2024 American Express Betting Card Picks and Preview
Ryan Noonan
2 years ago
The PGA Tour heads east from Hawaii to the Coachella Valley desert in La Quinta, California, for The American Express at PGA West. This event changes its name like I change my underwear, so if you’re looking at past events, this could be titled anything from the Desert Classic, CareerBuilder Challenge, or the Bob Hope Classic.
The American Express is a unique event to handicap. This is a three-course rotation that includes a Pro-Am element, where each pro tees off with an amateur for the first three rounds of the tournament. It also features a 54-hole cut on Saturday night after each golfer has played a round on the events’ three courses. Once everyone’s made their way around the Nicklaus Tournament Course, La Quinta Country Club, and The Stadium Course, the cut-makers will head back out to play The Stadium Course once again for the final round.
The Stadium Course is a Pete Dye design, which is a fine place to start if you’re looking for corollary courses this week, and it’s the only place with Shotlink data for this event. That means we’re flying blind with strokes-gained data for all rounds at Nicklaus and La Quinta. A look at past leaderboards will again show that the winner must go low. The Pro-Am element comes with slower greens and amateur-friendly pin placements, so past success in easy scoring conditions is ideal. The only time this event’s winner failed to break 20-under par was Charley Hoffman back in 2007.
For more course details, check out Ron’s course preview. It’s the best in the business, bar none. Here’s an important tidbit about the unique setup this week and the commonalities between the three courses:
All of the courses being utilized do share some of the same characteristics. Each has four scoreable par-5s and is under 7,200 yards. Each has poa trivialis greens and ryegrass fairways surrounded by non-penal dormant Bermuda rough. Each is also amongst the easiest annual courses in the PGA Tour rotation.
The Stadium Course is the toughest of the three and will be used for two of the four rounds. It is a Pete Dye design featuring smaller greens, plenty of bunkers, and seven holes with water danger to contend with. Another reason the winning score usually ends up in the 25-under range is that all three are resort-style courses with pin placements made intentionally easy for the amateurs who are playing. It is a tournament where all different styles of players can thrive, and those with the hottest flat stick in the inevitable putting contest are usually rewarded.
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There are millions of ways to bet on this beautiful game, and my goal with this piece is to touch on the golfers I’m targeting this week. Remember to check out the Rabbit Hole, our customizable stat database that can help you pair down your player pool each week.
Please take advantage of the Discord feature and community. It’s the best way to get up-to-the-minute lines and advice, and if you need help getting started, please reach out. That’s where my full card will be posted, along with any live in-tournament bets. Betting markets are fluid, but I’ll note the best number available at the time of this writing.