This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
The American Express
Courses: PGA West Stadium Course [Host] (7,210 yards, par 72), La Quinta Country Club (7,060 yards, par 72), PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course (7,147 yards, par 72)
Purse: $8,800,000
Winner: $1,584,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
A year ago at The American Express we saw something we hadn't seen on the PGA Tour since 1991. Nick Dunlap was one of the top college golfers in the world and got a spot in the field in Palm Springs after his victory at the U.S. Amateur the year prior. It was a good opportunity for him to get a feel for what he needed to work on to compete on the PGA Tour level. Instead he shocked the world becoming the first amateur to win on Tour since Phil Mickelson. Dunlap decided to turn professional the next week and later won again at the Barracuda Championship in July. A year later Dunlap returns to The AmEx as the No. 32 ranked player and is looking to kickstart a big age 21 season.
Dunlap's victory in 2024 was not just against any field. It was against the best field that this tournament has ever seen. 2025 will once again see a number of high profile players tee it up in the first event on the continental U.S. Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay lead the way and are joined by eight other players ranked in the top 30 of the OWGR. One of those is Sam Burns, who collapsed late in this event last year making double-bogey on the final two holes to take some pressure off Dunlap.
The American Express is also affectionately known as the "Desert Classic" or the "Bob Hope". The tournament dates back to 1960 and was received notoriety for the celebrities that would come to the Palm Springs area to play in the pro-am portion of this event. Until 2012, this was also one of the only five-round, 90-hole championships on the PGA Tour. As top players began to skip the Desert Classic because of how long of a week it became, the Tour changed it to a 72-hole event that closely resembled the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Professionals and amateurs would play three rounds at three different courses before a 54-hole cut was made and the highest standing professionals would all play at the same course on Sunday.
There has been some shuffling of which courses feature in this event over the years, but since 2016 it has been the same three in the rotation. The PGA West Stadium Course designed by Pete Dye is the host course. Players will play this course one of the first three days and then all players that make the cut will tee it up here on Sunday. The Stadium Course took a lot of criticism from players when it was first designed back in 1986 because of how difficult it was. That's part of the reason it wasn't used from 1988-2015. While it isn't the same kind of test it once was, the Stadium Course still has the most teeth of the three courses and has danger lurking everywhere. The other two courses in the rotation are the Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club. Players know they need to take advantage of both of these courses, as the Stadium Course is a lot more difficult to score on. La Quinta has been in the rotation more than any other course in tournament history and is a favorite among players.
You might here the term "dome golf" on the broadcast this week, and that's in reference to how perfect the conditions are for scoring typically in Palm Springs. That will be no different in 2025 as it will be chilly in the mornings before climbing into the 70s in the afternoon with very little wind, as if you were playing golf in a dome. Low scores will be required to contend this week as the winning score has reached at least 20-under in each of the 13 additions since this tournament became a 72-hole event. Dunlap's 29-under-par (259) last year set a tournament record as a 72-hole event. 59's have been shot two times before in 1999 by David Duval and in 2017 by Adam Hadwin. We will see someone flirt with it at least once this week you can book it.
Recent Champions
2024 - Nick Dunlap (-29)
2023 - Jon Rahm (-27)
2022 - Hudson Swafford (-23)
2021 - Si Woo Kim (-23)
2020 - Andrew Landry (-26)
2019 - Adam Long (-26)
2018 - Jon Rahm (-22)
2017 - Hudson Swafford (-20)
2016 - Jason Dufner (-25)
2015 - Bill Haas (-22)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Putting/Putts per GIR
- SG: Approach/Proximity
- SG: Off-the-Tee/Driving Distance
- Par-5 scoring/Eagle average
Champion's Profile
Jon Rahm kind of said it perfectly a few years ago when a hot mic picked him up saying "Putting contest week" as he walked off a green back in 2022. We'll ignore the multiple expletives that preceded it, but yeah that's kind of what The American Express is. Apart from some water hazards and fairway bunkers, you can hit it wherever off the tee and get away with it on these courses. The GIR percentages will also be pretty high for everyone due to the limited wind. That means players have to make the difference up on the greens. Quite simply the players rolling in the most putts are more than likely going to be the guys battling for the win Sunday afternoon.
