The pga tour returning to doral is now set for next week, with the Cadillac Championship scheduled at Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida. The event is the fifth PGA Tour signature event of the year, and the field was finalized on Friday evening, Eastern Time. The move has drawn attention because several top players are skipping the tournament before the PGA Championship.
Field Set For Miami As Big Names Sit Out
The tournament returns to Doral for the first time since 2016, when the WGC-Cadillac Championship last played there. The current event is part of the Signature Event series, a limited-field setup with a $20 million purse that places heavy value on qualification and sponsor exemptions. Two sponsor exemptions had not yet been finalized when the field discussion was active, and the format left room for late changes.
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Bob MacIntyre, Ludvig Aberg, and Matt Fitzpatrick are among the top-15 players who will skip next week’s stop in Miami. That leaves Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, among the highest-profile players confirmed for the event. The timing is a major factor, with the Cadillac Championship sitting directly before the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow and then the PGA Championship in Philadelphia.
The pga tour returning to doral also comes with a schedule problem that has become impossible to ignore: some players are willing to stack events, but not when a major championship is the third week in a row. That dynamic helps explain why a newly created Signature Event at an old Tour course has produced both strong interest and notable absences.
Immediate Reaction Centers On The Venue And The Schedule
Field uncertainty is one part of the story, but the venue itself has also drawn sharp reaction. Trump National Doral is owned by the Trump Organization, and the tournament’s announcement and field discussion have been intertwined with that fact. The criticism has focused less on the golf and more on the optics surrounding the site.
One unnamed commentator in the provided context argued that criticism of where the event is held is misplaced, while also saying the broader issue is the overuse of Signature Events. The same context describes Doral as one of the country’s best and most difficult golf courses, which adds to the expectation that the test in Miami will be demanding for the players who do show up.
McIlroy’s Absence Changes The Narrative
Rory McIlroy is not in the field, despite earlier speculation that he might appear after winning his second straight Masters. In April 2026, McIlroy said he planned to be more selective about the tournaments he plays and that he had a couple of weeks off before returning to competitive golf. The absence means he will not use the Cadillac Championship as a tune-up before the next major.
The pga tour returning to doral therefore lands as both a competitive event and a scheduling flashpoint. It is a significant stop, but it is also one that arrives amid a crowded stretch that has pushed several elite players to the sidelines.
What Happens Next
The final attention now turns to how the Cadillac Championship field performs in Miami and whether the late sponsor exemption decisions are finalized without further change. With the PGA Championship approaching on May 14, the coming days will show whether the Tour’s signature-event model can keep enough top players engaged when the calendar tightens. For now, the pga tour returning to doral is real, official, and already sparking the kind of debate the Tour was trying to avoid.
