Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster course hosted its first PGA Tour round in 10 years on Thursday, and Cameron Young wasted little time making the most of it. Young shot an eight-under 64 in windy conditions to grab the early lead at the 2026 Cadillac Championship, piling up eight birdies and no bogeys.
The round fit the way Young described the course: straight, visible and not trying to trick anyone. He said the Blue Monster is “pretty much right in front of you for the most part,” that it “doesn’t try to hide anything,” and that learning it was “not a huge deal.” He also said the greens were not particularly firm, which made it possible to be aggressive into them.
Scottie Scheffler was close behind the pace, finishing the first round at one under, while Jordan Spieth went even lower with a seven-under 65 despite limited preparation. Spieth said he played only one 9-hole practice round at the Blue Monster before the week, not counting Wednesday’s pro-am, and called it “not super tricky.”
That simplicity is part of what stands out after years of the Blue Monster carrying a reputation as a hard test for the world’s best players. On Thursday, it looked less like a maze and more like a course that asked players to hit the shots in front of them, with Scheffler saying there were not a ton of decisions off the tee and that most of what needed to be done could be seen from the start. The old monster appears to have had some of the monster taken out of it.
For Young, the opening round was the cleanest answer to the layout’s new look. For Spieth and Scheffler, it suggested that a course once known for forcing mistakes may now reward players who see the targets clearly and attack them. If Thursday was any guide, the 2026 Cadillac Championship will be decided less by survival at Trump Doral than by who can keep making birdies there.
