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2012 PGA WGC-Cadillac Championship Preview/Picks

Preview and free golf picks for the PGA 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship, which is hosted by TPC Blue Monster at Doral in Miami, FL. The purse is $8.5 million, and the defending champ is Nick Watney …

PGA Gambling: World Golf Championship – Cadillac Championship

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This Week’s PGA Betting

Date: Mar 8-11, 2012
Location: Miami, Florida
Purse: $8,500,000
Field: 74
Course: Doral Golf Resort & Spa – Blue Monster
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,334

Defending Champion: Nick Watney

Are we all looking forward to this week’s World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship? After last week, I am too! The top 50 golfers in the world will be in attendance at TPC Blue Monster at Doral this week looking to gain a little momentum ahead of next month’s Masters.

The Blue Monster is considered one of the easiest courses on the Florida swing – the fairways are well… fair and the greens are as forgiving as there is on the PGA TOUR. The scores should be low which should guarantee us a good old shootout come Sunday.

Rory McIlroy made me look good last week – he is the second pick that I have nailed so far in 2012. I hope to keep the good fortune going this week with my picks for the Cadillac.

Without further adieu, here is a glimpse into this week’s field and who I think will emerge!

The Favorites:

Rory McIlroy 6/1

Rory is simply on fire but as Phil Mickelson proved earlier this year, back-to-back wins are extremely difficult. He has 11 Top-5 finishes in his last 12 tournaments with three wins. The #1 ranked golfer in the world will likely be in the hunt again this week of course but a repeat with a field like the one assembled at the Cadillac may be asking too much.

Tiger Woods 7/1

Woods has 7 starts here since 2002. 7 Top 10s (3 wins, 1 runner-up, 5th, 9th and 10th). Needless to say – he absolutely loves this track. Last week’s 62 on Sunday raised a few eyebrows – Woods climbed from 18th to second with that round. Focus and confidence in his swing, his grip and most of all his head will have Woods at or near the top again this week.

Phil Mickelson 12/1

Mickelson took two weeks off after a win and a second in his two previous starts. It is safe to say that Phil’s’ game is at a level that not many of us predicted early in the season. Mickelson won here in 2009 so he knows and likes this course.

Lee Westwood 14/1

Maybe sliding under the radar a bit is World #3 Lee Westwood who has a terrific Sunday himself last week – a 63 to finish fourth at the Honda. This after a fourth the week before in the Match Play. He hasn’t done all that well at Doral in the past but enters the tournament third in greens in regulation, second in scrambling and second only to Rory in scoring average on TOUR so far this year. A win here could knock his countryman from the #1 spot in the world this week – plenty of motivation for sure!

The Contenders:

Charl Schwartzel 25/1

Schwartzel looked great last week in finishing fifth at the Honda and now has four Top-5 finishes in his last seven starts. He was brutal here last year but finished second at this event in 2010. Schwartzel is playing at a consistently high level and could emerge victorious this week.

Dustin Johnson 28/1

Dustin appears to be rounding into form after recovering from offseason knee surgery – just in time! He had a Top 5 at Pebble Beach and at Riviera before a 2-1 record in the Match Play. Johnson finished second here last year and on a relatively easy course is certainly one to watch this week.

Nick Watney 28/1

The defending champ and runner up in 2009 has not exactly been on top of his game so far this year. But he has not missed a cut so far this year in six events and looked good at the Match Play a couple of weeks ago. Watney has been relatively quiet but is capable of making some noise.

Hunter Mahan 35/1

Mahan was spectacular in winning at the WGC-Accenture two weeks ago and then enjoyed a rest last week. He looked good here last year and led after two rounds eventually finishing ninth. If Mahan can emulate his play from a couple of weeks ago he is going to be very difficult to stop.

The Sleepers

Matt Kuchar 33/1

Kuchar has two starts at Doral and two Top-5 finishes. He has struggled on TOUR so far this year but looked good in finishing fifth at the WGC-Accenture. Kuchar is certainly under the radar but is as dangerous as any of the contenders in the field.

