Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar: Who is the stronger contender at the Cadillac Championship?
Phil Michelson and Matt Kuchar are in the field of the Cadillac Championship. Both players are playing well but it is yet to be seen who is the stronger contender at the TPC Blue Monster Doral Miami in Florida.
Both the Americans are in good form and competing well for the title of the World Golf Championship.
Round one has been completed and they were tied for the 25th position on the leaderboard. They both scored equal to par, but the numbers of bogeys and birdies are different.
The 41-year-old Mickelson carded four birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey as well. He had played an amazing round, but was unable to be under-par at the end of the day.
Similarly, the 33-year-old Kuchar also displayed average performance. He carded three birdies and three unimpressive bogeys.
Both are standing at the same position of the leaderboard after the first round. Hence, they are in direct competition, but who is the stronger, Kuchar or Mickelson? Only time will tell.
This is the most appealing part of the tournament, when an American is competing against another American for the glory of the title and the prize money.
However, only one player can become the proud winner of the Cadillac Championship, if he finds it comfortable to compete well against the rival and other field members at the same time.
The field of the Cadillac Championship is impressive and has all the world leaders. Hence, to score is not the question any more. A player has to deliver the best to gain a lead over the others.
Now if we look at the current year statistics of both the American rivals, then it will be easy, at the end of this feature, to declare one as the best.
Starting with Mickelson, the world No. 12, he has done a great job since January. He played five tournaments on the PGA and won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am impressively.
Later, he also showed his massive strokes at the Northern Trust Open and finished second by facing a defeat in a play-off mode.
His scoring average, driving distance and accuracy were superb. He also bolstered his ranking by many amazing finishes in the last month.
He did not play the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship as the max tournament limit had reached. Nevertheless, he impressively gained respect without showing presence at the mega event.
Now speaking about Kuchar, the world no. 14 ranked, he has played four tournaments in the current year.
He has not won any of the titles so far and his best finish was at the Accenture Match Play Championship on the fifth position.
In three other tournaments, he landed in the top-25 two times and secured the 33rd position at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
He played all the events with normal scoring average, driving distance and accuracy.
If we compare both the Americans, then Mickelson maintains potential lead over Kuchar. The reason is simple. He is the winner of one event and also secured a runner-up position in 2012.
Hence, he has ample opportunities to lead at the mega event of the World Golf Championships – Cadillac Championship, being played at the TPC Blue Monster Doral Miami.
However, on the other hand, Kuchar can give him tough times in the coming three rounds. So Mickelson has to display some extra efforts on the course and also has to score well.
If he manages to remain under-par throughout the event, he can easily defeat Kuchar in the end.
Similarly, impressive birdies and eagles will also help the American to lead over the other members in the field, which contains top-50 world golfers.
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