Five of the top 15 players in the world, including Rory McIlroy, are skipping this week's Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral. This marks the highest number of top players to miss a Signature Event in PGA Tour history.
Five of the top-15 players in the world (including Rory McIlroy) won't play this week's Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral.getty images
If youāve kept up with the ever-evolving PGA Tour schedule changes over the past few years, youāre probably savvy enough to know a Signature Event means big money and lots of star players. And you would be right, but when you look at the field for this weekās Cadillac Championship, youāll notice there are a few notable names missing.
Five of the top 15 players in the world are skipping this weekās tournament at Trump National Doral āĀ the PGA Tourās first time at the Blue Monster since 2016 āĀ which is the highest number of top players to miss a Signature Event in their short history.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick, No. 9 Xander Schauffele, No. 12 Robert MacIntyre and No. 14 Ludvig Aberg are all sitting out this week.
So, what gives? The answer is quite simple.
After the Masters was a Signature Event in the RBC Heritage, followed by the Zurich Classic, this weekās Cadillac Championship and next weekās Truist Championship, which gives way to the PGA Championship at Aronimink outside of Philadelphia. That means the first two majors of the year bookended three Signature Events in four weeks.
During the last two years, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, which isnāt a Signature Event, was played in this spot. But the Mexico Open, played in February the last two years, dropped off the schedule this season. The Cadillac Championship took its place and was slotted here.
āThis year is a little bit of an exception I think,ā Adam Scott said Tuesday from Miami. āThis is an added event. Ideally this wouldnāt be the way. ā¦ I think weāve got to get through this year and hopefully the schedule looks a little more balanced next year.ā
With the late addition, this has been a taxing, and odd, stretch of golf āĀ even for players who get paid millions to do this for a living. But each player has their own unique formula to peak at the most important times. Burnout is their worst enemy. This portion of the schedule has forced some to get creative.
Top players may skip the Cadillac Championship for various reasons, including scheduling conflicts or personal choices.
The players skipping the event include Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, Robert MacIntyre, and Ludvig Aberg.
The Cadillac Championship is significant as it is a Signature Event on the PGA Tour, featuring high prize money and attracting star players.
The Cadillac Championship was last held at Trump National Doral in 2016.
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McIlroy is out because, well, he won the Masters, and now heās taking a breather, like he did last year. But heāll likely return next week on a course where heās had lots of success. Fitzpatrick is off after playing three weeks in a row āĀ and winning the last two events he played in, the RBC Heritage and last weekās Zurich Classic.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the headliner this week but is skipping next weekās Truist Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte.
Scheffler said he typically doesnāt like playing the week before a major. Plus, heās playing the week after the PGA, since heās the defending champion at the CJ Cup in Texas, where he lives.
āHaving three of our biggest events in a row is, depending upon the time of year, if this was a different time of year, maybe I would play all three,ā Scheffler said Wednesday. āBut when you have a major championship as the last one I think that creates a different kind of cadence to it. Major championships are just the hardest events. When you look at the courses weāre playing for our Signature Events now ā I think it was a couple years ago we did Jackās place (Muirfield Village) and the U.S. Open back-to-back. Iām like, I physically and mentally, I canāt do this for two weeks in a row. I won Memorial and I was whipped showing up to the U.S. Open. So thatās kind of how I adjusted my schedule to be like, maybe the week before the major itās not wise to go out there and beat myself up a little bit. Maybe itās best for me to stay home and get ready for the tournament.ā
Scheffler also discussed the demands of a major week versus a regular tournament week. He said, understandably, everything is amped up for major weeks. Thereās more activity on-site, more fans and more people yelling. The mental grind is much more intense.
āDoing that day after day, week after week, when you do that that many times in a row it can be challenging,ā he said. āIn order for me to show up and play my best I have to have off time. Thatās something Iāve learned as my career has gone on how important rest is for me and itās not always about spending as much time as I possibly can at the golf course getting ready. Itās more about doing what I can in my allotted amount of time in order to get ready and going home and getting rest so my brain and body is actually ready to compete in a tournament.ā
Justin Rose won at the Blue Monster in 2012. This week is his first start since the Masters, where he led on the second nine on Sunday only to finish in a tie for third.
āI looked at this period coming up and I think something had to give, for sure. For me, it kind of ended up being the RBC, especially what happened after Augusta,ā Rose said Tuesday. āI felt like I knew what was coming, I knew what a big run of events were coming, obviously with PGA Championship being on the back of this three. For me personally, after the Masters, I feel like I needed that week extra to reflect and get the recovery going into this big run of events. So, yeah, when youāre having to miss great events to prepare for other great events itās not ideal.
āObviously this event was added late in I guess the structure of the sort of elevated event structure that we had,ā he continued. āThis is obviously a new edition, so it had to fall somewhere. Iām sure thereās a group of players and people, the Competition Committee or whatever itās called, looking at the best practices going forward. So Iām sure thereās been a lot of talk about our schedule next year, the year after, whatever it is. Iām sure that this period of time will be refined, for sure.ā
As Rose says, this conflict likely wonāt last long. Next yearās schedule will likely fix the blip āĀ the Tour would prefer its top players to play Signature Events ā and PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has big ideas for the Tourās future schedule as well.
If we have learned anything over the years, itās that we canāt get too used to this schedule staying pat.
āLike, if yāall were to walk with me each day of the tournament and to see what we have to do in order to play one week, having to do that four weeks in a row, I wouldnāt be able to perform my best,ā Scheffler said. āSo when I show up at a tournament I want to be able to give it my best and I have to set up my schedule in a certain way and, you know, the chips kind of fall where they do.ā
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