Welcome back to the BettingPros PGA Podcast. I’m Pat Fitzmaurice, joined as always by Bo McBrayer.
The PGA Tour returns to the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida for the 2026 Cadillac Championship.
We’re here to give you a betting preview of this week’s event, including our Hard Rock Best Bets.
2026 Cadillac Championship Preview
This will be the first PGA Tour event at Doral in 10 years. It’s going to be a star-studded field of just 72 players, and this is a no-cut signature event.
We do have a handful of top contenders skipping this one. Matt Fitzpatrick is taking a well-deserved week off after consecutive victories. Rory McIlroy still savoring his Masters victory. Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacIntyre, and Xander Schauffele are also sitting this one out.
Doral is a Par 72 measuring in at a robust 7,739 yards. They don’t call the Blue Monster for nothing. This is the longest non-major course we will see all year.
Two of the par 5s are more than 600 yards. The par 5 12th weighs in at 667 yards. That’s a par 6 for me.
Three of the par 3s measure 216 yards or longer. Four of the par 4s measure 472 yards or longer. The famed 18th hole is 473 yards with water all the way down the left side. Pretty tough one.
Water does come into play on 10 of the 18 holes at Doral. We’re going to see a lot of penalty strokes. And because Doral is in Miami, it’s going to be breezy. The greens at Doral are Bermuda and if I recall correctly, they are pretty quick.
The last time a PGA Tour event was held at Doral, Adam Scott won the 2016 WGC Cadillac Championship with a score of -12. In 2015, Dustin Johnson won at the Blue Monster with a score of -9. In 2014, Patrick Reed won at Doral with a score of just -4. So, don’t expect the players to tear this course apart.
Although Tiger Woods did get to -19 at the Blue Monster in 2013. He won here seven times.
Weather should be pretty agreeable this week. Temperatures in the 80s, winds of 12-15 miles an hour throughout the tournament, and no rain on the forecast until Sunday when we could get some scattered thunderstorms.
Bo McBrayer on the Blue Monster at Doral
I think this might be the one course we see all year where it’s more of a tee-shot golf course than a second-shot golf course.
You have to be in the Top 30 in this field of 72 in driving distance to have any chance at all of winning this tournament. Period. That’s how important driving distance and strokes gained off the tee are going to be at the Blue Monster at Doral.
This golf course demands off-the-tee prowess. It demands long-iron play. Short middle and middle iron play are really not going to happen that often either. I think only 25% of the approach shots are going to be from inside 200 yards, which leaves a lot of long approaches, a lot of long irons, hybrids, and 3-woods.
Those par 5s aren’t going to be reachable for anyone in this field – it’s a true par 5. That’s something we almost never see on the PGA Tour – a hole is not reachable in two by anyone.
As far as scrambling goes, when you get a lot of long-iron approaches into moderately sized greens, especially Bermuda greens, you’re going to have runoff against the grain. The breeze is going to be up. You’re going to have to be able to get up and down and avoid bogeys. Putting on Bermuda is also important here, but three-putt avoidance on Bermuda is even more important. You have to be able to make pars on all of these tough holes.
There are a couple holes where you can expect a birdie. Some of the par 5s are getable, but you’re not going to see a lot of easy par 4s here, and the par 3s are nasty.
This golf course is going to take some lunch money this week. And I love the carnage. I still think the winner is going to be around -10 to -12. It’s not going to be like the U.S. Open, for example. There’s going to be some scoring here, but I think it’s going to happen with a very specific type of player.
Hard Rock Best Bets of the Week
It’s time for our Hard Rock Best Bets of the Week, brought to you by Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s Hard Rock Best Bet of the Week
My Hard Rock Best Bet of the Week is Sam Burns to win outright at 26-1.
Pat Fitzmaurice’s 2026 Cadillac Championship Picks
- Hard Rock Best Bet: Sam Burns (+2900)
- Kurt Kitayama (+4400)
- Adam Scott Top 10 (+295)
- Adam Scott Top 20 (+118)
- Gary Woodland (+8200)
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju (+11000)
Bo McBrayer’s Hard Rock Best Bet of the Week
Kurt Kitayama at 44-1 is my Hard Rock Best Bet of the Week.
Bo McBrayer’s 2026 Cadillac Championship Picks
- Hard Rock Best Bet: Kurt Kitayama (+4400)
- Scottie Scheffler Outright/Collin Morikawa Top 5 parlay (+1800)
- Collin Morikawa (+1950)
- Chris Gotterup (+2800)
- Kurt Kitayama (+4400)
- Daniel Berger (+9600)
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju (+11000)
That’s going to do it for this week’s BettingPros PGA Podcast. We hope you enjoy this week’s event. Please join us next week for our betting preview of the Truist Championship. Until then, so long everyone.
Offered by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in FL. Offered by Seminole Hard Rock Digital, LLC, in all other states. Must be 21+ and physically present in AZ, CO, FL, IL, IN, MI, NJ, OH, TN or VA to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about your gambling? In FL, call or text 1-833-PLAYWISE. In IN, if you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-9-WITH-IT. In AZ and OH, call 1-800-MY-RESET.
GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1‑800‑GAMBLER (CO, IL, MI, NJ, TN, VA)
