Event Primer: CA Championship

By Bryan Douglass

World Golf Championships - CA Championship


Doral Golf Resort & Spa @ Miami, Florida

- Dates: Thursday, March 11th - Sunday, March 14th
- 2010 Purse: $8,500,000 (Winning Share: $1,400,000)
- FedEx Cup Points: 500

Tournament Schedule

First Round - Thursday, March 11 - 2:00pm EST The Golf Channel
Second Round - Friday, March 12 - 2:00pm EST The Golf Channel
Third Round - Saturday, March 13 - 2:00pm EST NBC
Final Round - Sunday, March 14 - 3:00pm EST NBC


The Course



Doral Golf Resort & Spa - The Blue Monster Course
Course Par Value: 72
Course Yardage: 7,266


For 45 years, the Doral Golf Resort & Spa has served as a franchise venue of the PGA. Opened in 1962, the Blue Monster course is ranked among the toughest in the nation and has consistently tested the best the professional ranks have to offer. The trademark Florida palms do nothing to deter ocean winds that lace the state with regularity, and that ocean is brought to mind throughout the course with large, vast ponds and lakes, found on nearly every hole on the course.

Reports indicate the course has undergone a full-scale resurfacing, thus the greens should be as plush as ever and the fairways should be in supreme condition. The courses of this area are damp with humidity and may not emphasize length as much as those in the desert, yet the construction of those links will grant a helping hand to those that stroke it long off the tee. The list of winners from this event shows a supreme offering of thorough skills will be needed to compete and this year's field does nothing to suggest this will change. You must putt, you must hit irons, you must place for benefit off the tee, and you must be accurate.

Holes to Watch


Hole 8 (Par 5, 560 yds): This is one hole that will give those lacking length off the tee an advantage. A sizeable lake comes into play for those that can reach it, thus you can expect more than a few to grab fairway wood or long iron off the bat. That will put emphasis on location for the drive, leading to a landing area littered with gigantic, waving palm trees and guarded by sand on the right. We will see a fair number of these professional golfers reaching the green in two, but judging the distance on that first shot and placing it correctly is of crucial importance.

Hole 18 (Par 4, 467 yds): This hole is often ranked as one of the most difficult finishing stages on the Tour, often playing into strong winds that can swirl from left to right. The fairway is extremely tight (just 25 yards across) for those that shoot to 320 yards and over with consistency, but that can widen for those that fade it beyond to a widening landing pad. The green is long and narrow with nothing but water to be found to the left, making an error off the tee as challenging as any stroke on the course. If this tourney is close, this hole will be amazing.


2009 Leaderboard
PLACE PLAYER FINAL

1 Phil Mickelson -19 (269)
2 Nick Watney -18 (270)
3 Jim Furyk -16 (272)
4 Jeev M. Singh -14 (274)
T5 Oliver Wilson -13 (275)
T5 Camilo Villegas -13 (275)
T7 Thomas Aiken -12 (276)
T7 Soren Kjeldsen -12 (276)
T9 Tiger Woods -11 (277)
T9 Rod Pampling -11 (277)
T9 Kenny Perry -10 (277)
T9 Justin Leonard -10 (277)
T13 Sean O'Hair -10 (278)
T13 Ian Poulter -10 (278)
T13 Steve Stricker -10 (278)
T13 Prayad Marksaeng -10 (278)
T13 Soren Hansen -10 (278)
T13 Alvaro Quiros -10 (278)
T13 Charley Hoffman -10 (278)

2008 Leaderboard
PLACE PLAYER FINAL

1 Geoff Ogilvy -17 (271)
T2 Jim Furyk -16 (272)
T2 Retief Goosen -16 (272)
T2 Vijay Singh -16 (272)
5 Tiger Woods -15 (273)
T6 Steve Stricker -13 (275)
T6 Nick O'Hern -13 (275)
T6 Graeme Storm -13 (275)
T9 Zach Johnson -12 (276)
T9 Adam Scott -12 (276)
11 Soren Kjeldsen -11 (277)
T12 K.J. Choi -10 (278)
T12 Anders Hansen -10 (278)
T12 Tim Clark -10 (278)

2007 Leaderboard
PLACE PLAYER FINAL

1 Tiger Woods -5 (275)
2 Brett Wetterich -5 (275)
T3 Sergio Garcia -5 (275)
T3 Robert Allenby -5 (276)
T3 Geoff Ogilvy -4 (276)
T6 Aaron Baddeley -4 (276)
T6 Nick O'Hern -4 (276)
T6 Niclas Fasth -3 (277)
T9 Paul Casey -3 (277)
T9 Zach Johnson -1 (279)
T11 Ernie Els -1 (279)
T11 Robert Karlsson -1 (279)
T11 Thomas Bjorn E (280)
T11 Vijay Singh E (280)
T11 Tom Pernice, Jr. E (280)
T16 Ian Poulter E (280)
T16 Dean Wilson E (280)
T16 Charles Howell III E (280)


The Field



Much like the first WGC event of the season, the Accenture Match Play Championships (won a few weeks ago by Ian Poulter), the field for the CA Championship is designed to entice the upper crust of the professional golf world from all around the planet. The purse is as big as it gets in the PGA, the venue is as storied and respected as any non-major course, and the list of competitors is as strong as any we will see this season.

Phil Mickelson will be on hand to defend his '09 title. The '08 winner, Geoff Ogilvy, will be there as well. The winner from '05, '06, and '07 will not (that being Tiger Woods). The rest of the world's best will be in contention. The qualification criteria can be found here:

http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r473/field.html

As we type, this field is not set (Camilo Villegas has just wrapped the Honda Classic). The link provided above for qualifications will also hold the field once announced, but we can guarantee guys like Steve Stricker, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Hunter Mahan, Sean O'Hair, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Robert Allenby, Kenny Perry, Ross Fisher, Lucas Glover, Anthony Kim, Robert Karlsson, and Martin Kaymer will be in the mix.

The field will be posted in the AM on Monday.

Enjoy.