The PGA Tour invades Trump National Doral for its first truly big event of the 2015 golf season. Even though this is the 16th tournament of the 2014-15 season on tour, the WGC-Cadillac Championship will host the strongest field of any event thus far.
Only the Top-50 players currently on the Official World Golf Ranking, the Top-30 on the FedEx Cup points list, Top-20 on the Race to Dubai and the Top-2 from the Asian, Australasian, Japan and Sunshine Tours are invited to this exclusive no-cut tournament.
Patrick Reed is the defending champion and has continued his strong play this year with a win at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and a T-7 finish last week in the Honda Classic. Reed has won four PGA Tour events in the last 18 months. He is No. 7 in the FedEx Cup points list and No. 15 in the world ranking.
Jason Day is No. 4 in the world and appears to be healthy once again. He won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines last month and has posted three top-10 finishes in just four starts this season. Day would be a very good choice for any fantasy league this week.
Jimmy Walker has also started strong in 2015. With four top-10 finishes, including a runner-up and a win in Hawaii at the Sony Open, he is once again leading the FedEx Cup points list. Walker has one of the most efficient swings on tour and is playing with a ton of confidence.
Young guys like Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas have played well thus far and could very well be factors this week in Miami.
From this group I recommend Koepka, who is a resident of southern Florida and will not be in awe of his surroundings. He won the Waste Management Phoenix Open, plus added top-10 finishes at the Frys.com and Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
His last two starts were T-41 and T-51, but look for him to get back to the top of the leaderboard this week at Doral.
Another player who is returning to world-class form is Paul Casey. He struggled with a myriad of injuries over the past several years, but was once ranked in the top-10 in the world.
If you are looking for a player that is trending upward, Casey was in the mix last week at the Honda Classic and finished T-3. He made the playoff with Bubba Watson and James Hahn in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera two weeks ago, eventually finishing tied for the runner-up spot.
Casey is a superb ball striker and the plethora of water hazards on Trump Doral demand accuracy.
Last week at the Honda Classic, Rory McIlroy missed his first cut since the 2013 British Open. He had not finished outside the top-10 since August 2014.
The No. 1 ranked player in the world was embarrassed by missing the cut at the Honda Classic and that my just be the motivation he needs to start a fiery run to the Masters beginning at the WGC-Cadillac and at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in three weeks.
The real golf season starts now as all of the game’s top names are preparing their games for the Masters Tournament in early April.