Fantasy Golf Predictions – The 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship

Fantasy Golf Predictions for The 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship March 6-9th, 2014

Tournament Preview

After last week’s withdrawal from the Honda Classic questions surround world No.1 Tiger Woods with regards to whether or not he’ll be healthy enough to defend his title this week against the strongest lineup of golfers a field has seen this year.  The entire top 50 in the world rankings and top money-earners from various world tours will square off at the newly renovated Trump Doral for the second WGC event this year.

Russell Henley was the most recent player to make it into the WGC field with his win at PGA National last week; while Victor Dubuisson’s stellar play at the WGC Accenture Match Play earned him a spot on the ballot as well.  Waste Management Phoenix Open winner Kevin Stadler who currently ranks No.9 in the FedExCup standings also made the list and Phil Mickelson will be back in this week action after missing the cut at the Honda Classic.

If nobody withdraws, this will be the first time every player in the world’s top 50 will compete at the same event since the 2012 PGA Championship.  There is no doubt that this will be a dogfight, as the world’s best will clash on a tough, and newly unfamiliar (recently redesigned) course in Miami.

The Course

TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral measures in at 7,481 yards and plays as a par 72. Doral has a more modern feel this year after Donald Trump’s organization stepped in and gave it a $200 million face lift, making a tough course even more challenging.

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The course gets its name from its famous 18th hole, where water sits along the entire left side of the hole, coming into play on both tee and approach shots.  At the first event here (then named the Doral Open in 1962), players in the field combined for a 104-over par for the week at No.18, and the final hole still ranked as last year’s sixth-toughest hole outside the majors – that’s what we call a legacy.

The newly renovated Blue Monster will make its PGA TOUR debut this week where fans and players alike will get a first look at its many changes. Gil Hanse’s new design includes trickier bunkers, more difficult greens, and believe it or not, even more water.  With the changes, water now comes into play at both the par-3 15th and short par-4 16th. This new hazard may lead to more layups although it’s still easily drivable for those who have the guts to go for it.

The newly redesigned Blue Monster. Photo by TrumpHotelCollection.com

Weather Forecast for Miami, FL (from weather.com)

• Round 1: Thursday (Mar 6) 81 degrees, 40% chance of rain, scattered T-storms.
• Round 2: Friday (Mar 7) 76 degrees, 50% chance of rain, scattered T-storms.
• Round 3: Saturday (Mar 8) 80 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.
• Round 4: Sunday (Mar 9) 81 degrees, 0% chance of rain, partly cloudy.

2013 Results

Tiger Woods won his 17th WGC title and fourth trophy at Doral last year after receiving a valuable putting lesson from good friend Steve Stricker.   The tip certainly helped Tiger on the greens as he dropped 27 birdies during the tournament, building a four-shot lead through 54 holes and finishing off with a fourth round 1-under-par 71.

The win was Tiger’s 76th career PGA TOUR victory and over four rounds on the Blue Monster Woods totaled only 100 putts for the week, tying his career best in a 72-hole tournament.  Even with theses past successes, the recent injury, poor play, and newly designed course may just be enough to ekep Tiger off our fantasy radar this week.

2013 Monday Backspin: WGC-Cadillac and Puerto Rico Open

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Fantasy Notes

Our fantasy gurus are knocking the cover off the ball this year with three winners picked and over $10 million in fantasy earnings in just nine tournaments in 2014.  We’re looking to continue that hot streak as the TOUR moves back to Trump Doral, but we may just steer clear from picking the defending champion, Tiger Woods.  It’s worth noting that Tiger has withdrawn from tournaments in the past only to come back and win the following week, however, the current Tiger looks more confused, and perhaps more injured than we’ve seen in other instances.

Woods has dominated this course before but when making your picks this week keep in mind that this freshly renovated course is designed to challenge even the world’s best. With an injured back and lack of confidence, this course could be a recipe for disaster for the World’s number one player.

Keep an eye out for Jason Day who is back in action looking to win for a second time this year to join the ranks of Woods and Mickelson as only players to win two WGC events in one season.

Media

TV:

• Thursday-Friday, 1-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel).
• Saturday, noon-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-7 p.m. (NBC).

