Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the WGC-Cadillac Championship

2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship Preview

It’s been a wild ride for Fantasy Golf over the last few weeks and it goes to show you that the highest priced player in the field certainly isn’t always the smartest selection.  Look back just two weeks ago when we picked McIlroy over the heavy favorite Jordan Spieth at Riviera and again last week when we took Fowler over McIlroy.  In both those events the pricier and more strongly favored players (Spieth and then McIlroy) missed the cut.  This week poses a whole different issue now that we have the best players in the world facing off in a small field on an extremely tough, windy, and water riddled Florida course.

The WGC-Cadillac Championship is the first event in 2016 that will feature Spieth, Day, and McIlroy in the same field, and most likely in the same paring.  McIlroy, who only just two week ago began his 2016 U.S. schedule, is although heavily favored again this week (Vegas Odds have him at 8/1) but did not look sharp at the Honda Classic last week.

Jason Day has also been noticeably absent from most of the early 2016 season but already has racked up two Top 11 finishes in just three starts this season.  That success is contrasted by his unexpected missed cut in his title defense at Torrey Pines.  Jordan Spieth has played the most of the trio with four events under his belt so far including a victory at The Hyundai TOC but is coming off of his most disappointing missed cut in a while.  It’s also worth noting that the last time these “big three” all played together was the 2015 TOUR Championship at East Lake.

But Jason, Jordan, and Rory aren’t the only studs in this week’s star-studded WGC event.  Names like Watson, Rose, Fowler, Scott, Garcia, Johnson and Reed will all catch their fair share of headlines this week as well.  OWGR No. 4 and Northern Trust Open winner Bubba Watson leads the pack with three top-3 finishes in his past four visits to the Blue Monster but the powerful lefty has never been able to close the door here.

It’s tough enough to pick a winner in a large field but believe us, it’s much harder to pick a winner in a small field when all 50 players are the best in the world and each has a viable chance of taking home the hardware.  This week will take some additional in-depth Fantasy analysis for sure…

For those of you out there looking for a new twist on fantasy Golf be sure to check out the newly released No Halftime app which allows you to create and join player vs player fantasy contests for every round of this week’s WGC-Cadillac event.  We dive deeper into this new format in our “Where to Play” segment below.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Despite picking Rickie (T6) as our horse pick over Rory (MC), it was a tough finish last week for our fantasy picks at PGA National.  We’ll be the first to admit that we simply weren’t ready to jump on the Adam Scott bandwagon until he showed us a little more with the short stick.  That said, it looks like Adam Scott is in fact the real deal as he once again dropped putts from every range with deadly precision.

This opening birdie was key in Adam Scott’s victory at The Honda Classic. https://t.co/5umk6SL3yN https://t.co/llRooLZbCT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 29, 2016

In all, we ended up making 6 of 7 cuts (including sleeper picks) with Rickie as our best finisher at T6 and a pair of T14s from Huh and Steele.

With the 15th tournament in the books our seven weekly fantasy picks are currently averaging $931,551 in total tournament fantasy earnings as we now turn our focus to one of the biggest events of the year beginning this week.  We’ll be looking to build a strong lineup for a challenging week at Trump Doral.

The 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship Field

As we mentioned in the preview, World No. 1, 2, and 3 Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy will be the featured names tackling the Blue Monster this week and they will square off against the game’s best, including last year’s champion, Dustin Johnson.

A photo posted by willod (@willod) on Mar 8, 2015 at 7:29pm PDT

This week marks the very first WGC of 2016 with the field currently consisting of 62 players but that number will most likely grow to around 70.

Certain players like Smylie Kaufman, Fabian Gomez and Graeme McDowell were added off the FedExCup Top 10, which is another way to make the cut into a WGC event.

A full-field list for this week’s event is available on the WGC website.

This Week’s Course Overview

TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral measures in at a long 7,543 yards and plays as a par 72.  Widely deemed as one of the best courses in South Florida, this track received a $200 million dollar upgrade by presidential candidate and owner Donald Trump after he purchased the venue in 2012.

The fiercest part of this course is the signature 18th hole which features water along the entire left side which has been the final resting place for many golf balls (and even a few clubs).

Long-ball hitters like last year’s champion Dustin Johnson will certainly have an advantage on this 7,500+ yard track but power won’t be the only stat needed to score well here at Trump Doral.  We’ll break down more key stats for this week’s WGC-Cadillac in our fantasy notes and picks segments below.

Weather Forecast for Miami, FL

The weather report is calling for 0% chance of rain during all four rounds, however, wind will play a huge factor here as it always does.  Players should expect swirling winds throughout most of the week, especially through the tough 18th hole—a challenge that has decided the outcome of this week’s event more often times than not.

Last Year’s Results from the WGC-Cadillac Championship

Dustin Johnson made his return too the TOUR after a 6-month personal leave by claiming victory on this course in 2015.  DJ chased down J.B. Holmes and Bubba Watson to jump ahead and eventually go on to take the trophy. His 3-under-par 69 was good enough even after being down five shots to Holmes going into the final day. All three players were dead even coming down the stretch with six holes to play and DJ was able to capitalize on a Holmes bogey late in the round.  Watson fell off the pace with three bogeys over four holes.

