Preview
Starts: 18th January 2024
Courses: Stadium & Nicklaus Courses at PGA West. La Quinta Country Club.
Par: 72
Length: 7,113 yards, 7,159 yards and 7,060 yards.
2023 Champion: Jon Rahm
PGA Tour American Express Picks 2024
Get all of our golf picks American Express 2024 and PGA Tour tips by clicking the button below.
The American Express 2024 Course Info
Designer: Stadium - Pete Dye. Nicklaus - Jack Nicklaus. La Quinta - Lawrence Hughes.
Used since: 1960
Type: Resort style courses
Fairways: Wide
Greens: Bermuda
Premium on: Putting
The Stadium curse at PGA West is once again the host course for the American Express Golf Tournament 2024.
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
-A number of players have not competed since November or early December.
-In 2021, due to Covid, there were no amateurs and La Quinta Country Club was dropped.
-The cut will be made after 54 holes. Note that the cut was made after 36 holes in 2021.
-The Nicklaus played as the 2nd easiest course on Tour the past three years. The Stadium is slightly harder but still easy.
The American Express 2024 Trends
Winning Score
Since the tournament changed to a four round event in 2012, the winning score has been between -20 and -28. Each of the last five events have been won with a score of 23 under par or better. Make sure you back a player who can go low this week!
World Ranking
World rankings of the past nine winners before their win has been 4-166-96-240-417-3-204-120-33-69 (most recent first). Jon Rahm has won twice here but his two wins aside, surprises do happen here!
Previous Wins
Ten of the last twelve winners had won on the PGA Tour before.
Correlating Courses
With the Stadium course being the host course, there are arguments for looking at form on other Pete Dye designed courses. The 3M Open seems to be a strong correlating event.
Course Form
Since 2012, seven of the eleven champions had posted a top 25 finish prior to winning. If we extend that to top 35 finishes, nine of the past eleven champions had that prior to winning.
Course Experience
Only one of the past twelve winners was making his tournament debut. With three courses in the rotation, it is difficult for a rookie to prepare for all three. Side with course experience when making your American Express picks.
Recent Form
With the event coming early in the year, the recent form of past champions has been mixed. The common factor amongst the past twelve winners is that eleven had already teed it up that calendar year (regardless of how they had performed). Look for someone who has dusted off the clubs before this week.
Nationality
Americans have dominated with 9 of the last 12 winners. We wouldn't put too much emphasis on it though.
Age
Nine of the last ten winners have been between the age of 23 and 34.
The American Express 2024 Trends Shortlist
Using the information above, we have taken into account the three most relevant trends to help you with your golf picks. The American Express trends used were:
✅ Players below age of 35
✅ At least one previous appearance in this event
✅ Played The Sentry or Sony Open
✅ Won on the PGA Tour before
Scottie Scheffler
Patrick Cantlay
Xander Schauffele
Si Woo Kim
Tom Kim
Sungjae Im
JT Poston
Cam Davis
Sam Burns
Tony Finau
Wyndham Clark
Will Zalatoris
Tom Hoge
Lee Hodges
KH Lee
Keith Mitchell
Erik Van Rooyen
Akshay Bhatia
Michael Kim
Davis Riley
Tyler Duncan
Grayson Murray
Garrick Higgo
Cameron Champ
What Does The Identikit American Express Winner Look Like?
The American Express 2024 Stats Analysis
We only have Strokes Gained stats from the Stadium Course (with the exception of 2021, where SG was recorded on the Nicklaus course also).
Strokes Gained: Off The Tee
The past seven champions have ranked 13-45-10-7-72-6-1 (most recent first). With the exception of Adam Long in 2019 and Hudson Swafford in 2022, winners have driven the ball well.
Driving Distance
The past ten champions have ranked 11-29-53-126-56-7-6-96-67-12 (most recent first). Distance is favoured over accuracy with the dormant rough causing little problems.
Driving Accuracy
The past ten champions have ranked 24-76-38-7-25-46-122-10-49-75 (most recent first). If you are looking to make an American Express pick, hitting fairways aren't essential.
Strokes Gained: Approach
The past seven champions have ranked 7-4-2-13-69-16-9 (most recent first).
Greens In Regulation
The past ten champions have ranked 2-33-1-9-62-26-1-24-3-14 (most recent first). Adam Long was the outlier in this category in 2019.
Putts per GIR
The past nine champions have ranked 10-8-14-1-1-8-31-9-58-4. (most recent first). Putting is crucial this week.
2024 American Express In-Play Golf Betting Advice
Tough Holes
The par 3, 17th hole on the Stadium Course is one to watch out for. Like another Dye design, TPC Sawgrass, players are challenged with an island green.
Birdie Holes
In 2021 and 2020 the 11th, 16th and 8th played as the easiest holes. The par 3 4th hole also regularly plays under par.
Fast or Slow Start
Generally speaking, it's important to get off to a fast start. Hudson Swafford may have started slowly in 2022 (70 in the opening round) but past winners have shown a fast start can be hugely beneficial. Since 2016, only Swafford has failed to shoot 66 or better in round one.
However, the past four years have shown us players can make a significant move on the final day. Xander Schauffele posted a 62 last year to finish third. Hudson Swafford fired a final round 64 to take the title in 2022. Si Woo Kim jointly led through 54 holes in 2021 but Patrick Cantlay shot a final round 61 to lose out by only one shot. We saw a similar scenario play out in 2020 with Abraham Ancer firing a final round 63 to take solo 2nd.
We provide in-play analysis after each round. Read all our in-play blogs for free by clicking the tab at the top of the page or use the button below.
Will The Weather Be A Factor At The American Express 2024?
All four days look to be favourable, with the sun shining and the wind only blowing moderately.
Previous American Express Previews
You can access our historical Amex picks using the links below:
2024 PGA Tour American Express Picks
Looking to get our American Express tips? Access one of our 2024 American Express picks for free by clicking the button below to subscribe to our email newsletter every Wednesday.