Steve Stricker 40/1

Stricker is another under the radar competitor this week. He has four starts at Doral and has finished Top-20 in all of those. He has a win already this year and minus one horrendous round has been one of the most consistent players on TOUR. He leads the PGA TOUR in birdie average. Ranks fourth in greens hit and ninth in adjusted scoring. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Webb Simpson 45/1

Simpson will make his TPC Blue Monster debut this week but he has the game to get it done! He is the number six player in the world and has two Top 10’s in four starts already this year. Simpson is the PGA TOUR’s leader in greens hit – something that will come in handy this week.

Bill Haas 60/1

It is hard to believe that Haas is 60/1! He won three weeks ago and had a fourth place finish at the Farmers in January and he finished T6 here in 2010. Haas is playing very well and has to be the top sleeper on the board!

Martin Laird 66/1

I have touted Laird all season long but he hasn’t produced. He looked good a couple of weeks ago with a 3-1 record at the WGC-Accenture and he has one second place finish already this year. Laird finished T10 at this event last year.

The Pick:

Lee Westwood 14/1 is my pick this week after a terrific final round at the Honda. Westwood is due after playing some very solid golf for the last month. The added motivation of knocking his countryman off his perch is added incentive this week as well.

My sleeper is Bill Haas – at 60/1. How is this guy 60/1? Haas has been superb for the last 18 months and it would be no surprise at all to see him win this week.

WGC Odds To win – Click odds to bet

Rory McIlroy 11/2  
Tiger Woods 11/2  
Lee Westwood 12/1  
Phil Mickelson 12/1  
Luke Donald 25/1  
Charl Schwartzel 20/1  
Dustin Johnson 25/1  
Hunter Mahan 28/1  
Martin Kaymer 28/1  
Sergio Garcia 33/1  
Matt Kuchar 33/1  
Keegan Bradley 33/1  
Steve Stricker 40/1  
Webb Simpson 33/1  
Adam Scott 40/1  
Jason Day 40/1  
Rickie Fowler 50/1  
Justin Rose 50/1  
Graeme McDowell 50/1  
Bubba Watson 50/1  
Brandt Snedeker 66/1  
Bill Haas 50/1  
Kyle Stanley 66/1  
Aaron Baddeley 66/1  
Martin Laird 66/1  
Ben Crane 80/1  
K.J. Choi 80/1  
Louis Oosthuizen 80/1  
Geoff Ogilvy 80/1  
Bo Van Pelt 80/1  
Mark Wilson 80/1  
Peter Hanson 100/1  
Alvaro Quiros 100/1  
Francesco Molinari 80/1  
David Toms 80/1  
Paul Casey 100/1  
Robert Karlsson 125/1  
Anders Hansen 100/1  
Fredrik Jacobson 100/1  
Ian Poulter 100/1  
John Senden 100/1  
Retief Goosen 125/1  
Y-E Yang 100/1  
Zach Johnson 100/1  
Charles Howell III 100/1  
Robert Rock 125/1  
Jonathan Byrd 125/1  
Gary Woodland 100/1  
Jason Dufner 150/1  
Sang-Moon Bae 125/1  
Thomas Bjorn 125/1  
Vijay Singh 100/1  
Nicolas Colsaerts 100/1  
Rafael Cabrera -Bello 150/1  
Paul Lawrie 125/1  
Simon Dyson 150/1  
Miguel Angel Jimenez 200/1  
Alexander Noren 200/1  
Gonzalo Fernandez 200/1  
Kyung-Tae Kim 200/1  
Greg Chalmers 175/1  
Branden Grace 200/1  
Pablo Larrazabal 200/1  
Jbe’ Kruger 250/1  
Darren Clarke 300/1  
Marcus Fraser 300/1  
Chez Reavie 300/1  
Hennie Otto 400/1  
Tetsuji Hiratsuka 400/1  
Garth Mulroy 500/1  
Juvic Pagunsan 500/1  
Tadahiro Takayama 500/1  
Nick Watney 28/1

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