The top 50 players in the world will converge on the Trump National course at Doral in Miami for the first World Golf Championship event of the year. The Cadillac Championship is a limited field event that is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, the PGA Tour, the Japanese Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Southern African Tour. With the best players from each of these tours competing in an event without a cut, this is the biggest event in the world of golf so far this year.
Rory McIlroy once again tops the outright market. By making him favourite, the bookies are hoping that punters won’t be put off by Rory’s surprising missed cut at last week’s Honda Classic. It was the first time since 2013 that Rory didn’t make the weekend and he will be sure to have worked hard on the range to put his problems to one side. It’s always dangerous not tipping the world number one to win, but at best odds of 11/2 and without a win at the Cadillac, it’s best to go with different options. For a start, you can get 25/1 on defending champion Patrick Reed. His challenge at the Honda fell apart last week as he seemed to uncharacteristically falter under pressure. That will give him all the motivation he needs this week.
The next player to have a good look at is Henrik Stenson. This will be the Swede’s first event in America after slowly finding his form in the Desert Swing events. He improved from missing the cut in his first tournament of the season to narrowly finish outside the top 10 in the next two. Last year he placed 16th here but with his power and experience as a multiple tournament winner, he’s capable of a big week at 33/1. He’s best backed at each-way terms at that price.
Lee Westwood’s 25th place finish at the Honda Classic may not look like outstanding form but he managed to survive the horrible weather in Florida and make the weekend, the same of which can’t be said of McIlroy, Dustin Johnson or Justin Rose. Westwood has the battling qualities to make the best of a bad situation and is comfortable amongst the top players in the world. He may not have a Major to his name but his big tournament experience will be a serious positive this week. He goes off at a big 66/1 with Coral. Back him each-way and he could provide a nice big return on your investment.
Outside of the top names who have always been fixtures at the Cadillac Championship, there are a few players making their bow here who could upset the odds. From the European Tour, the likes of Alex Noren, Tommy Fleetwood and Bernd Wiesberger will all be testing themselves against the best but the debutante who most appeals is Danny Willett. The Yorkshireman has worked hard on a back injury that saw him withdraw from the Malaysian Open and is desperate for good form in the States before his first crack at the Masters. Willett can be backed at 125/1 with Ladbrokes and is as good a long-shot pick as you’ll get in this field.