The most grueling stretch of the PGA Tour season begins Thursday in the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral outside Miami.
It’s the first of back-to-back signature events — the tour heads next week to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Truist Championship, where another $20 million purse will be on the line.
Then it’s off to the PGA Championship on May 14-17 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
“When you have a major championship as the last one, I think that creates a different kind of a different cadence to it,” world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler said. “Major championships are just the hardest events.”
Scheffler is in the field this week at the Blue Monster, which last hosted a PGA Tour event in 2016.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy is skipping his second straight signature event after winning the Masters.
Here are the PGA Tour power rankings at the halfway point of the PGA Tour season:
1. Scottie Scheffler
For all the talk about Scottie’s game being off this season, he won the American Express on Jan. 22 and was runner-up twice. He lost to McIlroy by one stroke in the Masters when he didn’t have his A-game, then fell to Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff in the RBC Heritage. He has 29 straight top-25 finishes on tour; his last finish outside the top 25 was a tie for 33rd in the 2024 BMW Championship.
Scheffler’s game is heating up ahead of the PGA Championship, where he’ll try to defend his title. He’ll try to complete the career Grand Slam in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, New York (June 18-21).
“I would love to be able to win the U.S. Open,” Scheffler told reporters Wednesday. “It’s a tournament that I love. I love my country, I would love to be able to win my national open. And I’ve had some success at that tournament before, and I think it suits my style of game. I’m excited to go to Shinnecock this year and hopefully get it done.”
McIlroy is still behind Scheffler in the world rankings, but he picked up the biggest victory of the season when he won a green jacket at Augusta National for the second straight year. Even though he’s skipping this week’s tournament at Trump National Doral, he received a shoutout from President Donald Trump at Tuesday night’s White House State Dinner for King Charles III.
3. Matt Fitzpatrick
The soon-to-be father picked up his fourth PGA Tour victory when his memorable approach shot on the 18th hole led to a birdie to take down Scheffler in a playoff in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Then Fitzpatrick won the next week when he teamed up with his younger brother, Alex, to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans by one stroke. The best part: Alex received a PGA Tour card, as well as invitations to the PGA Championship and next year’s Players Championship and all of the remaining signature events in 2026, including the Cadillac Championship.
It’s a shame that Morikawa battled a back injury over the past several weeks. After ending a 28-month winless drought in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Feb. 12, he finished in the top 10 in each of the past four tournaments that he finished since Pebble Beach. Even while battling his back, Morikawa went 11 under over the final 54 holes of the Masters to tie for seventh at 9 under.
After finally winning on tour near the end of the 2025 season, Young picked up his signature victory in the Players on March 12. He finished in the top 25 in each of his past five starts, including a tie for third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Masters. He ranks in the top 10 on tour in strokes gained: total (1.422), tee to green (1.296) and off the tee (.611).
Gotterup and Matt Fitzpatrick are the only two-time winners on tour this season. Gotterup won the season-opening Sony Open in Hawaii and survived a playoff in the WM Phoenix Open. He tied for 24th in his Masters debut, which is no small feat, and tied for 25th in the RBC Heritage. He ranks fourth on tour in driving distance (320.1 yards).
The former Clemson star became the first golfer since Pat Fitzsimons in 1975 to win The Genesis Invitational in his tournament debut on Feb. 19. He has been a model of consistency with eight top 25s, four top 10s and three top fives in 10 starts. No one on tour has putted better than Bridgeman this season; he ranks first in strokes gained: putting (1.201) and third in three-putt avoidance (.69%).
After starting 2026 with back-to-back missed cuts, Bhatia found his form on the West Coast and carried it to Florida, where he won on tour for the third time in a playoff in the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A missed cut in the Masters has been his only blemish since January. His iron play and putting have been spectacular so far this season; he ranks 10th in strokes gained: approach (.720) and fifth in putting (.792).
Rose, 45, has fond memories of the Blue Monster — he won the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral. It will be his first start since he lost a late lead in the final round of the Masters by carding a 2-over 38 on the second nine at Augusta National.
