The PGA Tour continues this week with The American Express, taking place across three venues in La Quinta, California: the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, and La Quinta Country Club.
The 156-player field, with the top 65 including ties making it to the weekend, will all be competing for a share of the $8 million prize purse. The winner will collect The American Express title and a winner's check for $1.44 million. Hudson Swafford, who won the event last year, will not be in attendance as he has since defected to play LIV Golf.
Golf Course Information
The Stadium Course will be playing 7,187 yards long this week, the Nicklaus Tournament Course 7,147 yards, while La Quinta Country Club will be playing shorter at 7,060 yards. All of these venues are par 72 desert layouts, where the key to success will definitely involve a hot putter to grab all the birdie opportunities on offer in a low-scoring affair.
Weather and TV Coverage
The weather is forecast to be sunny and pleasant throughout the tournament, with breezes expected to peak at around 7mph. This event will be screened on Sky Sports Golf, with live coverage starting at 4:30 PM on Thursday afternoon.
The American Express Betting Tips
Tony Finau at 14/1 with PaddyPower 1-8 places
For my first and main selection in California, I'm going to strongly recommend Tony Finau at 14/1 with PaddyPower 1-8 places.
The 33-year-old gentle giant from Salt Lake City has lost his reputation for blowing leads and is now one of the most consistent players on the planet, hence why he's ranked the 12th-best player in the world at the moment.
Finau scooped no less than three titles in 2022, his most recent win was when he bagged the Houston Open and that can be backed up with both the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the 3M Open. He was also runner-up at both the RBC Canadian Open and the Mexico Open.
The American's only start this year was at the Sentry Tournament of Champions a fortnight ago where he finished T7th. On the stats front, he has a whole host of figures to boast on the PGA Tour: 3rd Lowest Round, 3rd Birdie Average, 2nd SG Total, 2nd 3 Putt Avoidance, 1st Putting Average, and finally 1st Scoring Average. Now correct me if I'm wrong here, but that's all figures in the Top 5 among the best players in the world and believe me when I say you won't find many players with better all-round stats if any.
I just have a feeling that this is going to be a fulfilling year for Tony Finau and I wouldn't be surprised if a Major beckons for this very humble and likeable golfer. It could all start this weekend when he scoops yet more silverware to add to the already busy trophy cabinet this weekend in The Golden State.
Xander Schauffele at 20/1 EW with Betfair 1-8 places
For my next best selection, I'm going to single out Xander Schauffele at 20/1 EW with Betfair 1-8 places.
The 29-year-old from San Diego will be playing in his own backyard this week and a return home to familiar surroundings could mean only one thing, another title in the bag beckons for the ever-talented Schauffele.
Is it just me or does this kid pop up on almost every leaderboard everywhere? Last year Xander landed not one but two of our 15 winners. He only won two tournaments in 2022 and I was all over both of them when he landed back-to-back victories at the Travelers Championship before heading over to Scotland and claiming the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.
Currently ranked the 6th best player in the world, Schauffele only entered 21 events last year but 16 of those were Top 20 finishes.
However it gets even better as eight of those were Top 10s with six of them inside the Top 5 including the two victories mentioned above, maybe that’s why he’s on just about every leaderboard. My only concern here is that he pulled out of the Sentry two weeks ago with a back injury but having done my research it doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about and he’s on the mend. He actually joked it’s because he lost too much weight after a planned diet so he seems good to go this week.
If he is then Xander Schauffele will be on that leaderboard once again for sure and seems the most likely winner in my book, especially with the home California crowd behind him all the way, he could be the Champ at La Quinta Country Club on Sunday evening.
Tom Kim 22/1 EW Unibet 1-6 places
For my final outright pick to win The American Express, I’m going to include Tom Kim 22/1 EW Unibet 1-6 places.
Now I’m fully aware that the 20-year-old new kid on the block from Seoul, South Korea missed the cut last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii but I’m more than willing to forget that just as much as him.
The previous week at the first event of the year on the PGA Tour he was 5th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions but when looking back to 2022, this young kid had a phenomenal year.
He's won the Wyndham Championship in his first full year on the PGA Tour and also bagged the Shriners Children’s Championship to become the only player since Tiger Woods to win two PGA Tour events before turning 21. Now remember he played most of the start of last year on the Asia Tour but when he arrived in the PGA scene, this is how it went.
In the fourteen events entered including majors, Tom Kim had eight Top 20 finishes with five of those inside the Top 10 including two victories mentioned above. He also finished 23rd at The US Open, honestly, it’s insane to think what this kid is going to achieve in the coming years if not weeks and months ahead. He’s a future World No. 1 for sure, even the bookies won’t take any bets on that achievement, it’s just a matter of when he’s already ranked the 14th best player on the planet.
The sky’s the limit for this talented new kid on the block so forget about last week just as he will and take a punt on Tom Kim to make it a hattrick of PGA Tour Crowns and go down in history as becoming the only player to win three titles in PGA history before his 21st birthday.
Golf NAP Bet
So all that’s left now is the customary match bet and for this week's Nap in the California sunshine, I’m going to stick with my main selection Tony Finau to get the better of Sungjae Im over 72 holes 10/11 Nap Bet365.
- Tony Finau at 14/1 with PaddyPower 1-8 places
- Xander Schauffele at 20/1 EW with Betfair 1-8 places
- Tom Kim 22/1 EW Unibet 1-6 places
- Tony Finau to beat Sungjae Im over 72 holes 10/11 Nap Bet365
In December 2020 we sadly 
