The PGA Tour season gets into the mainland US this week in Palm Springs, with the 2025 The American Express starting the West Coast Swing in the desert at a three-course rotation hosted by PGA West's Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.
My PGA Tour field ranking for the AmEx looks at the top 10 players in this 156-player field that brings together the PGA Tour's exempt players from the top 125 and the Korn Ferry Tour grads from last year, which all got in this field.
The American Express is a unique event in that there's a pro-am component for three rounds, the cut is after 54 holes and that there's also no strokes-gained data for two of the rounds in the event.
This tournament is a 25-under proposition pretty much every year, except for the rare occasions where it's either cold or extremely windy. The conditions are perfect out there, and players have to take advantage of the easier two courses before dealing with PGA West for two rounds.
Just a reminder that I make my expert picks looking at all fantasy leagues and formats. Whether you're playing in a fantasy golf leagues, betting on golf, or competing in a DFS (DraftKings, FanDuel) event, our picks highlight the top PGA Tour golfers to watch this week from our 2025 The American Express rankings.
2025 The American Express expert picks and rankings
1. Patrick Cantlay: Cantlay had a great run here in the earlier portion of this decade, and this is a good place to set a marker for a better year.
2. Justin Thomas: Thomas got off to a bland start at The Sentry, finishing T-26, but he has to feel he has some unfinished business here after T-3 last year.
3. Sam Burns: Burns has a thing for this tournament, perhaps more than any other player in this field. He was T-8 at The Sentry.
4. Sungjae Im: Coming off a third-place finish at The Sentry, he's done a lot of damage in this tournament over the years.
5. Tony Finau: I'm concerned how Finau will do coming in off injury and surgery, but he's got an affinity for this event.
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6. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: The runner-up here last year, the South African has an affinity for this tournament.
7. Wyndham Clark: Clark was T-15 at Kapalua, and that's a pretty decent jumping-off point. May be an emotional week for him.
8. Nick Dunlap: It'll be a fun week for Dunlap, remembering that he won last year (for free). He played solid enough golf at Waialae.
9. Sepp Straka: Straka played great golf at Waialae, and he tends to be a streaky player, so lean into it again for another week.
10. Brian Harman: Harman was not good at all at Kapalua, and then he was T-21 at Waialae. He has a good record here, so there's room for an improvement trend.
