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The final leaderboard for the 2016 World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida is in. Just like last week at the Honda Classic, Adam Scott hung on down the stretch to win his second consecutive Tour event by one stroke, this time over runner-up Bubba Watson. Below is the truncated top-10 leaderboard:
(1) Adam Scott (-12)
(2) Bubba Watson (-11)
(T3) Danny Willett (-10)
(T3) Rory McIlroy (-10)
(5) Phil Mickelson (-9)
(6) Jimmy Walker (-8)
(7) Paul Casey (-6)
(T8) Rickie Fowler (-5)
(T8) Smylie Kaufman (-5)
(10) Harris English (-4)
Here are my thoughts and a few statistics on the champion and some notable golfers near the top of the leaderboard:
Winner: Adam Scott (-12) – This is Scott’s first WGC-Cadillac Championship win, second WGC win and 13th win overall on the PGA Tour. He won last week at the Honda Classic, and is the first player since Billy Horschel in 2014 to win back-to-back weeks on Tour. Aside from his two recent wins, his best finishes of the 2015-2016 wraparound season were runner-ups at the CIMB Classic and Northern Trust Open. Previous finishes at the WGC-Cadillac include a T4 last year in 2015, T25 in 2014, T3 in 2013, T13 in 2012 and T6 in 2011 (he certainly has a history of performing well in the tournament). The fact that he was able to maintain his recent form to prevail this week is awfully impressive — not many pro golfers have done that over the course of history. Who would of thought he would be going on a tear now, just after making the transition to a traditional putting stroke? I would never have thought something even remotely like this would have happened. Wow. I think it’s very likely he’s going to be making noise in the majors this year, particularly the Masters.
Today: 7 birdies and 2 double-bogeys for a 3-under 69. After making double-bogey on holes 3 and 5, he rebounded with 6 birdies in his next 9 holes. His second shot on 18 nearly ended up in the water, but he was able to pitch onto the green and make a clutch par for the win. Scores over four rounds: 68, 66, 73, 69 (276).
Bubba Watson (-11) – This would have been Watson’s 10th PGA Tour win (a coveted milestone) and second WGC title. The last time he played on Tour (at the Northern Trust Open in February) he won. His last official and unofficial wins remain the 2015 Travelers Championship and 2015 Hero World Challenge, respectively. Previous finishes at the WGC-Cadillac for Watson include a solo-third in 2015, T2 in 2014, T18 in 2013 and a solo-second in 2012 — like Scott, he has an excellent record of performing well at the WGC-Cadillac. I don’t find this particularly surprising considering the fact that Doral is a “bombers course” these days. Speaking of bombers, other notable long-hitters that did well throughout the week include McIlroy (finished T3) and Dustin Johnson (was in the mix until today, imploding with a 79).
Today: 1 eagle, 3 birdies and 1 bogey for a 4-under 68. He needed a birdie on the last to keep his chances alive, but hit it over the green from the fairway and failed to chip in. Scores over four rounds: 69, 69, 71, 68 (277).
