4 picks our expert loves

Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2026 Cadillac Championship, which gets underway Thursday in Miami.

It really is great to be back at the Blue Monster at Trump Doral. For the first time in 10 years, the PGA Tour is back in South Florida at what used to be a mainstay on the circuit, dating back to 1962 and what was then known as the Doral Open, the Ford Championship, and most recently, the WGC-Cadillac Championship.

Trump National Doral was originally designed by Dick Wilson but received the Gil Hanse renovative treatment in 2014 and is now truly a “monster” once again at nearly 7,800 yards and playing to a par 72. The fairways are on the wider side, the greens are massive surfaces, over half of the 18 holes feature a water hazard, there are nearly 100 sand bunkers, and the turf is typical Florida golf, wall-to-wall Bermudagrass.

The truth is however, this is not all a bed of roses, in my opinion. It was earlier this month that we just completed the season’s first major championship. We immediately then went to Harbour Town for a Signature Event and then to New Orleans last week for the Zurich Classic. Okay, fine. No problem. But now we have another Signature Event at Doral, followed by yet another at Quail Hollow (Truist Championship), and then it is on to Aronimink for the season’s second major, the PGA Championship.

It is no wonder that Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and others are skipping this week on Tour and it is likely that many will skip next week too in preparation for another major championship. These will be the fourth, fifth, and sixth Signature Events of the season and two majors all bunched into a six-week stretch on the PGA Tour calendar. I love the fact that the guys are back at Doral but something needs to be adjusted here going forward to avoid this log jam of high-profile events taking place inside such a small window.

We move on — and try to cash some tickets, because that is what we are here for.

Having not been at Doral in 10 years, the handicap can be a little gray, but we do know that Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and on approach will loom large. Driving Distance is not a prerequisite but it certainly doesn’t hurt when trying to tackle 7,700+ yards. Long iron play will be crucial as so many of the approach shots, including the par 3s, will measure 200 yards or more. Finally, let’s not forget Scrambling. The greens are large but hitting them in regulation will be a challenge, and therefore, getting up and down to save par will be a separator. Total Driving, Ball Striking, and Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass) are also good skill sets to incorporate into the handicap.

Let’s also be clear that this is a limited field of just 72 players and there is no 36-hole cut (which, in addition to some scheduling tweaks, having no cut is another issue I have with most of the Signature Events).

It is interesting to note that the last four winners here were also Masters champions, Adam Scott in 2016, Dustin Johnson in 2015, Patrick Reed in 2014, and Tiger Woods in 2013. Tiger has won here seven times in total. Two-time Masters runner-up, Justin Rose, won at Doral in 2012. Two-time Masters champ, Bubba Watson, has twice been runner-up at Doral.

In addition to Augusta National, I also considered Quail Hollow (Truist Championship), Torrey Pines (Farmers Insurance Open), and Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer Invitational) as correlated courses. I also used some big-boy venues we have seen host recent major championships, Royal Portrush, Oakmont, Valhalla, and Los Angeles Country Club. Note that Gil Hanse also performed major renovations at LACC and Oakmont.

Scottie Scheffler (+325)

This is my maiden Scheffler voyage in 2026 but I am figuring that this is the time. With no Rory, Xander, etc., Scheffler is clearly the best player in this field and this golf course should very much suit his game — as far as Total Driving, long-iron approach play, and Scrambling. And while Scheffler’s game may have been off for a brief stretch earlier this season, he has finished runner-up in his last two starts. He’s won at Bay Hill twice, Portrush once, Quail Hollow once, and Augusta twice. It can be tough to swallow such a short price but this looks like the right time to do so.

Sam Burns (30-1)

Burns has been trending nicely as of late and has also shown up recently with a top-10 finish at the Masters and a top 10 at last year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont. His last four starts on Tour have resulted in finishes of 13-21-7-16 and in each one of those, he has gained strokes on the field on approach and with the putter. He has the off-the-tee game to handle the Monster. If the approach play remains a positive, the timing could be right.

Viktor Hovland (35-1)

Hovland was third at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, third at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, and has been third at Quail Hollow, and runner-up at both Torrey Pines and Bay Hill. I am going to chalk this up to Total Driving and long-iron play, a couple of areas in which he is one of the very best. His short game has improved as well as he ranks 51st on Tour in Scrambling and 83rd on Tour in SG: Putting. Hovland finished in a flurry on Sunday at the Masters and then stayed hot for two rounds at the RBC Heritage. He has what it will take here if he can find that groove for all four days.

Harris English (45-1)

The best year of his career was last year when he won at Torrey Pines and finished runner-up at both Royal Portrush and Quail Hollow. English has also finished runner-up at Bay Hill in the past and was eighth at LACC at the 2023 U.S. Open. He has not been quite up to those standards yet this season but his last three starts have resulted in finishes of 21-30-4, with the fourth-place finish coming three weeks ago at Harbour Town. He ranks 35th on Tour in SG: Off the Tee, is eighth in SG: Putting, and 17th in Scrambling. He also has the long-iron chops, ranking 33rd on Tour in Hole Proximity from 200-225 yards and 14th from 150-175 yards. English ranks 27th on Tour in Total Driving.