Jon Rahm leads a loaded field as the PGA Tour hits California
It’s not an elevated event, but many of golf’s biggest names have flocked to the desert this week for The American Express.
The third PGA Tour event of the year begins this week in Southern California. Five of the top 10 golfers in the world will tee off in what is one of the most exciting fields The American Express has ever seen.
By the end of the weekend, there could even be a new top ranked golfer — or golfers — as the West Coast swing gets going.
Here’s everything you need to know for The American Express:
Tournament basics
American Express
January 19-22
PGA West | La Quinta, California
Par 72 | 7,060 yards
Purse: $8 million/$1.44 million
FedExCup points for the winner: 500
Betting favourite, via BetMGM – Jon Rahm (+600).
Hudson Swafford wins his third career victory
Hudson Swafford, who had a great finish in La Quinta, won his third career win at The American Express.
Swafford made par on the 16th hole, then birdied the 17th. He finished his round at 3-under to win by two shots over Tom Hoge. In a wild end for the 35-year old, his only par on the back nine was on the 18th. Swafford, who started the day three shots behind the leaders, finished the day with 64. He went on to win his second consecutive season.
Swafford won’t be playing this week in order to defend his title. He was part of the group that jumped to LIV Golf last summer. Phil Mickelson (longtime tournament host) is still suspended from Tour.
Jon Rahm, once again the favorite in La Quinta
Jon Rahm has enjoyed some remarkable stretches of golf over the past few years.
However, the Spaniard is entering this week’s desert on what could easily qualify as the best run of the Spaniard’s career.
Rahm will be making his first start since his win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier in the month. If he could lift the trophy at the end of the week at PGA West, it’d mark his fifth win since 2022 and put him in an incredible position in the early weeks of the Tour season.
“This has been my best stretch of results, being able to get it done and finish in the tournaments, right?” Rahm . “That Sunday in Maui was the third Sunday of 63 or better I’ve had since September … It’s something to be proud of. Hopefully I can put myself in a better position to where if I shoot those 62s, I’m winning by a bunch of shots instead of waiting to see what happens.”
However, he will again have quite a lot of competition in this field. There are 10 of the top 20 players in the world competing this week, including Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Will Zalatoris — something that’s likely being done to help players qualify for the Tour’s Player Impact Program bonus.
“You want to beat the best, and I’m glad people are coming,” Rahm said. “It’s good that more players are trying more events. It’s probably due to all the new events that are happening throughout the year. We have all these big events we need to play in order to get the PIP reward.
“That opens up all three, let’s just say lower events, that you need to participate in, it opens people’s eyes to possibly some events they haven’t played before because your schedule changes. I am one of them. It kind of tied my hands later in the year. So this event really serves a lot of purpose in more than one way.”
Cantlay and Scheffler could be ranked No. The Official World Golf Rankings has also placed Cantlay and Scheffler at number 1. There’s even a scenario where the two would share the top spot, something that hasn’t happened before. Scheffler will finish eighth if Cantlay wins, and Scheffler will be the winner. Rory McIlroy will fall behind them. Rahm has no chance of reaching the top, regardless what he does.
Yet Scheffler, who won four times last season, insists he’s not focused on the rankings one bit.
“I’m focused on trying to put myself in position to win the tournament. I have no idea what a finish or win would do for me in the world ranking,” he said Wednesday.
“I haven’t checked in a while, but I know I’m still No. 2, and No. 1 is better than No. 2. It’s not something I focus on too often. I just try and — I don’t focus too much on the past, I don’t focus too much on the future. For me it’s always best to stay present and continue to work on the things that I’ve been working on for many, many years.”