Aside from that, however, I think players who rank high in proximity to the hole should be looked at. Obviously the quality looks you give yourself, the better chance you'll be able to cash in on the greens. I also think par-5 scoring is going to be important. All three courses feature four very gettable long holes, and players will need to take advantage. Eagles will also be huge for DFS players.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Sungjae Im ($12,000)
At an event that's so heavily dependent on putting, Im's consistency over the years in Palm Springs has been quite impressive, finishing inside the top-25 in all six starts here, including four top-12 results. Im is coming off a strong performance at The Sentry where he finished solo third and made 31 birdies for the week, and finished the event top-four in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Around-the-Green and SG: Putting.
Sam Burns ($11,800)
Burns has some demons to exercise here after how he finished last year's tournament. That being said, Burns loves these courses racking up four top-20 finishes in five career starts. He is one of the best putters on Tour and is also one of the longest hitters in the field. Burns ranked top-10 last season in birdie and eagle average. He has finished inside the top-15 in his last six starts and has a great chance to pick up his first win since March of 2023 this week.
Harry Hall ($10,600)
Hall continues to play at a very high level. After a T10 last week at Waialae, he has now finished top-15 in his last five starts. He also was positive in SG: Putting for the 14th straight event. Hall is built for a test like The American Express after he ranked second in birdie average and 14th in par-5 scoring average last season. His improved iron play also is to credit for this strong play over the last several months.
The Middle Tier
Patrick Fishburn ($10,000)
Fishburn really came on the second half of last season. He racked up five top-10s and 11 top-25s over his final 19 starts. Fishburn continued that right into 2025 going for a strong T6 finish at the Sony Open where he ranked 11th in SG: Putting. Fishburn ate up the par-5s last season with a 4.48 scoring average, good enough for seven-best on Tour. He also led the PGA Tour in GIR percentage.
Tom Hoge ($9,800)
Hoge has played well in this event of late making four of his last five cuts to go along with a pair of top-six finishes. He is one of the best iron players on Tour ranking fourth in SG: Approach last season. Hoge was also second in proximity from 100-125 yards and first in proximity 125-150 yards, two areas will the large majority of approaches will come from this week. Considering how many great chances he gives himself, that fact he piled up the third-most birdies on Tour last season shouldn't be all that surprising.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout ($9,300)
Bezuidenhout was the runner-up a year ago at The AmEx, and that came after a T11 at the event in 2023. He is one of the best putters on Tour right now having gained strokes on the greens in 19 of his last 22 measured tournaments. Bezuidenhout ranked 20th in SG: Putting and 10th in putts per GIR last season. The South African is also a very reliable short iron and wedge player, as he was seventh in proximity from 50-125 yards.
The Long Shots
Jackson Suber ($8,800)
Suber is a PGA Tour rookie who is coming off a great showing at Waialae where he finished T6 and ranked third in SG: Approach and 13th in SG: Putting. Suber was one of the best putters on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, ranking third in putts per GIR. The test that is in front of him at The AmEx should fit right into his wheelhouse, especially if he gets the same type of iron play as we saw a week ago.
Ryan Gerard ($8,200)
Gerard was on track for a much better finish at the Sony Open. He was just outside the top 10 to start the final round, but faded to T37 with a two-over 72 that included a double-bogey. I expect Gerard to bounce right back. He collected 10 top-25s in a 13-event stretch on the KFT last year and then finished T14 at the WWT Championship in the fall on the PGA Tour. Gerard was fifth in putts per GIR, fourth in par-5 scoring and led the KFT with 19 eagles last season.
Jacob Bridgeman ($7,900)
Bridgeman ranked seventh last season in SG: Putting and also averaged 4.43 birdies per round, which was four-best on Tour. He closed 2024 making seven of nine cuts with five top-25s in that stretch. Bridgeman is one of the more reliable options in the $7K range given the test at hand. He made the cut a year ago in the Desert and gained strokes in all categories across the two measured rounds at the Stadium Course.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
So the first event of the season we had no cut, last week we had a standard 36-hole cut and this week we are getting a 54-hole cut. The PGA Tour really tries to throw everything at us DFS players early in the season. That being said, I don't think it being a 54-hole cut affects strategy too much. Birdies and eagles will be flying at all these courses and even just missing out on one round if going to hurt. Last season the cut for the low 65 and ties was 13-under-par, which was the lowest since this event moved to 72 holes.
The American Express is always a difficult event for DFS purposes. You can play some really quality golf and end up finishing T42 pretty easily if you just aren't rolling in enough putts. I think that's really where you have to start when looking at options. If we can get some solid iron play as well, that's all we can ask for in this sprint to go as low as possible.
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