It’s time to get serious in the PGA Tour as the world’s best golfers will converge in Doral for this year’s installment of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
With a $9.5 million purse and The Donald’s presence at the Blue Monster (or lack thereof) looming, this week’s tournament will surely bring lots of drama and top-class golfing action on and off the course. Which players from the star-studded field have the best shot at winning the second WGC event of the season? Let’s run down several of the event’s key favorites and dark horses below.
After this, check out more of our sleeper picks for this tournament if you’re looking for more solid prospects for your weekly golf betting needs.
The Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral has seen a significant spike in difficulty since its redesign in 2014, but that only made Bubba Watson that much better on said course. The Bagdad, Florida native has a pair of stunning top 3 finishes on the remodeled course – T2 in 2014 and solo third last year.
Not only is Watson a different kind of beast on the Blue Monster, be he’s also been in great form of late in general. He’s just fresh off a solid win at the Northern Trust Open and has four top 15 finishes in the six tournaments he had partaken in this season.
There are plenty of elite competitors on the field to choose from this week, but Watson is the one golfer that has the best momentum entering the event as well as the most impressive and consistent finishes on the redesigned course.
Dustin Johnson
Don’t think for a second that we forgot about Dustin Johnson, WGC-Cadillac Championship’s reigning champion.
Much like Watson, the 31-year-old has found the redesigned course work in his favor rather than against him, even finishing tied for fourth in 2014 at Trump National. As for the season, Johnson has two top 5 finishes and four top 15s overall, including a solid fourth at the Northern Trust Open.
With a similar track record on the Blue Monster and a solid run this season like Watson, DJ is just as primed to win it all this weekend and become the first back-to-back winner at Doral since Tiger Woods’ three-peat from 2005 to 2007.
Sleepers
Adam Scott
The barbie’s cooking in high heat now as Aussie Adam Scott has finally caught fire. Fresh off a superb nine-under-par win at the Honda Classic this past weekend, Scott now has four top 10 finishes with a pair of runner-up finishes as well in six starts this season.
That victory at PGA National on Sunday bodes well for the former World No. 1, who will experience a similar type of course from the Honda Classic at this week’s tournament. Scott’s performances at the redesigned Trump National have also been strong as he has consecutive top 25 finishes in the two years under the new course layout, including a sweet T4 finish from last year.
Scott was an afterthought in most of his starts in 2015. However, his rekindled passion for the sport, and the tweaks in his game have provided spectacular results indeed.
Henrik Stenson
It’s been over a year since Henrik Stenson last won a PGA Tour event, yet what he’s been doing on the European Tour lately (top 6 finishes in four of his last five starts) speaks volumes for what we could expect from him this weekend.
Stenson will be playing his first tournament on US soil for the season this weekend, and he probably wouldn’t have it any other way than another shot at the Blue Monster. The Swede was the one other player who was tied with Scott for fourth place at last year’s WGC-Cadillac Championship, and he also had a relatively sound 2014 outing where he finished in 16th place.
A powerful drive has never been part of Stenson’s arsenal, which may spell trouble for him this week. Then again, the 18-year veteran is deadly accurate in the short game and his precision could very well earn him a rare win at a marquee PGA tournament this Sunday.
Long Shot
Brooks Koepka
We here at TopBet have considered Brooks Koepka as a perennial sleeper candidate in almost every tournament he’s involved in, yet we’ve knocked him down to long shot status for this week’s tournament in spite of his relatively solid outputs of late and at Trump National.
With three top 10 finishes in his last five starts, as well as a T17 finish at last year’s WGC-Cadillac Championship, Koepka appears to be in great shape entering this week’s tournament. Considering the depth of talent from the rest of the field, though, West Palm Beach’s very own will need more than just support from the home crowd to keep up with the rest of the top dogs.
Koepka has no other top 20 finish in tourneys held in Florida apart from his T17 finish we mentioned earlier, and that’s quite peculiar for a guy who was born and raised in the Sunshine State. Plus, Watson’s going to be the dominant hometown darling this week, not him. As such, take the 25-year-old FSU product looking for his first PGA Tour win in over a year at your own risk.
Writer’s Prediction
Ben Wyatt fans rejoice as Adam Scott’s phenomenal season continues with a win at Trump National.
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