RADIO:

• Thursday- Sunday, noon-6 p.m. ET, Sunday, 1-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

Mobile:

• Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra mobile app by Golf Channel.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Picks/Odds to Win The 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship

• Dustin Johnson (Golficity Odds 8/1): DJ is our top pick to win this week but certainly not by a landslide. The competition in the field this week is far to strong to bet the ranch on one just one player.  Even though DJ has five top sixes and a T12 in his last six official events, he’s also surrounded by some great company in field chasing him this week, including Jimmy Walker and Tiger Woods. The big thing to consider is the fact that Johnson leads the TOUR in GIR, adjusted scoring, all-around, par-4 and par-5 scoring.  Those are the stats you need to win at the Blue Monster, and that’s why he’s our number one this week.
• Rory McIlroy (Golficity Odds 8/1):  Rory was bitten by the teeth of the Bear Trap Sunday, dropping five strokes in the final round (even though he still had a chance to slam the door with a tournament winning eagle attempt on 18). This past week’s T2 was his fourth top two finish in 10 starts worldwide, and after watching him in the past 2 weeks, there is no denying the fact that Rory is starting to heat up heading into the Texas swing before the Masters.
• Jordan Spieth (Golficity Odds 15/1): The TOUR’s hottest young gun continues to play great golf. Amazingly, Spieth has racked up twelve top 10s and another six top 25s over the last 12 months. Last year’s Rookie of the Year is ripe for a breakout sophomore season and a Ryder Cup nod, but to really get noticed he needs to start winning some events. If his putter is hot, we can see him, Rory and DJ going heads up through Sunday.
• Adam Scott (Golficity Odds 18/1): Scott ended a six-week hiatus with a strong T12 at the Honda last week, which incidentally was his worst finish in his last eight starts. Don’t discount the fact that he ranked 2nd in all-around last week and continues to be a strong competitor. We like his chances this week to rack up some serious fantasy bucks but don’t take him as your first pick.
• Bubba Watson (Golficity Odds 22/1):  Last time Bubba played in a 72 holes stroke play event, he won. The Northern Trust Open champ from just 3 weeks ago is coming off a win and a T2 (WMPO) already in 2014. Bubba currently leads the TOUR in driving distance and ball-striking, and on this course, there’s plenty of chances for long-ball guys to score well.  In fact, the new layout features a reachable par 4 that just may help shave a few extra strokes off and give him an edge.  A word of advice though, pick Bubba low…he has a tendency to fall short if he can’t keep his head in the game.

Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship

Update: Jason Day announced a last minute WD due to a thumb injury shortly before teeing off Thursday.  According to news sources, MRI taken Wednesday showed no damage, but today Day was quoted saying, ““The doctor prescribed rest if I was unable to play today. My plan is to rest for a couple of weeks.”  

• Jason Day (Golficity Odds 35/1): Vegas has the Match Play champ at 20/1, but we don’t want to be so generous. Day is coming into another WGC event feeling pretty good but he has only one top-15 finish in his career in the entire State of Florida (finished T6 at the 2011 PLAYERS Championship).  Additionally, he’ll be facing off against perhaps the strongest overall field we’ve seen yet in 2014.  Despite those stats, Day needed that last win to get charged up and we think he makes a good sleeper pick if you’re stuck this week.
• Hunter Mahan (Golficity Odds 45/1): Tough call not going with a Sergio or Keegan in this spot, but we’re feeling good about Mahan as a dark horse to win this one. Lately he’s been all or nothing in stroke play events with two top six finishes and just two finishes outside the top 45 in 2014.

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Last Week’s Results:  Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the 2014 Honda Classic

• Charl Schwartzel (Golficity Odds 12/1): MC
• Rory McIlroy (Golficity Odds 15/1):  T2
• Adam Scott (Golficity Odds 27/1): T12
• Tiger Woods (Golficity Odds 30/1): MDF (WD – injury)
• Zach Johnson (Golficity Odds 40/1): T33

Last Week’s Results: Sleeper Picks/Odds to Win the Honda Classic

• Sergio Garcia (Golficity Odds 33/1): T8
• Rickie Fowler (Golficity Odds 50/1): T24

Fantasy Golf Predictions Stats: Season to Date

• Total Fantasy Dollars: $10,759,739 (average tournament winnings of $1,195,527).
• Winners picked: 3 selected picked out of 9 tournaments (33.33% winners picked in 2014).
• Top 10s: 23 out of 63 players picked (36.50% of players picked finished in Top 10).
• Top 3s: 8 out of 63 players picked (12.7% players picked finished in the Top 3).
• Missed Cuts: Only 8 out of 63 players (87.3% of the picks made the cut in 2014)

Let us know what you think of this week’s fantasy golf predictions for the 2014 WGC Cadillac Championship by leaving us your comments below.

(Cover Photo Credit)