Golf Apr 30, 2026

Rory McIlroy skips Cadillac Championship at Donald Trump's Miami golf course: Field, format and prize money for PGA Tour signature event

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Rory McIlroy skips Cadillac Championship at Donald Trump's Miami golf course: Field, format and prize money for PGA Tour signature event

What is the Cadillac Championship? Why is McIlroy skipping the event? Who could impress at Trump Doral? We get you up to speed on the PGA Tour's newest signature event, live on Your Site.

Donald Trump's Turnberry Golf Club may have missed out on securing a spot on The Open rota earlier this week, but attention will turn to another of the US president's courses on Thursday, as the PGA Tour arrives at the Trump National Doral in Miami for the inaugural Cadillac Championship.

This is the PGA Tour's newest signature event and is not to be confused with the former WGC-Cadillac Championship, which was hosted at Trump National Doral between 2007 and 2016.

As part of the PGA Tour's aim to see more of the world's top players compete against each other more regularly throughout the season. Bosses at Ponte Vedra Beach, the PGA Tour's headquarters, chose to expand the schedule to include eight signature events. Thus, the Cadillac Championship was conceived.

The US president purchased the Doral Resort in 2012 for approximately $150m (£111m). With it came the acquisition of four golf courses, including one of the United States' most prestigious tracks, the Blue Monster.

This 7,500-yard par-72 course is a testing venue and has snared many of the world's best players over the years.

It features multiple large water hazards as well as a range of strategically placed bunkers, located in landing zones on the fairway and around the greens.

The Blue Monster has also hosted multiple LIV events over the years, including the 2025 LIV Golf Miami event, which saw Marc Leishman outlast 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel to win by one shot.

You might think its name comes from the many waterbodies surrounding the course, but there's another reason.

It is one of four courses at the Doral Resort, with each being named after a colour, with this track being originally known as the Blue course. Players historically used blue tees during their rounds. The course gained its second name because of its sheer size and ability to tame some of the world's best golfers.

Adam Scott, the most recent winner at a PGA Tour event at Trump Doral in 2016, said, "It's called the Blue Monster for a reason.

"It's a big golf course, very penal. The wind can blow, and that's the biggest challenge out here. So you've got to strike it well, just demanding tee-to-green. It's great that we're back."

72 of the world's best golfers have been invited to play at the Cadillac Championship this week.

This is a no-cut event, meaning everyone will progress to the weekend, and the player who finishes at the bottom of the leaderboard on Sunday will also take home a cheque.

The top-50 players on the previous year's FedExCup points rankings all gain an invitation to compete, while players who have won on the PGA Tour in 2026 will also be given an exemption.

Two eligibility pathways are also available through the AON Next 10 and AON Swing 5 rankings. They give the top-10 players on the FedExCup standings, who are not already exempt for the signature events, an invitation.

Meanwhile, the top-five FedExCup Points earners, who are not already exempt, will also gain a spot at the signature events.

And finally, players who are ranked in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) top-30, will also gain invitations.

Rory McIlroy is set to skip this week's signature event at Trump National Doral in Miami, with the Northern Irishman taking some time off after clinching his second Masters title earlier in April.

Interestingly, McIlroy was in attendance this week at the US president's White House state dinner, where Trump interrupted a speech to heap praise on the six-time major champion.

Despite McIlroy's absence, the field is packed with big names. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler will be hoping to bounce back from losing to Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off at the RBC Heritage two weeks ago with victory at Trump National Doral this week.

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, will not be in the field this week, with the new world No 3 taking some time off to enjoy a well-earned break after securing back-to-back PGA Tour victories - the first player to do so since Scheffler in 2024.

He claimed victory at the PGA Tour's team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, last weekend, winning alongside his brother Alex Fitzpatrick, who also secured a tour card for the next two years and entry to the remaining signature events in 2026.

As a result, Alex will make his first start as a PGA Tour member this week in Miami.

"Just hopefully on the first tee I'll hit the fairway, and then I'll go from there," Alex said on his game plan for the signature event.

"I feel like my game is in good shape. I feel like I played really nicely last week and over the past couple of months, my game's improved a lot. So hopefully I can continue the form and see where that takes me this week.

"But, yeah, I have no expectations. Especially this week, I think it's going to be a whirlwind, and my head's going to be everywhere, but hopefully that calms down after this week and I kind of settle in."

Justin Rose is also due to make his return to the PGA Tour following The Masters. It's been a big week for the Englishman who , and will debut his brand new clubs, manufactured by the Formula 1 team's affiliate company, this weekend.

Players will compete for a $20m ($£14.8m) prize purse, with the winner expected to bank $3.6m (£2.67m).

Second place will bank $2.18m (£1.56m) while the golfer who finishes in last place will walk home with a $40,200 (£29,808) cheque.

Meanwhile, all-important FedExCup points will be up for grabs, with the winner set to bank 700 points.

Your Site will again be showing live broadcasts of all four rounds of the Cadillac Championship, which is set to take place between April 3.

Coverage of the opening two rounds will commence on Thursday and Friday from 4pm on Your Site Golf, with full round coverage starting at Your Site Main Event at 11pm.

Your Site Golf will also broadcast the final two rounds of the event, with coverage starting on Saturday and Sunday at 4pm.

Who will win the Cadillac Championship? Watch all four rounds of the PGA Tour Signature Event live on Your Site. Coverage of the opening round begins at 4pm on Thursday on Your Site Golf. or .

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