Max Homa hits from the 17th tee during the third round of The American Express golf tournament on … [+]
The first PGA Tour event of the year in California tees on Thursday, Jan. 16 at The American Express. The tournament returns to the Pro-Am format for the second-straight year with three par 72 courses on the rotation offering very little rough but plenty of water to navigate on more than 25% of the holes. A mixed group of pros and amateurs play three different golf courses Thursday-Saturday before a 54-hole cut. The remaining top-70 players (and ties) with lowest scores advance to Sunday’s final round on the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course at PGA West.
Last fall, the course went through a meticulous restoration to recapture its original glory. The back nine is most challenging, highlighted by the iconic island green on hole #17 – aptly named “Alcatraz” – and the daunting, water-guarded 18th.
The 156-player field in The American Express includes eight of the top-25 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, but not Xander Schauffele, who dropped out this week. A total of 19 of the top-50 players in the OWGR are in the field, and they will produce birdies in bunches across the three courses. The Stadium Course at PGA West has new Tif-Eagle Bermuda greens that are 20-30% larger averaging about 7,000 square feet. Restored greenside bunkers are closer to the putting surfaces.
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But before you fire in your outright win bets or top finishing position plays on the top players, know that Nick Dunlap won last year’s American Express tournament at odds of 400/1 at select sportsbooks – while becoming the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Dunlap’s 29-under-par finish was the lowest winning score since the event went to 72 holes in 2012.
Theare so many quality players outside the top-50 playing this week, including last week’s Sony Open top-10 finishers Eric Cole, J.J. Spaun, Adam Schenk and Harry Hall to name a few, plus last year’s Sentry winner Chris Kirk. Note that last week’s Sony playoff winner and runner-up Nick Taylor and Nico Echavarria moved up from No. 73 and 66 to No. 29 and 41 this week while also shooting up the FedExCup Points standings with both no in the top-5 to start the year.
The 2025 American Express tournament follows Hideki Matsuyama’s win in the Sentry in Maui and Nick Taylor’s improbable playoff win in the Sony Open following a chip-in eagle on the 72nd hole. Both Taylor and runner-up Nico Echavarria had pre-tournament odds of 80/1 to 100/1 at top online sportsbooks.
The PGA Tour and leading online sportsbooks support responsible gambling, and encourage people to bet responsibly and sensibly and seek help with any addictions or problem gambling.
Odds to Win 2025 The American Express
Golf odds from FanDuel and leading online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on props and live betting. Odds adjust during and following rounds.
- 12900: Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im
- +1600: Sam Burns
- +1800: Patrick Cantlay
- +2200: Tony Finau
- +2800: Tom Kim
- +3300: Wyndham Clark, Max Greyserman, Kurt Kitayama
- +4000: Davis Thompson, Cameron Young, Si Woo Kim
- +4500: Harry Hall
- +5500: Will Zalatoris, Nick Dunlap, J.T. Postno
- +6000: Ben Griffin, Sepp Straka, Nicolas Echavarria
- +6000: J.J. Spaun, Patrick Fishburn, Tom Hoge
- +6500: Brian Harman
- +7000: Jason Day, Eric Cole
- +7500: Mac Meissner, Cam Davis, Keith Mitchell, Adam Hadwin
- +8000: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Beau Hossler, Lee Hodges
- +8000: Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen, Jhonattan Vegas
- +9000: Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Patrick Rodgers
- +9000: Rickie Fowler, Lucas Glover, Kevin Yu
- +10000: Rico Hoey, Jesper Svensson, Doug Kim
- +10000: Billy Horschel, Michael Kim, Alex Smalley
Other longshots and top finishing position odds: +11000 to +15000 – Erik Van Rooyen, Harris English, Chan Kim, Chris Kirk, Mark Hubbard, Mackenzie Hughes, Joe Highsmith, Taylor Moore, Max Mcgreevy, Andrew Putnam, Bud Cauley, Charley Hoffman, Frankie Capan, Matt Kuchar, Justin Lower, Adam Svensson, Antoine Rozner, Henrik Norlander, Chandler Phillips, Jackson Suber
- 72-Hole Winning Score: O/U 259.5 (Par 72)
How To Understand Golf Betting Statistics And Strokes Gained
A look at the three golf courses, stats, picks and insight from FanDuel Research includes:
PGA West (Stadium Course, Pete Dye)
- Par 72 at 7,210 yards – last year 1,128 birdies, 24 eagles (2 rounds)
Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course
- Par 72 at 7,147 yards – last year 803 birdies, 25 eagles
La Quinta Country Club Course
- Par 72 at 7,060 yards – last yaer 713 birides and 29 eagles
The pro-am pro-am setup has a cut following three rounds, one on each course, and the remaining players complete Sunday’s final round on the Pete Dye Stadium Course, which is the only coure with ShotLink data.
