morikawa is the condition of his back. The two-time major champion has been outstanding ever since his win at Pebble Beach, even with the back injury that forced him to withdraw from the Players Championship after one hole. Morikawa just about made it to Augusta and finished a superb T7 in the circumstances.
The 29-year-old then led the field in SG: T2G at Harbour Town last time out en route to a T4 finish.
Like Henley, Morikawa can tame long courses with his driving accuracy and iron play, but the two-time major winner has recently started to tack on distance.
Assuming he’s at full fitness, there’s little reason to believe Morikawa won’t be there or thereabouts on Sunday.
2 - Cameron Young
Although he’s not had the success of Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young’s recent play isn’t all that far off the levels Scheffler was producing when winning four tournaments in six back in 2022, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Masters. Young wasn’t all that far off repeating Scheffler's 2023 Players/Masters double, taking a lead on Sunday at Augusta before falling away.
The 28-year-old wasn’t at his best at the RBC Heritage, and it may be that that was the first tournament in an upcoming dip for Young, or it may have just been a one-off. Young, who remains first for SG: T2G across the last eight tournaments as per Golf Betting System, still ranked eighth in SG: T2G but battled a cold putter for most of the week.
Despite being such a strong driver, it’s at two courses where driver is often left in the bag in Sedgefield and TPC Sawgrass where Young has his two PGA Tour wins. Despite its length, Doral can’t be overpowered by brute force, but Young is becoming so well rounded that that isn’t an issue for him.
Young is reaching new levels with his ball-striking, and if he can shake off his putting woes from Harbour Town, he may well be contending for honours once more.
1 - Scottie Scheffler
Only Scottie Scheffler could have a win, two top-fives and a pair of runner-up finishes in a major and Signature Event and people question whether or not he’s back to full form.
But such are the levels he’s set, the pair of runner-up finishes at Augusta and Harbour Town are essentially losses for the world number one.
Part of the reason there are still question marks around Scheffler is because his iron play still isn’t at its old imperious level. Barring his outstanding third round at Augusta, Scheffler hasn’t reached 2.0+ SG: Approach since Pebble Beach, and at a course like Doral, it’s a level he’s going to have to find in order to win.
Of course, the Scheffler of 2024 and 2025 likely wins this comfortably, and the credit Scheffler has built up over that time makes him a worthy favourite, but the four-time major winner won’t be able to lean on his short game as much as he has this season to conquer the Blue Monster.
