The PGA Tour will return to Trump National Doral next week for the inaugural Cadillac Championship, and the field has taken its near-final shape. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is officially in. Masters champion Rory McIlroy is officially out. And in one of the most surprising twists of the new Signature Event, LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka is the first alternate.
The $20 million tournament runs April 29 through May 3 on the famed Blue Monster course in Miami, marking the Tour's first stop at Doral since 2016. Scheffler's commitment had been the marquee question heading into the week. He leads the FedEx Cup standings and remains the dominant figure in men's golf, and his name being added to the official entry list ended any speculation that he would take a second consecutive week off.
Koepka's status as first alternate raises the most intriguing storyline. The five-time major champion has not played a PGA Tour event since the 2024 PGA Championship, and his place at the front of the alternate queue means a single withdrawal would put a LIV Golf player back inside the ropes at a Tour Signature Event for the first time in years. Koepka and partner Shane Lowry missed the cut at this week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, freeing him to monitor the Doral situation.
McIlroy's absence is the more loaded talking point. The Northern Irishman's decision to skip the Cadillac Championship comes barely a week after he also passed on the RBC Heritage, where Matt Fitzpatrick beat Scheffler in a playoff. Together, the two skips could cost McIlroy several million dollars in Player Impact Program bonuses, with industry insiders suggesting the figure could climb as high as $5 million.
It is the second time McIlroy has chosen to bypass the new event at Trump National. The Masters champion has not publicly addressed his absence this week, but he has previously argued that he will only commit to events that match his schedule and his preparation goals heading into the major championships. With the PGA Championship at Aronimink looming in just over two weeks, his calendar appears to favour rest.
The Cadillac Championship is the second iteration of a Signature Event at Doral and replaces a chapter of PGA Tour history that ended when the Cadillac World Golf Championships left the property in 2016. Cadillac has returned as title sponsor, and the Tour has positioned the tournament as the centerpiece of a planned long-term presence in South Florida. Tickets, hospitality and parking are now on sale, and the field will be finalised once the Zurich Classic concludes its weekend in New Orleans.
For Scheffler, the trip to Miami offers a chance to reset after the Heritage playoff loss and to extend his FedEx Cup lead before the season's first major. For Koepka, it is a waiting game. And for McIlroy, the question of whether his absences will define his post-Masters season, or simply be remembered as a savvy professional managing his year, will hang over the Blue Monster all week.
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*Originally published on [Golf News Global](https://golfnews.global/article/cadillac-championship-2026-doral-scheffler-koepka-first-alternate-rory-skip). Visit for full coverage.*
