Big week ahead at WGC Cadillac - PGA of Australia

Big week ahead at WGC Cadillac


They’re at opposite ends of the game’s pecking order but this week’s WGC Cadillac event is an important one for both Adam Scott and Steven Jeffress.

They’re at opposite ends of the game’s pecking order but this week’s WGC Cadillac event is an important one for both Adam Scott and Steven Jeffress.

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For Scott it marks the beginning of the 2015 season and the first event he has played since the birth of daughter Bo on the Gold Coastthree weeks ago.

For Jeffress it is an opportunity to measure his game against the best players in the world with all of the Official World Golf Ranking top-50 in attendance in Florida this week.

Scott’s last competitive outing was at RACV Royal PinesResort when he lost an epic seven hole play-off to Greg Chalmers at the Australian PGA Championship.

He and wife Marie have since welcomed daughter Bo into the world and while the world number five has no doubt been practising hard during his down time there is no substitute for actual competition.

With the Masters fast approaching Scott will have his first chance for 2015 to gauge his game this week, a critical element in his build upto the year’s first major.

Scott and Jeffress are among six Australians to tackle the Gil Hanse redesigned Blue Monster course at Doral with Jason Day, John Senden,Geoff Ogilvy and Greg Chalmers also in the field.

For Scott, Doral has been a mixed bag over the years and hedidn’t find the new course to his liking in 2014 finishing T25 at 5-over-par.

He has 13 starts at the tournament with four top-10 finishes, the last of those in 2013 when he was T3, but when not in the top-10he has been well down the leader board.

Similarly Geoff Ogilvy tends to be boom or bust at Doral.

The Victorian posted a wire to wire win in 2008 but asidefrom a T3 the previous year his five other appearances have not yielded anything better than T40.

Ogilvy didn’t qualify for last year’s tournament but his well documented interest in golf course design may be piqued this week byHanse’s work.

Australia’s highest ranked player Jason Day will attract plenty of attention this week as he tees up at Doral for the fourth time buthas surprisingly few positives to draw on.

Day’s best result to date has been T20 in 2012 but of more concern is his scoring at Doral.

In 12 rounds Day has broken 70 only twice but has shot 73 orworse four times.

Historically Day has thrived on difficult courses and while he missed last year’s event through injury may find the revamped layout more tohis liking.

Noted ball striker John Senden has one top-10 in three appearances at Doral while Greg Chalmers, in the field courtesy of his PGA Tourof Australasia Order of Merit win, has only played once for a T20 result.

Steven Jeffress also gets a start thanks to his PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit finish and while he has never played the event will no doubt take inspiration from fellow Australian Alistair Presnell.

In 2010, Presnell earned a start at Doral through the Order of Merit and with a final round 64 propelled himself into the top-10, parlaying his opportunity into a $214,000 payday.


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