WGC heads to Trump Doral
By Sportsbook.ag
Tournament: World Golf Championships – Cadillac Championship
Date: Mar. 5 - Mar. 8
Venue: Trump National Doral
Location: Miami, FL
Many of the players from the Honda Classic will stay close by as the top golfers in the world unite at the WGC-Cadillac Championship this weekend. The field will consist of the top-50 from the Official World Golf Rankings, the top-30 from the FedEx Cup standings, top-20 from the European Tour and the top two from the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA Tour of Australia and Sunshine Tour.
This will be the ninth consecutive season that this event is being held at Dural and the par-72, 7,481-yard course has seen the victors walk away with a score of double-digits under par each year until 2014 when only three participants were under par. Patrick Reed was the winner in that installment, carding a four-under despite a second-round 75 and defeated both Bubba Watson and Jamie Donaldson by a single stroke.
The Tour will still be seeking its first multiple winner this year and there will be nine golfers going for that second victory this week.
Let’s take a look at some players who could show up in South Florida and tear up the course this weekend.
Golfers to Bet:
Bubba Watson (27/2): Watson has played just four tournaments in this young season, but has met expectations with a top-25 finish each time with his worst showing being a 14th at the Northern Trust Open. He also is the winner from the last WGC event in November when he shot an 11-under and was 14-under on his par-5s. Coming back to this course should also allow him to play some of his best golf as he has been the runner-up at Dural in two of the past three seasons; sandwiching those around an 18th back in 2013. His driving distance (303.6 yards per, 14th on tour) remains elite and he has also posted a mark of 1.32 strokes gained from tee-to-green, good enough for ninth on tour.
Matt Kuchar (30/1): Kuchar is a regular at the top of the leaderboard in almost every event he enters and he’s placed in the top-13 at three of the past four outings at the Cadillac Championship. This season he is a perfect 6-for-6 in cuts made and has been in the top-25 in five of the tourneys. Kuchar is one of the few players who can consistently put up solid scores despite not having elite numbers off the tee or on the green, but he is one of the better short game golfers with a sand save percentage of 64% (22nd on tour) and a scrambling percentage of 73.9% (2nd on tour). He is a safe play who should have a chance at adding to his seven career PGA wins.
Jason Dufner (70/1): Dufner has not been playing up to his usual high level with missed cuts in his previous two tournaments, but tied for 10th at the first WGC event this year and had finished in ninth last year at Dural. His accurate driver (75.7%, 2nd on tour) will give him a chance each week and he has gained 0.97 strokes from tee-to-green (20th on tour). If he is able to hit 70% or more of his GIR, look for Dufner to have a chance at taking home the trophy come Sunday.
Luke Donald (55/1): Donald has not been on the same level that he once was with a missed cut in three of his past four events, but his recent play suggests that he is getting back to his old stroke as he shot a 69 before being cut at the Northern Trust open and then finished with a 66 on Sunday at the Honda Classic where he placed 7th. His performances at the WGC-Cadillac Championship has also been solid as he is coming off a 25th-place finish last year and was sixth in both 2011 and 2012. He may not be the player that finished in the top-10 of the FedEx cup standings for three consecutive years between 2010 and 2012, but he still has some great scores in him and should factor in this week.
Anirban Lahiri (220/1): After dominating the Professional Golf Tour of India and the Asian Tour for years, Lahiri has begun to show off his talents on the European Tour with two wins on the season. He finished 28th at the WGC event in November and has played to a stroke average of 69.31 over in Europe this year behind 74.7% of greens hit in regulation. The 27-year-old looks poised to begin making more of a mark on U.S. soil and this is the perfect week to do so with such a strong field.
