Cadillac Championship
Course: Trump National Doral - Blue Monster Course (7,739 yards, par 72)
Purse: $20,000,000
Winner: $3,600,000 and 700 FedExCup Points
Tournament Preview
For the first time in a decade, the PGA Tour returns to Trump National Doral in Miami where a nearly 7,800-yard Blue Monster Course plays host to the 2026 season's fifth Signature Event. Despite the Cadillac Championship's elevated status and $20M purse, this 72-man field is missing some key names that would've landed near the top of FanDuel's salary board as Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre each have elected to prioritize the upcoming Truist Championship and/or PGA Championship, leaving World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler as a heavy favorite on a difficult setup that should suit his game.
On top of its intimidating scorecard length, the Blue Monster Course features a combination of water hazards and bermuda rough to create one of the more demanding tests we'll see, especially when the coastal winds arrive off the Atlantic just 10 miles east. Adam Scott is the only past champion in the field that won here since Gil Hanse's 2013-14 renovation, and although the Aussie managed to rack up 22 total birdies and an eagle en route to his 2016 victory, just four players finished in double-digit red numbers during that final edition before the recent hiatus.
The very shortest of the four par-5s measures a meaty 578 yards, and three of the par-3s reach back to at least 216 yards, placing even more of an emphasis on long-iron play this week. Despite the aforementioned trouble off the tee, bombers should still have an advantage both around this track and from a DFS scoring perspective.
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Tee-to-Green
- Total Driving
- Bogey Avoidance
- Proximity: 175-plus
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Cameron Young ($11,800)
Landing $2,100 cheaper than a $13,900 Scheffler, expect plenty of lineups to begin with Young as a much more affordable lineup anchor. The recent PLAYERS champion ranks first among this field in total driving this season, and he's top-5 in overall proximity, scoring opportunities inside 10 feet and bogey avoidance as well. Additionally, Young has gained a collective 19.1 strokes on approach over his past five starts. The putter was a weakness throughout his first three rounds at Harbour Town, but Young is primed to perform at a big-boy course like Doral.
Chris Gotterup ($11,100)
Speaking of course fits, Gotterup's profile as a long-hitting wind beater figures to be reflected in what could become fairly inflated ownership, and for good reason. The market certainly respects his standing of fourth on Tour in driving distance and eighth in SG: Off-the-Tee, while everyone now knows he also harnesses enough win equity against stiff competition to pay off an $11.1K salary when he gets hot elsewhere throughout his bag.
Hideki Matsuyama ($10,700)
He definitely inspires less confidence off the tee than Young and Gotterup, but Matsuyama's elite iron and wedge play can take turns carrying him across four guaranteed rounds. He's one of just two players on Tour that rank top-15 in both SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green this season. The other? McIlroy.
The Middle Tier
Viktor Hovland ($10,100)
I wasn't necessarily expecting to target Hovland after he completely lost his iron play and putter throughout the final two rounds of the RBC Heritage, but FanDuel dealt him a relatively friendly salary, and he's priced below a handful of names that don't carry nearly the same ceiling, like Maverick McNealy ($10,500) for example. Despite a brutal closing 36 holes on Hilton Head Island, Hovland has now gained strokes off the tee in three consecutive starts for the first time since February of 2025, and he's No. 1 among the Cadillac field in Prox: 150-200 yards this year.
Kurt Kitayama ($9,500)
Kitayama's 5-foot-7, 170-pound frame doesn't keep him from absolutely mashing his driver, ranking top-8 among this field in both carry distance and total driving. However, he's been awesome with the irons this season as well, residing third in Prox: 150-200, sixth in GIR percentage and 10th in SG: APP. He's also coming off a T8 at the RBC Heritage where he gained a career-high 4.52 strokes around the green.
Sepp Straka ($8,900)
I think this is a mostly fair salary for Straka amidst a mini-slump of MC-T41-T42 results dating back to the Valero Texas Open, but he's still third on Tour in Prox: 175-200 and top-25 in SG: Tee-to-Green this season. Having already proven capable of winning a Signature Event last year, gaining exposure to Straka's admirable upside seems important at just $8,900.
The Long Shots
Jordan Smith ($7,900)
A $7,600 Ryo Hisatsune was the first sub-$8K value that jumped out at me, but Smith has begun to make a name for himself in the states as well. The Englishman has gained a collective 10.8 strokes on approach over his last four starts dating back to a third-place finish here in Florida at the Valspar Championship, and he's ninth among this field in SG: OTT as well. Smith's short game can certainly get squirrely, but he's third in SG: Ballstriking across his past 12 rounds.
Ryan Fox ($7,700)
Well over a month removed now from surgery to remove kidney stones, Fox rebounded from back-to-back missed cuts at the Texas Children's Houston Open and the Masters with a T16 effort at the RBC Heritage, where he ultimately posted his best SG: APP performance since early February's WM Phoenix Open. At 39 years old, he's still top-15 among this field in both driving distance and percentage of 320-plus yard drives in 2026.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju ($7,600)
The Canadian rookie followed up his T5 at THE PLAYERS with back-to-back top-15s in his next two outings at the Texas Children's Houston Open and the Valero Texas Open, guiding him to a top-10 ranking in both SG: T2G and SG: Putting over his last 24 rounds. Yellamaraju is second to none on Tour in Prox: 200-plus this season, and it's rare to find such a promising combo of ball striking and putting at just $7,600. As for a weakness, it'd be scrambling from the rough.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
The no-cut structure makes it entirely viable to experiment with Scheffler lineups, but you must remember that a lot of these builds would therefore contain similar combinations of lower-salaried values in large-field contests. It's easier to get different when a bigger percent of the player pool is at your disposal in each lineup spot, and leaving even a small amount of salary on the table can go a long way for uniqueness in these limited-field events, which is tougher to stomach when Scheffler assumes nearly a quarter of the salary cap. Unrelated, but I'll probably use metrics like ball speed and Par-3: 200-plus efficiency as tiebreakers when making 1v1 or 2v2 decisions this week, favoring distance and long-iron prowess to hopefully squeak out a few more scoring opportunities.
For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, tournament participation and overall golfer performance, head to RotoWire's latest golf news or follow @RotoWireGolf on X.
