Welcome to the WCG Cadillac Championships and to the Trump National Doral golf course, the one better known as âThe Blue Monsterâ. This is, or was, or still will be, one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour and I say that because of the changes made to it over the past 12 months⦠Donald 'Comb Over' Trump bought the golf course last year and got top golfing architect Gils Hanse to bring the course up to modern day standards. Gils is the man commissioned to build the golf course for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, and is very highly ranked in the world of golf designers. So what has he done to âThe Blue Monsterâ thenâ¦? Heâs lengthened some of the holes, moved a few bunkers and made the spectator areas better for all to see. The greens have had the odd shave here and there, plus he has made some of the water hazards more prominent. His quote that he makes for all of his designs is "Simple and elegant in appearance, yet sophisticated in strategy and interest." Well, to be honest after reading a bit about what changes have been made it comes down to a few basic choices. Have the alterations made such a difference that it will be like playing on a new golf courseâ¦? Or has it just helped the ones who have really good knowledge around here and it wont make a jot of difference. I am leaning towards the âNew Courseâ theory so have basically put the last few years records on hold for this tournament... So with this in mind I am going with the following players⦠I picked Keegan Bradley for last weeksâ Honda Classic, where he finished T12th, on the basis that he usually plays well at the beginning of the year. He tends to have played more tournaments than the higher ranked players and so has had much more time on the golf course than the others by now. This will be his 7th PGA Tournament of the year and he has gained 4 top 20 finishes already this year. I will stick with him here as he also has a decent record where he finishied 7th last year and T8th the year before that⦠Harris English is a player that I think will be a big hit on the PGA Tour in the future and he is backing that claim up with a great start to this year already. Currently sat amongst the top 10 in most of the ranking stats for the year he has not finished outside the top 10 in his last three tournaments⦠How can Henrick Stenson not be thought of as the potential winner hereâ¦? When you read all the notes by the golfing experts on who can win it, or who have a great chance, there isnât a single mention of his name. The number 1 golfer in 2013 by a country mile makes his 3rd appearance in 2014 as he eases back into the golfing merry go round of the PGA. Missed the cut in the Honda, and won just the one match in the World Matchplay, he may well be ready for the challenge of a tournament with the top 69 players in the world competing in it⦠Ryan Moore is one player that I had a bit of success with last year and I might stay with him for the rest of the year if I am honest. He isnât the longest of hitters but he is accurate and coupled with his iron play, which is excellent - he currently sits 2nd for GIR at 75.85%, he is carrying good form into this tournament. He is another who has played a few more tournaments than the rest, this being his 6th start of the year⦠Keegan Bradley @ 28/1⦠Harris English @ 33/1⦠Henrick Stenson @ 40/1⦠Ryan Moore @ 66/1⦠All done in the usual £2.5 e/w⦠PadPow pays ¼ odds for top 5â¦
I think I have backed all of those at some point this year! I do like Harris English, really nice player. Quite a few 'short' (sub 400 yard) 4s in this round. I've been looking at scoring on the 4s and approach from <125 yards. I'm going to chase the odds and take a punt on Kevin Streelman (125/1) Hopefully he can par his way through the 3s. I reckon if he can do that he will be right up there.
Leaderboard after the 1st round... 5 way tie at the top all on -3... T1 - Harris English @ -3 T13 - Keegan Bradley @ -1 T13 - Ryan Moore @ -1 T20 - Henrick Stenson @ Even T55 - Kevin Streelman @ +3 Not to get too excited but i'll take that after 1 day... The scores look a wee bit low and im not sure if its the conditions or the course as I didn't see any of the play last night... Any way its a good start...
Upon reading the updates it seems I've found out why the scores are a little bit shorted than I would have thought..... Thunder and lightening with heavy rain...!!!
Plus old Trump has made a good fist of making it a real test of golf and a nice stiff breeze for them to contend with too. I have never seen as many pros in so many bunkers it's good viewing though and I prefer when the scoring is tough rather than the target golf they are used too. I didn't get a bet on this week so best of luck for those still in with a chance I will be watching and cheering them on over the weekend.
Leaderboard after the 2nd round... 4 way tie @ -1 T11 - Harris English @ +2 T25 - Ryan Moore @ +5 T25 - Henrick Stenson @ +5 T25 - Kevin Streelman @ +5 T34 - Keegan Bradely @ +6 This is becoming more like a US Open with the scoring here this week, as the previous 4 tournaments held here were well into the sub 14-19 under par to win it... We might do well to get a score of -1 the way were going... Cant count any of our picks out as anybody who puts in a -2 or -3 round in will jump right to the top the way its going... Lets keep that breeze blowing and that water choppy, were going to see some fun over the next 2 days of golf...!!!
Have time today so i had a closer inspection of the betting and backed McDowell at 11/1 to win. Hope the conditions stay similar as he is a great wind player and relishes a test as proven at Pebble Beach when winning his maiden on the major scene. Heres hoping.
Leaderboard after the 3rd round... Patrick Reed @ -4 T9 - Graeme McDowell @ +1 T14 - Ryan Moore @ +2 T21 - Harris English @ +4 T28 - Kevin Streelman @ +5 T40 - Henrick Stenson @ +7 T46 - Keegan Bradley @ +9 Looks like we need a little help going into the last round for a return on our money, but you never know, stranger things have happened at sea you know...?!?!?
Not to be this week, but congratulations to Patrick Reed who took the title last night. He tried to lose it at one stage but held on to claim his 3rd PGA Tour win in his last 14 starts...
I'll be paying a visit to 606 more often now your previews are back on FWIW - I had Keegan, Speith and Matsuyama for the Cadillac ALready got my selections for this week , but wait till your previews!