Cadillac Championship Betting Odds - Provided by Sportsbook.ag
Rory McIlroy 19/4
Bubba Watson 27/2
Jason Day 16/1
Dustin Johnson 17/1
Jordan Spieth 17/1
Patrick Reed 20/1
Phil Mickelson 20/1
Adam Scott 22/1
Henrik Stenson 30/1
Hideki Matsuyama 30/1
Jimmy Walker 30/1
Justin Rose 30/1
Matt Kuchar 30/1
Paul Casey 30/1
Sergio Garcia 30/1
Brooks Koepka 35/1
Jamie Donaldson 35/1
Jim Furyk 35/1
Rickie Fowler 35/1
Martin Kaymer 40/1
Keegan Bradley 45/1
Graeme McDowell 50/1
Lee Westwood 50/1
Brandt Snedeker 55/1
Luke Donald 55/1
Ryan Palmer 55/1
Bill Haas 60/1
Branden Grace 60/1
Hunter Mahan 60/1
Ian Poulter 60/1
Shane Lowry 60/1
Billy Horschel 70/1
Charl Schwartzel 7 0/1
J.B. Holmes 70/1
Jason Dufner 70/1
Joost Luiten 90/1
Russell Henley 90/1
Webb Simpson 90/1
Charley Hoffman 100/1
Ryan Moore 100/1
Bernd Wiesberger 110/1
Danny Willett 110/1
Gary Woodland 110/1
Chris Kirk 120/1
Stephen Gallacher 120/1
Zach Johnson 120/1
Brendon Todd 130/1
John Senden 130/1
Kevin Na 150/1
Alexander Levy 180/1
Alexander Noren 190/1
Marcel Siem 190/1
Thongchai Jaidee 190/1
Anirban Lahiri 220/1
Mikko Ilonen 230/1
Geoff Ogilvy 250/1
Thomas Bjorn 250/1
Tommy Fleetwood 250/1
Cameron Tringale 300/1
Gary Stal 300/1
Morgan Hoffmann 300/1
Greg Chalmers 500/1
WGC-Cadillac Championship Preview and Picks
By Matt Fargo
Playbook.com
Padraig Harrington defeated Daniel Berger in a playoff at the Honda Classic that ended up being a Monday finish due to weather to claim his first win since 2008. The tour continues on the Florida swing, heading to Doral this week for the WGC-Cadillac Championship. This is the second straight event that features a star-studded field with close to the entire top 50 in the world playing. With the Match Play pushed back to April, this is the first World Golf Championship event in 2015.
The Doral-Blue Monster Course is an interesting one. It has the reputation of causing havoc and on occasion, it does that to some but a lot of that is due to the intimidating finishing hole. Last year, the whole course took a new look as Gil Hanse oversaw a complete redesign. Doral seemed to get progressively easier over the years and the easy greens were part of that but we saw the difference last year. It was the hardest non-major event in two years, averaging +1.85 strokes to par.
This is the 11th year that the WGC event has been played here but Doral has been a host course since 1962 which is one of the longest runs on tour. There are only 70 players in the field this week which means there is no cut on the weekend and players are more likely to take chances they would not normally do. Weather should not be a factor this week like it was last week with only sight chances of rain and the unlikelihood of big winds that we saw at the Honda last week and at Doral last year on Friday.
Of the field of 70, 41 players from last year are back while there are 17 players taking their maiden voyage at Doral. What does that mean? Considering Patrick Reed won last year in first time here, we can't blindly count out first timers although experience here is a huge deal. For those not qualifying at Doral, many will be teeing it up in Rio Grande at the Puerto Rico Open but for our segment this week, we will be sticking with the WGC event.
Dustin Johnson (+2,000) was one of many big names to miss the weekend last week which shows how bad the weather really was. Prior to the Honda, he had a pair of top four finishes including a playoff loss so his comeback was firmly in place. The fact that he missed the cut helps him as the rest is a benefit. He has been here the past five years and had a solo second in 2011 and a T4 last year.
Reed showed that solid recent play can trump experience here and we are banking on Hideki Matsuyama (+3,700) for that. He has three top four finishes in 2015, a T2, T3 and a T4 so he is playing great. He took last week off which others probably wishing they did as well so he comes in fresh. He did start here last year and finished T34 which isn't horrible as a Friday 77 did him in.
A forgotten name of late has been Matt Kuchar (+4,000) as he has taken some time off following the WMPO. He followed up a T17 at the Hyundai TOC with a T3 at the Sony and a T2 at the Humana Challenge so he is still in top form. He has done very well at Doral as his worst finish the last five years is a T35. His other four starts have resulted in a T3, solo fifth, T8 and T13.
Justin Rose (+4,000) is another player getting some very solid value because of two missed cuts to start his season. One because of an injured thumb prior to the Farmers and one last week should have him pretty hungry at Doral. He has played here the last four years with a T42 and a T35 bookended around a win in 2012 and a T8 in 2013. The two average finishes both included one round of 77.
Not making the cut last week at the Honda Classic is giving Charl Schwartzel (+11,000) some incredible odds. We can throw out missing the cut last week as the weather played havoc on many big names. Schwartzel is one of 14 players to have been here in each of the last five years and has the best average finish at 11.0. He has three top tens including a T2 and a T4.
Recommended Tournament Win Five Pack at the WGC-Cadillac Championship - All for 1 Unit
Dustin Johnson (+2,000)
Hideki Matsuyama (+3,700)
Matt Kuchar (+4,000)
Justin Rose (+4,000)
Charl Schwartzel (+11,000)
2015 Record to date after 7 events: +30.5 Units
Hyundai Tournament of Champions -5 Units
Humana Challenge +24 Units
Waste Management Phoenix Open -5 Units
Farmers Insurance Open +8.5 Units
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am +18 Units
Northern Trust Open -5 Units
Honda Classic -5 Units