Cadillac Championship highlights: Recap of Thursday's first round

The 2026 Cadillac Championship is a new event on the PGA Tour's 2026 schedule, but it's not the first time the Tour has played the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral.

It was in 2016 that Adam Scott hoisted the trophy after winning the World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship in Miami. This week's event is a 72-man, no-cut tournament with everyone playing all four days.

2026 Cadillac Championship leaderboard

Keep tabs on the scores from all 72 golfers all week on the Cadillac Championship leaderboard. If you want an early peek at the Friday tee times, those can be found here. The Cadillac Championship one of eight signature events on the PGA Tour's 2026 schedule and one of five with no cut.

Cameron Young shoots 8-under 64 and leads after 18 holes

Young had four birdies on the front, four on the back and, most importantly, 0 bogeys on Thursday. He credited his putter after his round.

"I feel like I made a billion feet of putts, which I think works most places. It's just one of those days that each mistake I made I was not penalized as much as I could have been," Young said. "And every time my ball got near the hole it seemed to want to go in."

Spieth, tied with Alex Smalley for second, is a shot back as he seeks his best finish of 2026.

"Just have to stay really disciplined. Like you may hit a shot that something looks like can you get at a pin because the greens are big you just have to play away from it when you're in the rough or something like that. I think it's just, out here or any really hard golf course it's just recognizing that the par is a score and that's hard most of the courses we play it's a sprint," he said. "So when you're playing well you want to keep doing that, but you got to take your medicine sometimes. So I did that okay today."

Cameron Young, Jordan Spieth tied for lead

Young's birdie on 15 and Spieth's birdie on 13, his third in four holes, has knotted things up atop the board.

Jordan Spieth takes the outright lead

Five birdies and an eagle and Spieth has it to 7 under, good for the solo lead.

Caddies vs. turtles at the Cadillac

Adam Scott with a brainfart at the Cadillac

The 2016 champ at Doral with a big Thursday blunder. Read more about it here.

Inside the numbers at the Cadillac

329. That’s how many days entering this week it has been since Jordan Spieth has recorded a top-10 finish, (T-7 2025 the Memorial Tournament), his longest span in his PGA Tour professional career. Spieth doesn’t have a top 10 in his last 15 starts. But he did return to the top 50 of the OWGR for the first time in about nine months.

Who's in the field at the Cadillac Championship?

First, some names not playing this week: Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Bob MacIntyre and Xander Schauffele. But No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is there, headlining the tee sheet.

Breezes picking up at the Cadillac

Here's the weather forecast for Thursday at Doral, which is warm and sunny, although the breezes pick up as the day progresses.

Who to keep an eye on at the 2026 Cadillac

Adam Scott. Technically, he’s the defending champion at Trump National Doral, having won here in 2016, the last time the PGA Tour teed it up at the Blue Monster. Scott has made 11 career starts at Doral,the most starts of any player in the field this week.

Justin Rose. Along with Scott, the Englishman is one of two past champions at Doral’s Blue Monster in the field this week, having won the 2012 WGC Workday Championship. Rose ranks first on the PGA Tour this season in greens in regulation, hitting them at a clip of 71.98 percent, which is on track to be his highest percentage in a season in his Tour career. 

Cameron Young. Winner of the 2026 Players Championship, he already has three top-5 finishes through his first eight starts this season. He is the only player on the PGA Tour to rank outside the Top 100 in SG: Approach the Green (129th), Greens in Regulation (159th), and Proximity to Hole (T-141) in 2025 and inside the top 20 this season in all three categories: (2026: SG: Approach-the-Green (18th), GIR (T-15) and Proximity to Hole (second).

― Adam Schupak

Jordan Spieth continues to grind

Jordan Spieth, who has four top-15 finishes in 10 tournaments this season, has re-entered the list at No. 50. Spieth, who has a total of 26 weeks at No. 1 in the world on his resume, has missed just one cut during the 2026 season and finished T-12 at the Masters. Spieth hasn't been in the top 50 since last summer after the Open Championship, when he sat at No. 49. And the Texan continues to grind, as this stat attests.

What are the hole locations at Doral today?

Here's a look at the pin placements for the opening round of play.

How much money is on the line at the Blue Monster?

The total prize fund is $20 million, as it is at the other eight signature events in 2026, with the winner adding $3.6 million (before taxes) to his bank account.

Where are they playing the 2026 Cadillac Championship?

The PGA Tour is back at the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral for the first time since 2016 when the tournament was called the World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship. The golf course is ranked 10th in Florida on the latest Golfweek's Best 2025: Top public-access golf courses list. It's a par 72 that will play 7,739 yards this week. It was originally designed by Dick Wilson in 1962. In 2014, Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner renovated the layout. The Blue Monster will host the PGA Tour for a 56th time in 2026. It's one of nine current courses with more than 50 years of competition on the circuit.

What is the scoring record at the Blue Monster?

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson share the mark of 19 under, with Lefty doing it in 2009 and Tiger matching him in 2013. Tiger won there four times in all.