The American Express
The Stadium Course at PGA West (Host)
Nicklaus Tournament Course
La Quinta Country Club
La Quinta, CA
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Chalk
My thoughts on the top players for betting purposes:
Justin Thomas (+1200): After favorite Xander Schauffele dipped on Monday, the man who shared third with him last year moved up. The two-time PGA Championship winner returned to the Coachella Valley last year for the first time since 2015. Playing this three-course rotation for the first time, he led the field in Birdies (31) and tied the course record (61) at the Stadium Course. Not bad.
Sungjae Im (+1200): Never missed the weekend here but only has one top-10 result from six visits. All six paydays are T25 or better. Safe as you like.
Sam Burns (+1600): In his three previous visits to Kapalua, the new father as of May had never cashed inside the top 25. Circling 28 birdies against five bogeys at the Plantation Course, he took home T8 money. Leading the field in Par-5 scoring last year, the five-time winner on TOUR was the 36-hole leader before drifting to T6. All aboard!
Patrick Cantlay (+1800): He hasn’t won since the 2022 BMW Championship but has an excellent record in Las Vegas, plus three top-10 paydays and a share of the course record here. I’ll save him for more difficult tracks.
Tony Finau (+2500): Cashing fourth in 2021 is his only top-10 result in seven trips. Easily overpowering the three courses, he needs a banner week from the putter to contend.
Tom Kim (+2800): Surely he recovered from watching his mates in TGL get smoked on Tuesday night. A two-time winner in the Las Vegas desert, he’s missed the cut twice in three visits. T6 in 2023 included 62 at NT.
NOW PLAYING:
| Host Course | Stadium Course at PGA West |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,210 |
| Par: | 72 (36-36). |
| Greens: | Overseeded Poa annua (TifEagle); 7,000 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | 11 feet. |
| Rough: | Overseed at 1 inch. Dormant Tifgreen Bermuda at 2 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | Over 90 bunkers; seven holes with water in play. |
| Architect(s): | Pete Dye (1986). |
| Defending Champion (event): | Jon Rahm (-27; not entered). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Bill Haas (not on this rotation). |
| Course Record (last): | 61; Justin Thomas (Round 3, 2024), Patrick Cantlay (Round 4, 2021). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (2016-current rotation): | 259; Nick Dunlap (-29). |
| Fact of the Week: | Only six international winners from the previous 65 events. |
| Fact of the Week II: | Johnny Miller is the only player to defend the title (1975-76). |
Notes:
- Field of 156.
- First multi-course event of 2024 and first pro-am.
- The OWGR is represented by 19 of the top 50.
- The top 65 and ties will make the cut and play the weekend after 54 holes (play each course once).
- $8.8 million – $1.584 million – 500 FedExCup points – Sentry and Masters ticket punched.
- Points are available for the Aon Next 5 for Pebble Beach qualification.
Recent Winners
2025 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Nick Taylor |
| The American Express | |
| Farmers Insurance Open |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray (Rest in Peace) |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Robert MacIntyre (2) |
| 152nd Open Championship | Xander Schauffele (2) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| 2024 Paris Olympics | Scottie Scheffler (7) |
| 3M Open | Jhonattan Vegas |
| Wyndham Championship | Aaron Rai (first time) |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Hideki Matsuyama (2) |
| BMW Championship | Keegan Bradley |
| The TOUR Championship | Scottie Scheffler (8) |
| FedEx Cup Fall | |
| Procore Championship | Patton Kizzire |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Kevin Yu (first time) |
| Black Desert Championship | Matt McCarty (first time) |
| Shriners Children’s Open | JT Poston |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Nico Echavarria |
| World Wide Technology Champ | Austin Eckroat (2) |
| Butterfield Bermuda Champ | Rafa Campos (first time) |
| The RSM Classic | Maverick McNealy (first time) |
Recent Winners – The American Express
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2024 | Nick Dunlap (-29) | First amateur to win on TOUR since 1991; First TOUR start (sponsor’s exemption); Tournament scoring record. |
| 2023 | Jon Rahm (-27) | Played in the final group with Davis Thompson and beat him by a shot to win for the second time. |
| 2022 | Hudson Swafford (-23) | Defeated Tom Hoge by two shots to win for the second time. |
| 2021 | Si Woo Kim (-23) | Only made two bogeys for the week on the SC/NT rotation to win by one. |
| 2020 | Andrew Landry (-26) | Tied the tournament scoring record winning by two. |
| 2019 | Adam Long (-26) | Became the first rookie to win since Jhonattan Vegas (2011). |
| 2018 | Jon Rahm (-22) | Needed a playoff to knock off Andrew Landry. |
| 2017 | Hudson Swafford (-20) | Wet, windy weekend produced the highest winning total in the new rota. |
| 2016 | Jason Dufner (-25) | Saw off David Lingmerth in a playoff in the first iteration of Stadium Course, Nicklaus Tournament Course, and LQCC |
Angles
- The Nicklaus Tournament Course plays to Par-72 and 7,147 yards. Playing 7,000 square feet on average, the Overseeded Poa annua greens are the largest of the three courses. Dylan Wu (2023) and Will Zalatoris (2022) have posted 61 here.
