The PGA Tour heads to TPC West this week for the American Express. World Number 1 Jon Rahm will be in attendance and is favourite for the event. Damien Kayat previews.
2022 US PGA Tour
American Express
PGA West (TPC Stadium Course)
PGA West (Nicklaus Tournament Course)
La Quinta Country Club
20th-23rd January
I’m pleased to see Russell Henley has the character to tee it up this week after his back-nine collapse at last week’s Sony Open. Granted, Hideki Matsuyama played some magnificent golf in the closing stages.
But dropping a four-hole lead on a fairly benign golf course will have left a mark. The US PGA Tour will abandon its idyllic Hawaiian getaway this week, returning to California for the first leg of the West Coast Swing.
This tournament has been through various incarnations and is probably best remembered as the old Bob Hope Classic. The Pro-Am underwent a major overhaul in 2012, as new sponsors Humana attempted to reinvigorate a flagging event.
The old five-round format was changed to a more conventional four-round approach. The fields have become far glitzier since that move. This is a unique event in that it takes place over three courses.
Last year’s edition was simplified due to Covid restrictions, with amateurs not competing and the event taking place over just two courses.
The players will rotate between the three courses before a 3rd round cut. This cut will see the top 65 players advance to one more round at the TPC Stadium Course. Designed by Pete Dye, the TPC Stadium Course is traditionally seen as the most difficult course in the rotation.
The Nicklaus Tournament Course is marginally easier while La Quinta is by far the easiest course in rotation. In fact, La Quinta was the easiest par 72 on the PGA Tour for four seasons in a row. What can I say about these courses?
The Bermuda greens are fairly simple and the rough will be minimal due to the amateurs. You can expect extremely low scoring this week and it could devolve into a putting contest.
Jon Rahm is an obvious favourite this week. He lost by a mere shot last time out at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He also showcased his ability to rip apart easy courses, joining Cam Smith and Matt Jones in breaking the 72-hole PGA Tour scoring record.
The Spaniard may need to play well this week to hold onto his World Number One ranking, with Collin Morikawa teeing it up on the DP World Tour this week.
California native Patrick Cantlay has been in exceptional form, winning the 2021 FedEx Cup and establishing himself as one of the world’s leading players. Other players to watch out for this week include Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler.
Tournament host and two-time champ Phil Mickelson will likely draw some huge galleries in what should be an exciting week of PGA Tour golf.
Past Winners
2021: Si Woo Kim (-23)
2020: Andrew Landry (-26)
2019: Adam Long (-26)
2018: Jon Rahm (-22) *playoff
2017: Hudson Swafford (-20)
To Win Outright:
Jon Rahm 13/2 | Patrick Cantlay 9/1 | Sungjae Im 20/1 | Tony Finau 20/1 | Scottie Scheffler 20/1
Value Bets
Abraham Ancer- To Win 25/1 | To Place 11/2
Abraham Ancer was one of the most low-key consistent performers in 2021. He had nine top 10’s throughout the year, including five top 5’s. This included his maiden victory at the WGC-FedEx St, Jude Invitational. Perhaps more importantly, Ancer finished in a tie for 5th at this event last year. He is also the only player to finish inside the top 5 here for the last two years (he finished 2nd here in 2020 to add to his T5 last year). Ancer disappointingly missed the cut last week and he will be licking his lips at the prospect of finally winning this title.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout- To Win 55/1 | To Place 12/1
It’s surely just a matter of time before Christiaan Bezuidenhout breaks through on this tour. The ultra-consistent South African has only missed one cut in his last 30 events across four tours. He is also fresh off a solid ball-striking week at the Sony Open where he finished in a tie for 17th. Could he join the likes of Garrick Higgo and Dylan Frittelli as recent South African winners on the tour?
The Man to Beat: Patrick Cantlay- To Win 9/1 | To Place 39/20
I think that Cantlay could get the better of Rahm in his native California. Lest we forget, Cantlay did everything he possibly could to win last year’s title, shooting a final round 61 en route to his runner-up finish. He finished in a highly creditable 4th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. It was quite impressive considering he hadn’t played for three months. The only thing that never really clicked for Cantlay was hit putting. But he usually thrives on Bermuda greens and he has to be in contention this week.
