The American Express
La Quinta, California
PGA West (Stadium Course) - Par 72 - 7,210 yards
PGA West (Nicklaus Tournament Course) - Par 72 - 7,147 yards
La Quinta Country Club - Par 72 - 7,060 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $9.2M
The Preview
A Ryder Cup snub in Chris Gotterup just opened the PGA Tour's 2026 campaign with a statement victory at what could be the last ever Sony Open in Hawaii, but we now turn our attention away from Honolulu's beaches and to Coachella Valley's desert where a full 156-man field sprawls out across a three-course rotation for The American Express. A 54-hole cut down to the top 65 and ties follows Saturday's third round, with PGA West's Stadium Course hosting the final round Sunday.
All three of these par-72 layouts are relatively short and they each feature several reachable par-5s, so they're especially easy from a scoring perspective with La Quinta Country Club serving as the most elementary. Sepp Straka managed to tally 27 total birdies to just two bogeys on the way to his 2025 AmEx victory here, while five other players finished 20-under-par or better as well. A poa trivialis overseed provides favorably smooth putting surfaces this time of the year, and par-breaker opportunities will come in bunches without much wind in the forecast.
Recent Champions
2025 - Sepp Straka
2024 - Nick Dunlap
2023 - Jon Rahm
2022 - Hudson Swafford
2021 - Si Woo Kim
2020 - Andrew Landry
2019 - Adam Long
2018 - Jon Rahm
2017 - Hudson Swafford
2016 - Jason Dufner
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Birdie or Better percentage
SG: Putting (poa trivialis)
Par-5 Efficiency
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
It appears that Yahoo has elected to retain their $45 maximum salary for the 2026 season, which struggles to properly account for Scheffler's dominance and overall impact on competitive balance. The 3-1 tournament favorite will continue to be heavily owned, and for good reason at a price that doesn't restrict lineup construction. Scheffler has surpassed the 20-under-par mark in three of five career AmEx appearances.
Russell Henley - $45
I think Henley's ownership could get squeezed in this spot, because from both a psychological and analytical perspective, it doesn't make sense to fork up Scheffler's identical $45 salary for Henley, especially with discounts on guys like Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay at $41. Henley's T19 finish as last week's outright betting favorite wasn't very impressive, but he did rank top-5 among the Sony Open field in SG: Approach en route to 19 total birdies.
Sam Burns - $41
A long-ball hitter that also happens to be arguably the best putter on Tour, Burns' player profile suits The AmEx's setup extremely well, so it makes sense that he's placed T29 or better in five of six prior outings here. We last saw Burns at December's Hero World Challenge where he ranked second among the 20-man field in SG: Approach.
Glue Guys
Si Woo Kim - $38
Kim paced last week's Sony Open in ball striking as he gained a collective 10.75 strokes on approach and off the tee en route to 19 birdies and a T11 finish, despite losing 4.7 strokes with the putter. His putting metrics have historically been much better in La Quinta, and Kim won here at the AmEx in 2021 when he paced the event in both GIR percentage and par-5 scoring.
Taylor Pendrith - $34
Pendrith gained strokes across the board on the way to his T6 result in Hawaii last week, ultimately recording 18 total birdies and an eagle while gaining north of three shots on the field with the putter. Despite a quality effort in the season opener, Pendrith's ownership could be held in check this week after missing the cut in each of his first three trips to The American Express.
Harry Hall - $31
Contrasting with Pendrith, Hall certainly won't fly under the radar after a T6 at the Sony, because this $31 salary is a misprice for one of the best putters in the world. Hall notched a top-25 finish at last year's AmEx when he ranked fourth on the Stadium Course in SG: Putting.
Bargain Bin
Alex Smalley - $24
Smalley has posted four consecutive top-25s in La Quinta since his 2022 AmEx debut, most notably placing 11th here last year when he racked up 21 total birdies and two eagles while also pacing the field in par-5 scoring. He ranked 23rd on Tour in par-breaker percentage last season.
Seamus Power - $20
Power is coming off one of the Sony Open's better final-round performances, firing a six-under 64 on Sunday at Waialae where he ultimately ranked fourth among the field in total feet of putts made and eighth in SG: Approach for the week. Additionally, he's placed T21 or better in three of four previous AmEx appearances.
Will Zalatoris - $20
Yahoo buried Zalatoris down here at the $20 minimum in his first PGA Tour start since last May, but he already made his return from back surgery with a top-15 effort at the DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge in December when he gained 1.17 strokes on approach per round. Despite his reputation as a bad putter, Zalatoris has recorded a 72-hole score of 16-under-par or better in all four of his prior American Express outings, and it's okay to assume a bit more risk on a volatile player like Zalatoris when everyone is guaranteed three rounds.
Looking for the best golf picks on Yahoo? Find the top Yahoo PGA DFS picks and value plays for every tournament from RotoWire golf expert Bryce Danielson.
