WGC-Cadillac Championship

[TheGame]

WGC-Cadillac Championship
By Sportsbook.ag

Tournament: WGC-Cadillac Championship
Date: Mar. 6-9, 2014
Venue: TPC Blue Monster at Doral
Location: Doral, Florida
2013 Winner: Tiger Woods

The Cadillac Championship is one of the four World Golf Championships and hosts a field of players that rivals that of a major. The top-50 players in the World Golf Rankings as well as top players over the last calendar year from the FedEx standings, European Tour and other countries tours are invited to play at the newly renovated course. Tiger Woods, the number one golfer in the world, has won this tournament seven times in the past but withdrew from last week’s Honda Classic with a sore back and is 'questionable' for Thursday's event.

Let’s take a look at some of the top golfers that have a chance to see their name at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday.

Golfers to Watch

Rory McIlroy (13/2): McIlroy will have a chip on his shoulder after falling apart at the Honda Classic this past week. Despite leading in each of the previous three days, McIlroy shot a 74 on Sunday and eventually lost in a four-player playoff. But in his six tournaments between the PGA and European tour this season, he has not placed worse than 17th and has been the runner-up twice. He will be extra motivated to win one of the biggest tournaments this season.

Jason Day (18/1): Day has played only four tournaments this season, but still has three top-9 finishes, including a win in the WGC-Accenture match play and a runner-up performance at the Farmers Insurance Open. Day has always seemed to excel under the pressure of the big lights with four top-3 finishes in majors over 13 attempts, including being the runner-up three different times. He earned his biggest win of his career at Dove Mountain a few weeks ago and will look to ride this momentum into Miami.

Keegan Bradley (24/1): Bradley has already played in nine tournaments this season, placing in the top-20 seven times with his best performance being a 10-place finish at the CIMB Classic. He has been a top-8 finisher at this tournament in each of the past two seasons and has been one of the Tour's best players off the tee this season, where he ranks fifth in total driving and 18th in driving distance (300.3). This has helped him bury a strong 4.15 birdies per round (21st on tour). Bradley has a lot in his favor and could make a strong push this week.

Gary Woodland (80/1): Woodland has been one of the best scorers this season, racking up 4.52 birdies per round (6th on tour) which has led to two top-10 finishes. He also ranks first in total driving, eighth in driving distance (303.2) and 14th in greens hit in regulation (72.5%.). His strong play could earn the American his third career PGA win this weekend.

Thomas Bjorn (110/1): The 43-year old is the most decorated Danish golfer with 15 career wins on the European tour and has been in the top-13 in four of five European tournaments this season, including a victory at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December. The veteran has triple-digit, longshot odds to win in this week’s championship, and is worthy of a one-unit wager.

[TheGame]

Re: WGC-Cadillac Championship

WGC-Cadillac Championship Preview and Picks
By Matt Fargo
Covers.com

Russell Henley took home the Honda Classic trophy last week as he survived a four-man playoff and actually won on the first playoff hole as his birdie was good enough for him to win his second PGA Tour title. The tour continues on the Florida swing, heading to Doral this week for the WGC-Cadillac Championship. This is the second event in three weeks that we have a World Golf Championship event, thus a star-studded field with close to the entire top 50 in the world playing.

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. This year, the whole course has 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 now, that has changed. Additionally, every hole has a new measurement and Hanse himself is calling Doral a new golf course.

This is the 10th 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 69 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 with the exception of some possible wind and rain on Thursday but everything looks good for the last three days.

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.

Rory McIlroy (+600) is the early favorite and a big one for that matter. His Sunday implosion was a surprise at PGA National as he shot a 74 but still had a chance with a look at eagle on 18 but missed and was part of the four-man playoff. How he recovers from that is impossible to gauge but at this price, we are staying off nonetheless. Because of the new look course, grabbing higher odds may be wise.

This is not great value with Dustin Johnson (+1,200) but he is close to winning again. He went down in the first round at the Accenture Match play but he has never done well there. Prior to that, he recorded three straight top sixes to open 2014 and he already has a WGC win this season, taking place at the HSBC Champions back in November. His last three finishes here are a T12, T35 and a solo second.

Graham DeLaet (+3,500) is still in search of his first PGA Tour victory and this would certainly be a great place to notch his first. His incredible 2013 season seems to be no fluke as he has come out this season playing well again. He has five top tens in seven stroke play events and while his last resulted in a T70 at the Northern Trust, I expect a bounce back this week. First timer here, but the updated design is new to everyone.

Jim Furyk (+5,000) is back at it following a week off after the Accenture Match Play. This is just his fourth stroke play event of the season and his third in 2014 but after an excellent showing two weeks ago, I don't think he can be counted out, especially at these odds. Going back, he has six top tens in his last 10 starts and while the course looks new, his win, two runner-ups and a third here cannot be overlooked.

We used Rickie Fowler (+6,000) last week and he put a solid tournament together with a T24 thanks to all four rounds of par or better. As mentioned last week, his swing changes are taking effect and for the good following the Honda Classic and the Accenture Match Play prior to that. His last two years at the Cadillac have been average but a solo eighth in 2011 shows he can play very well here.

Because of the strength of the field, there are some massive longshots this week including Matteo Manassero (+12,000). This is his first year on the PGA Tour but he is no stranger to this current stretch. He played the Accenture Match Play, the Honda Classic and the Cadillac Championship last year and was solid with respective finishes of T29 and T23 in the last two. He is coming off a T12 last week so his current form is solid.

Recommended Tournament Win Five Pack at the WGC-Cadillac Championship - All for 1 Unit

Dustin Johnson (+1,200)
Graham DeLaet (+3,500)
Jim Furyk (+5,000)
Rickie Fowler (+6,000)
Matteo Manassero (+12,000)

2014 Record to date after 8 events: +15 Units