This Week’s Broadcast Schedule

• Television Broadcasts 
  • Thursday (Mar 3, 2016) – Friday (Mar 4, 2016) 2 pm – 6 pm (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday (Mar 5, 2016) 12 pm – 3:00 pm EST (Golf Channel),  3 pm – 6 pm EST (CBS)
  • Sunday (Mar 6, 2016): 12 pm – 2:00 pm EST (Golf Channel),  2 pm – 6 pm EST (CBS)

• PGA TOUR LIVE
  • Thursday (Mar 3, 2016)) – Friday (Mar 4, 2016)): 11 am – 2 pm EST (Featured Groups), 2 pm – 6pm (Featured Holes)
  • Saturday (Mar 5, 2016)) – Sunday (Mar 6, 2016)): 9 am – 6 pm EST (Featured Groups)
  • Download the iOS app here to view on mobile devices.

• Mobile Broadcasts 
  • Simultaneous coverage on the Golf Live Extra App for iOS and Android.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the WCG-Cadillac this Week

Here’s some exciting news: DraftKings isn’t the only big name in town anymore when it comes to daily fantasy golf action.  Now you can jump into player vs. player contests on No Halftime for one-day contests during every round of play.  Here’s more info on the latest DFS company to join the party:

• No Halftime Heads-Up Match-Ups: This week we want to introduce you to a new way to play heads-up fantasy golf.  No Halftime has created a way for fantasy lovers to play one golfer versus another without salaries and or rosters.  For example, you can pick Bubba Watson in Round 1 versus J.B. Holmes does in Round 2.  It’s really that simple.   You can wager as little as $5 per match or up to $100.  Even better, you can challenge a buddy in a private league or create your own public challenge.  We’re loving this new app so far and we’ve worked out a special deal for Golficity readers where you can use promo code GOLF at checkout and you’ll get a $10 deposit bonus.  Download the iOS app here to get started.  No Halftime is a great way to keep the action going well after your rosters have locked come Thursday morning.

• PGA $400K MIAMI CLASSIC [$100,000 TO 1ST]: This is arguably the best game in town on DraftKings this week.  You pay a hefty $300 to enter the extremely limited field of 1480 other players to compete for the first prize of $100,000.   If that’s too rich for you, there are plenty of small ticket satellite league entries to help win your way into the Super Millionaire Masters game coming in April.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for The WGC-Cadillac Championship

With so many choices many will be left scratching their head and wondering what’s the play this week?  Do you go Day or Spieth or McIlroy as your horse?  Should you sit Fowler and opt for the hot handed Adam Scott?  Will Bubba and DJ stay hot at Doral and will JB Holmes and Reed surprise us again?  As with any star-studded WGC field there are enough questions this week to make your head spin.  But fear not, we have solutions this week to calm your stress.

Lets start off by analyzing the weather.  Although they’re calling for sunny skies, the players know damn well about that nasty wind that will swirl up at Doral.  While most players can’t help but drop strokes due to mother nature, there are some other players that stand tall due to their accuracy, ball-striking, and scrambling.

The course plays long, so obviously you’ll need some long hitters on your squad this week.  With the first hole now stretching to 608 yards (15 yard increase from 2015), players will be challenge to flex their muscles right out the gate.

The Monster currently ranks as the third hardest in all of the Par 72s on TOUR.  Get this, in the last two years, three of the top five on the final leaderboard ranked inside the top four in longest drives for that week.  So again, no surprise here as power is key and accuracy is a significant bonus for sure.

Let’s set power aside for a moment and talk about mid/short games.  Doral ranks inside the top 10 most challenging tracks in fairways hit, greens in regulation and scrambling last season.  Putting is a challenge here as well, which puts the cherry on top of how difficult this course is.  So what you should be looking for is a player with a well-rounded and confident golf game heading into Thursday who also has enough distance to hang with this elite field.

So who’s going to lead our roster this week, Day, Spieth, or McIlroy?  How about none of them…

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win  the WGC-Cadillac Championship

You must be a Premium Member to view our exclusive fantasy golf picks.

Already a member?  Sign in Here.

Last Week’s Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win The Honda Classic

• Rickie Fowler (Golficity Odds 10/1 ):  T6 ($211,975)
• Patrick Reed (Golficity Odds 18/1): MC
• Kevin Kisner (Golficity Odds 28/1): T70 ($12,139)
• Brendan Steele (Golficity Odds 40/1): T14 ($97,600)
• Gary Woodland (Golficity Odds 48/1): T61 ($13,115)

Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win The Honda Classic

• John Huh (Golficity Odds 70/1): T14 ($97,600)

Salary Cap League Sleeper Pick/Odds to Win The Honda Classic

• Jason Bohn (Golficity Odds 75/1): WD

Fantasy Golf Predictions YTD (2015-2016)

Total Top 3s

Total Top 10s

Total Winners Picked

Total Sleeper Report Winners Picked

Total Runners-Up Picked

Total Made Cuts (Includes Sleepers)

Total Major Winners Picked (TBD)

Remember to visit the The Clubhouse and our private Facebook group to discuss this week’s picks for the 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship with other Premium Members.

Cover Photo via Flickr