Preview and Predictions for the 2015 WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral
The first World Golf Championship of the year tees off this week with the Cadillac Championship. The top 50 players in the world convene on Doral, and no, that does not include the beleaguered, injured, yip-plagued Tiger Woods.
Who would have thought that Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 1 player, could have shot seven-over par to miss the cut at the Honda Classic? Brutal.
"Yeah, I’m pissed off," McIlroy said to the New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro. "I don’t like missing cuts. You want to be playing on the weekend, and I’m not there...which is not nice."
That aside, Patrick Reed, one of the most underappreciated golfers on tour, looks to defend his crown here, where he became the youngest player since Woods to win the event.
Float that cursor over "Begin Slideshow" and get reading. We have some work to do.
Where to Watch and Tournament Info
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Where
Trump National Doral
7,528 yards, Par 72
What
Total Purse: $9,250,000
Winning Share: $1,570,000
FedEx Points to Winner: 550
When
Thursday-Friday
1-6 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
Saturday
Noon-3 p.m. ET, Golf Channel; 3-6 p.m., NBC
Sunday
1-3 p.m. ET, Golf Channel; 3-7 p.m., NBC
Biggest Storylines
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Patrick Reed Deserves Some Respect
There’s a great line from an old episode of The Simpsons, the one where Selma marries Sideshow Bob. Homer approaches Bob about cocktail wieners, specifically about the sauce. “It looks like ketchup. It tastes like ketchup, but brother, it ain’t ketchup!”
What does this little anecdote have to do with this tournament? Patrick Reed plays like Tiger Woods (see WGC win), dresses like Tiger Woods (see red shirt), but brother, he ain’t Tiger Woods.
Reed said this after winning last year at Doral, per Yahoo Sports' Brian Murphy:
"I've worked so hard. I've won a lot in my junior career. I did great in my amateur career. I went 6-0 in match play in NCAAs. We won NCAAs two years in a row (at Augusta State). I got third individually one year at NCAAs. Now, I have three wins on the PGA Tour. I just don't see a lot of guys who've done that, besides Tiger and the other legends of the game. I believe in myself. I feel like I'm one of the top five players in the world. I feel like I've proven myself.
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Tour, you’ve been served. Reed shouldn’t have to play the disrespected card yet. Just go out and win tournaments. Defend your title here against an angry McIlroy, and you’ll get that respect.
Reed does have a point. Not many folks are saying his name when it comes to tournament favorites. That’s about to change real soon.
How Will Rory McIlroy Respond?
McIlroy is in Woods' territory now, a place where even if he misses a spot a shaving, his game will somehow follow, and people will question whether he has the staying power to own the No. 1 ranking.
McIlroy was chagrined, to put it mildly, to miss the cut at the Honda Classic, a tournament where he has played well in the past. What a nightmare for McIlroy as he missed his first cut on U.S. soil since 2012.
“You just forget about it and move on,” he said to CBSSports.com's Kyle Porter.
He said he needed to control his ball flight better in the Honda Classic. That was tough given the windy conditions.
As of this writing, the weather looks pretty good in Florida. There’s an increased likelihood of rain on Friday that could cause a relapse of sorts for McIlroy, but if he reaches the weekend near the top of the leaderboard, the weather looks perfect.
Dustin Johnson's Return to Golf Continues
Dustin Johnson had a great run in his comeback. He missed the cut in his first event and then proceeded to contend over his next two.
Then along came the Honda Classic.
Johnson missed the cut along with the aforementioned McIlroy, but cuts aside, Johnson is doing well.
“I want to give golf everything I've got now and see where it takes me," he said to the Mercury News' Carl Steward prior to the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach. "Last week I was a little competition rusty, but my game wasn't rusty. I'm close. I've been playing a lot, almost every day, so I'm excited about this year and the new challenges in front of me."
When will Johnson reach that winning level? It could be at Doral, where he’s been in the top five two times.
The Favorites
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Performance at the Honda Classic aside, McIlroy is the favorite of this tournament. He’s not a slam dunk to win since he flopped at PGA National, but it’s impossible to dismiss him as anything but a favorite.
He said after his Friday round at the Honda Classic, per Cannizzaro:
"Usually I’m good at taking it from the range to the course. That’s never really been a problem with me. But this week, it felt like the first tournament of the season when I’ve actually played two events. I felt maybe a little tentative [on Thursday], just maybe trying to ease my way into the round a little bit and not really being that aggressive.’
