The exclusive World Golf Championship events limit the field to just the top 5o golfers in the World. In prior years they could have gotten away with just inviting Tiger Woods. He won 16 of the first 32 WGC events. However, without Tiger, or even with Tiger in current form, the others are needed. Especially when the others include Rory McIlroy.
The first WGC event of the year is the Cadillac Championship, hosted by Donal Trump, at Blue Monster, Doral.
Check out our preview of the event, and the best picks to win, below:
The Course
Trump Week on the Tour gets bigger with the WGC event at National Doral. The gorgeous South Florida layout is a 7,528 yard, par 72 course, and is a recent recipient of a $200 million upgrade, as the Don adds to his golfing portfolio. The upgrade has made the course incredibly challenging; it played 3rd toughest on the Tour last year. The course is nicknamed “Monster” due to its demanding 18th hole. Water all down the left off the tee and on approach. Expect some big scores on 18 and generally.
The Sound Bites
“It’s not that big a deal. I did it for a long time, too, that way. I’m just going to do it and see what happens. I think the important thing for me will be to just stay patient with it for a little bit” – Adam Scott’s move to a shorter putter starts this week.
“If I was going to miss a weekend, it wasn’t a bad one to miss, being at home and with all the delays and everything” – Rory McIlroy saw a silver lining to missing the cut last week. Punters didn’t.
The Defending Champion
Patrick Reed became the youngest winner of a WGC title last year by going coast to coast over Bubba Watson and Jamie Donaldson. Reed managed a 4-under total on the newly designed course, the highest winning total since 1985. Reed comes in at $26.00 to defend his title.
The Contenders*
Rory McIlroy – $6.50
Bubba Watson – $15.00
Jason Day – $17.00
Dustin Johnson – $21.00
Adam Scott – $23.00
Paul Casey – $34.00
Jamie Donaldson – $41.00
*WGC Cadillac Championship odds courtesy of Sportsbet.
The Winner
Casey’s had a third and a playoff loss in his last tow starts; Donaldson was a narrow loser here last year; Johnson was fourth here last year on the new course and had top 5’s the last two weeks; Watson has been solid all year without getting a win, he’s due. We like Johnson the best