“Just like a little hollow empty feeling for a few days,” Rose said. “But then last week actually kind of kicked back into gear, got my motivation back, enthusiasm. [I] had one of my best training weeks I’ve had in a long time in terms of physically in [the] gym, doing all the work I needed to do. I feel like I needed to give myself that time and not be around thousands of people that are reflecting on that close call too. I just needed to hear my own thoughts rather than everybody else’s for a week.”
Åberg hasn’t yet lifted a trophy this season, but he finished in the top 25 in each of his past six starts. He tied for third in the API and for fifth in the Players. He’s doing almost everything well, which is why he’s fifth in strokes gained: total (1.580).
The two-time major championship winner looks back in form after struggling with a painful rib injury for much of 2025. He finished in the top 12 in five of his past six starts, including solo third in the Players and a tie for ninth in the Masters. He ranks in the top 15 on tour in strokes gained: total (1.388), tee to green (1.104) and approach (.623).
The reigning FedEx Cup champion seemed to be in good shape heading into the Masters, but he tied for 33rd at Augusta National and then 52nd at Hilton Head. He had four top 10s in his first five starts in 2026. His putter has let him down this season — he’s 108th in strokes gained: putting (-.190).
Henley followed up his third-place finish in the Masters, the best of his career, with a tie for 25th in the RBC Heritage. He finished in the top 25 in each of the seven tournaments in which he made the cut. His normally sharp iron play has been a little off this season, but his putting has helped make up for it.
International team captain Geoff Ogilvy has to be pleased with Kim’s play ahead of this year’s Presidents Cup outside Chicago. The South Korean golfer has seven top 25s and five top 10s in 11 starts. He was runner-up in the Farmers Insurance Open and was third in Phoenix and Hilton Head. Kim has done all of that while ranking 117th in putting (-.227).
Knapp, 31, seems close to breaking through again. He has seven top 25s and 5 top 10s in nine starts. He played some of his best golf in the biggest events, finishing in a tie for eighth in Pebble Beach, solo sixth in the Genesis and 11th in the Masters. He’s 27th in approach (.448), seventh in putting (.744) and sixth in driving distance (319.8 yards).
A well-publicized missed cut in the Masters and tie for 42nd in the RBC Heritage slowed down MacIntyre’s momentum. He had five top 25s and three top 10s, including solo fourth in the Players and a tie for second in the Valero Texas Open.
McIntyre raised eyebrows when he told Golf Digest: “At the end of the day, the good people are still good people whether they went to LIV or stayed. There are guys on the PGA Tour I don’t particularly like, either. I’m not on any boards; I’m not getting involved. I’m just going to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as I can every week and go back to Scotland.”
Another golfer who might give the International team a puncher’s chance in the Presidents Cup, Lee tied for second at Pebble Beach and for third in the Texas Children’s Houston Open. The Australian golfer missed the cut in the Masters and tied for 60th in the RBC Heritage.
The 2021 Masters champion has played consistently well this season, but hasn’t been in contention to win that often. He lost to Gotterup in a playoff in Phoenix and tied for eighth in Pebble Beach. This week will be his first start since tying for 12th in the Masters, in which he hit his irons well. Matsuyama ranks 107th off the tee (-.099), 104th in driving distance (300.7 yards) and 72nd in driving accuracy (59.7%).
Straka, a four-time winner on tour, had a couple of good finishes during the West Coast swing and then tied for eighth in the Players. But his past three starts were a missed cut in the Texas Open, tie for 41st in the Masters and tie for 42nd in the RBC Heritage.
The best story in professional men’s golf — Woodland’s comeback from brain surgery and PTSD — culminated with his stunning victory in the Texas Children’s Houston Open on March 26. He tied for eighth in his most recent start in Hilton Head. Even at 41, Woodland still bombs it off the tee; he’s second in driving distance (323.5 yards).
Just missed the cut: Sam Burns, Ryan Gerard, Adam Scott, J.J. Spaun, Daniel Berger, Nico Echavarria, Sahith Theegala, Harris English.