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His effort in his U.S. debut was sobering, but even McIlroy can't make all the shots all the time.
Bubba Watson
Bubba Watson hasn’t won yet this year, but his game is pretty sharp all the same.
He’s the No. 2 player in the world, third in the FedEx Cup standings and first in strokes gained: total.
With so many of the world’s best players, a case can be made for all 50 to win this event. Alec Brzezinski of Sporting News wrote:
"Doral is a long course, and Bubba is a long hitter. Naturally his name will come up on venues such as this, but Watson also has a good track record here (runner-up last year). Watson won the first WGC event in China, so a win here puts him halfway towards the first ever WGC Slam.
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Watson ranks 11th in driving distance, averaging 303.6 yards.
Jason Day
Jason Day, winner of the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open, has three top fives in 2015 so far. He may be playing the best golf of anyone this year.
Since McIlroy didn’t contend at the Honda Classic, Day may be the favorite in this field.
Day is first in greens in regulation and second in both birdie average and scoring average.
If you had to pick one player on tour who could usurp McIlroy’s recent dominance, you’d make a smart call by picking the best golfer Australia offers.
Patrick Reed
I almost forgot Reed, last year's champion.
He's ranked 15th in the world, and while not perfect at the Honda Classic, he still managed to perform well on Monday to finish T7.
He won the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, giving him four wins before the age of 25. Here's who else has done that: McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Woods.
At what point will Reed be considered truly elite? Defending this title will be a big step in that direction.
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The Dark Horses
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Henrik Stenson
Stenson, the No. 3 player in the world, makes his U.S. debut. Since he spends most of his swings in Europe, he’s often overlooked as one of the more talented golfers on the planet.
Alec Brzezinski of Sporting News wrote, “He is still chasing that elusive Major Championship, but he is no stranger to winning big events. His form is always something to watch for entering a tournament, because rust seems to be a big factor for the big Swede.”
After winning last year’s DP World Championship, Stenson told the European Tour's official website (via CNN), “"It would be nice to have been ranked the world's best at some point," he said. "But if I had the choice I would go for a major championship, so I am going to try and be in good shape for them next year."
It starts at Doral.
Adam Scott
Adam Scott, remember this guy? A former world No. 1. A Masters champ. And now a father to a baby girl named Bo.
Scott won just once last season in a playoff at Colonial. It wasn’t a smashing year for the Aussie, but he did manage 10 top 10s and made every single cut. He was T15 or better in all four majors.
Scott is one of the best ball-strikers in the world and a real threat to win at Doral.
Sergio Garcia
Which Sergio Garcia will show up? The one who finished T4 at Riviera was nearly good enough to win.
“I've hit some beauties, and I've hit some shockers,” Garcia told Golfweek's Alex Miceli. “It was a little bit Seve‑like, I would guess, the way I saved some of those pars where, you know, it looked like I was going to make bogey or double, something like that."
Or will it be the golfer who finished T31 without a single round in the 60s at PGA National for the Honda Classic?
Even after a decent close to his round on Thursday, Garcia told GolfDigest's Dave Shedloski, “Score is a different question. Playing-wise, I have been fighting this for five weeks. don't know what I'm going to do next. I won't quit. But sometimes it's hard not to think I should take a step back. I should be able to figure this out."
One Garcia can win this tournament. The other not so much.
Prediction
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Winner: Patrick Reed
Reed will play with an edge this week. When he won this event a year ago, it peeved him that he wasn't considered an elite player.
Four career wins before the age of 25 makes this guy one of the world's best. If it comes down to scrambling, Reed will come away the winner. He's first in sand save percentage and third in scrambling.
Won't Miss the Cut: Rory McIlroy
McIlroy missed the cut at the Honda Classic, and he won't miss the cut at Donald Trump's Doral.
Like Reed, McIlroy will play with an edge. Not the same edge but an edge nonetheless.
“I guess after coming off a three-week break, I felt a little...I wouldn’t say rusty, but just not quite on top of my game [on Thursday], and then [Friday] I felt like I was trying to get something going and couldn’t,’’ McIlroy said, per Cannizzaro. “Obviously not what I wanted this week, but don’t feel like it’s too far away.’’
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