Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2022 American Express

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2022 American Express 

American Express Fantasy Preview

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

Last week we lost a few horses to the Hawaiian cut-line, with our top finishers being Kevin Kisner (T3) and Keith Mitchell (T7). 

Seamus Power still continues to impress us, and his presence on our Sleeper Report helped the DFS cause with his T3 finish. 

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American Express Field

West Coast specialists Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay are two of the most notable names in the field this week, and they’ll be jostling for an early year victory alongside the likes of Patrick Reed, Tony Finau and Corey Conners. 

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Phil Mickelson returns as host and as a PGA Championship winner, while Si-Woo Kim takes the honor of defending champion – looking to bring about an end of an unwanted record that nobody has won this event back-to-back since 1976.

Scottie Scheffler, Sungjae Im, Talor Gooch and the hopefully heart-mended Henley are just some of the other names to look out for in this pro-am event, which will feature stars of TV and the worlds of sport, business and charity in a huge 156-man set up.

This Week’s Course Preview

After a hiatus in 2021, where just two of the host courses were used to help with Covid protocol, it’s back to a three-pronged attack in La Quinta this week.

Taking the lead is the Stadium Course at PGA West, which is a Pete Dye design that lacks some of his textbook devilish design features. 

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That said, plenty on the TOUR have described this 7,200 yard Par 72 track as ‘both easy and hard’, with deep bunkers and water in play on nine of the holes. The Stadium Course is used on rotation for one of three opening rounds, before taking sole hosting duties for Sunday’s final chapter.

The second course on the rotation is the Nicklaus course at PGA West, which as you may have guessed was designed by the Golden Bear himself. Weighing in at 7,160 yards for its Par 72, this layout is super short and features extremely generous fairways – perfect for low scoring.

Finally, the players will stop-off at La Quinta at some point over the opening three days too. Another short (7,060 yard) Par 72, the expansive fairways and large greens are designed for amateur players – unsurprisingly, the pros are able to take this strip to the cleaners, and rounds of 59 have been made.

In a unique twist, this Californian event is played on Bermuda greens – be sure to make a note of that in your handicapping of the field. 

Weather Forecast for La Quinta, CA

It’s back to business for The American Express, and it’s very much business as usual for the weather in La Quinta too.

Clear, sunny spells is the order of the day, and with the mercury set to hit 80˚F on three of the four days (Saturday is forecast to be a touch cooler), it’s very pleasant indeed for pros and amateurs alike.

The wind can occasionally get up in these parts, and while Thursday, Friday and Sunday are forecast to be in single figures, hopes could be shattered on Saturday with the wind potentially reaching 12mph or higher.

LA QUINTA WEATHER

Last Year’s Results from the American Express 

While a distinctly lower key event in 2021 courtesy of the absence of amateurs, there was still no shortage of action and drama in last year’s edition of The American Express.

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Si-Woo Kim and Tony Finau looked the most likely heading into the final round, but a late charge from Patrick Cantlay – he made a bogey-free round of 61 at the Stadium Course, breaking the layout record by two shots – looked like it might be enough to gate-crash the party.

While Finau buckled under the pressure of the fast-finishing Cantlay, making bogeys at 11 and 14 to end his hopes, Si-Woo stood firm and even accelerated with the finishing line in sight – posting birdies at 16 and 17 to clinch the title by a single stroke.

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the American Express this Week

There is no other way to describe it – The America Express stinks as a daily fantasy vehicle. Split courses, the presence of amateurs, the possibility of a draw bias….it all adds up to a difficult and occasionally frustrating event to try and decipher. That said, we love trying, so here’s two to target this week:

• PGA $60k Birdie: There are so many permutations this week, and players to pick from, that taking on a multi-entry contest will suit many. For those on a tighter budget, you can have a few stabs at this $3 entry game and still – hopefully – walk away with the $6k top prize.

• PGA $600k Flop Shot: Higher rollers and sharks are still advised to show some restraint this week – there’s plenty of great tournaments coming up in the weeks ahead, but if you can’t resist then this $15 entry game features multi-entry (key to spreading risk at The American Express) and a top prize of $150k. 

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the American Express 

Trying to pick a winning line-up in an event that features six-hour rounds, three different courses and players trying to smile politely at Bill Murray’s wisecracks is as tough as it sounds.

It pays to keep things simple, and so the smart play is to pick those who we feel have plenty of birdies in the tank at an event where the winning score has been at least -20 in each of the past five editions.

But there are some field notes worthy of your attention. You might think that three short courses with wide open fairways are perfect for the bombers to thrive, and yet Si-Woo, Andrew Landry and Adam Long ranked 16, 3 and 12 respectively for Driving Accuracy – the trio averaged around 293 yards off the peg between them.

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As you would expect, hitting greens and making putts is key, so there’s two main routes to success this week – back those with magic irons who will hit to close proximity time and time again, or those streaky putters who seem to sink their ball from all angles.

The combination of West Coast form and Bermuda putting is a unique one, but if you can find those who tick both boxes then you could well be onto a winner.

Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the American Express 

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2021-2022)

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