The winner receives $1.54 million from a purse of $8.8 million.
How to watch The American Express And Field
Fans can watch streaming coverage of The American Express with PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, and NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App will offer live simulcasts of Golf Channel and NBC’s coverage.
- Thursday-Sunday: 4-7 p.m. ET on Golf Channel and NBC Sports App
PGA Tour Radio on SiriusXM Channel 92 also carries The American Express 1-7 p.m.
The American Express Golf Picks
Golf picks are updated weekly Tuesday and Wednesday as selected golf analysts, handicappers and noted golf media provide contributors picks to win, props and additional information you can bet on.
- GolfBet: Thompson, IM, Poston, Hadwin, Cole, Zalatoris
- FanDuel: Cantlay, Clark, Poston, Day plus all top 10/20 odds
- Bamford Golf: Greyserman, Meissner, Cauley, M. Kim
- GolfStats: Thomas, Burns, Hadwin plus top contenders Im, Cantlay, Zalatoris, Cole, Harman
- Golf Digest: Fantasy picks, DFS plus betting: Young, Si Woo Kim, Cantlay, Hall, Greyserman, Burns
Last year’s top-10 finishers at The American Express: Dunlap (1), C. Bezuidenhout (2) Thomas (T3), Yu (T3), Burns (T6), Hadwin (T6), M. Kim (T6), Griffin (T9), Mitchell (T9).
Tournament Matchups
Plenty of tournament matchups to evaluate at Circa Sportsbook – which provides an extensive golf betting menu with best odds.
Biggest And Best Las Vegas Sportsbooks
Other leading online sportsbooks tournament matchups and Round 1 at Fanduel. Check back for more including picks.
- Thomas (-140) vs. Cantlay (+110)
- Zalatoris (-125) vs. Cole (-105)
- Poston (-120) vs. Harman (+100)
- Clark (-110) vs. Greyserman (-110) – Bet Greyserman
- Griffin (-110) vs. Straka (-110)
- Kitayama (-115) vs. Si Woo Kim (-105)
- Cam Davis (-115) vs. N. Taylor (-105)
- Young (-115) vs. Hall (-105)
- Day (-115) vs. Mitchell (-105)
- Thomas (-120) vs. Burns (-105) – Round 1
- Cantlay (-140) vs. Clark (+105) – Round 1
- Young (-125) vs. Harman (+100) – Round 1
- Thompson (-140) vs. Dunlap (+105) – Round 1
Featured Groups
PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ (Local Pacific Time) and tee times.
- Thursday 9:15 am Hole #1: M. Kuchar, C. Davis (Stadium)
- Thursday 9:58 am Hole #1: S. Im, M. Hughes (Stadium Course)
- Thursday 8:41 am Hole #10: T. Finau, W. Zalatoris (La Quinta)
- Thursday 9:58 am Hole #1: J. Thomas, J. Day (La Quinta)
- Thursday 9:47 am Hole #1: N. Taylor, T. Kim (Stadium Course
- Thursday 9:58 am Hole #1: S. Im, M. Hughes (Stadium Course)
- Thursday 9:58 Hole #10: J. Knapp, JT Poston (Nicklaus Course)
- Thursday 10:20 am Hole #10: T. Hoge, C. Young (Nicklaus)
Featured holes: Par 3’s at 4, 13, 17 and Par 5 at 16
More golf and betting news, odds, stats and memorable moments with inspiring stories ahead. Watch each week as the PGA pros fire for more birdies, and fans shoot for more fairways and greens in pursuit of profit while watching and wagering on golf.
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