- La Quinta Country Club is known for premium putting surfaces and usually plays the easiest of the trio. All three courses have minimal rough and green speeds that won’t exceed 11 feet. Playing to Par-72 and 7,060 yards, it ranks as one of the easiest tracks on TOUR annually. Adam Hadwin posted 59 in Round 3 in 2017.
- All nine winners have posted 20-under or better to win and have ranked in the top 10 in Par-4 and Par-5 scoring.
- The HIGHEST cut in this rotation in the last three editions was 7-under. The LOWEST cut in this rotation was 13-UNDER-PAR last year.
- First tournament with Poa annua greens.
Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:
Davis Thompson (+4000): Runner-up in 2022 can send it and putt it. Good combo.
Harry Hall (+4500): After making nine birdies in one round at Kapalua, his career-best, he put 10 circles on the card in Round 1 at the Sony Open. The Las Vegas resident has cashed T14 or better in his last five on TOUR, including T10-T8 to open the new season. Bang.
Cameron Young (+4000): Ok, I’ll bite. He putted GREAT at Kapalua and hit it like shit. ANYTHING with the flat stick this week and he should contend.
Nick Dunlap (+5500): First defense. No back-to-back winner since Johnny Miller in the mid-1970s. No, thank you. Let him enjoy the love this week.
Nico Echavarria (+6000): Here it is: Four T6 or better results in his last six include a win, T2, and a playoff loss last week. I mean…
Eric Cole (+7000): Posted 20-under through 54 holes last year, but an even-par 72 in Round 4 knocked him back to T21. Lesson learned. Solo fifth last week at Waialae with 23 birdies (T1).
Adam Hadwin (+7500): A perfect nine from nine comes with three podium finishes and five total top-10 results.
Rico Hoey (+10000): Super tee-to-green, he hit the podium with T3 in Las Vegas.
Alex Smalley (+10000): Three straight in the T20 range.
Andrew Putnam (+12000): Seven straight. T36 or better in six.
Frankie Capan III (+15000): No pressure and handled a few shootouts on the KFT last season. Play freely.
Sam Ryder (+27500): Cashed in six of seven visits. Toss him in.
Taylor Montgomery (+40000): If his shoulders feel good, his putter can bail him out.
Good luck!
One and Done – Spotter’s Game
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
With EIGHT Signature Events spread throughout the season, player management becomes a major issue. These events do NOT include the four majors or THE PLAYERS Championship. These events do NOT include the FedExCup Playoffs. This game ends with the BMW Championship.
LAST WEEK – Sony Open in Hawaii
MY CHOICE: Russell Henley – T10
That was a wild ride, man! For the sake of my sanity, I will NOT relieve his putting woes from inside 10 feet in this column. Sitting three back entering the final round, I was pleased to have a chance. I’ll take this result and run. Nothing wrong with back-to-back T10 or better to start.
| Event | Selection | Place | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Sungjae Im | 3rd | $1,360,000 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Russell Henley | T10 | 195,025 |
| The American Express | |||
| Farmers Insurance |
THIS WEEK – The American Express
Back to the mainland this week for the first Pro-Am and multi-course event!
Two major differences this week:
- Pro-Am
- Three courses in play = 54-hole cut
Over the years, this event has had the full bingo card of winners. Major champions, journeymen, youngsters, veterans, and everything in between.
When a minimum of 20-under is required to contend, heck last year that was good for T21, anything can and does happen. The previous two years, 10-under or better was required to play on Sunday.
The Stadium Course has just enough trouble to turn 64 into 74 but in classic Pete Dye design, great shots result in fantastic scoring chances.
There’s too much volatility this week for me to worry about a top 10 or winner from a premium player.
MY CHOICE: Course Horse Adam Hadwin
Others to consider
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Davis Thompson, J.T. Poston, Si Woo Kim, Tom Hoge
Glass Houses 