The PGA Tour heads to the West Coast for the first California event of the 2024 season.
Players take in the stunning views of PGA West in Palm Springs, California. It uses three tracks: the Stadium, Nicklaus, and La Quinta courses.
This is the second full-field event of the year, and the second to use a pro-am format, following the AT&T Pebble Beach event. This event is also one of four scheduled to use multiple golf courses.
Here's everything you need to know about American Express.
American Express information:
where: PGA WEST — Pete Dye SC, Nicklaus TC, La Quinta CC (Par 72- 7,187 yards)
when: January 18th to 21st
wallet: $8,400,000 / 1st place: $1,512,000
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Defending champion: Jon Rahm
How to watch American Express:
Fans will be able to watch the match on Golf Channel this week as the channel will host all four rounds.
The PGA Tour will be held this week in California, three hours behind the East Coast.
Here is the complete network coverage schedule:
Thursday, January 18th: 4-7pm ET (Golf Channel). 11:30am – 7pm ET (ESPN+)
Friday, January 19th: 4-7pm ET (Golf Channel). 11:30am – 7pm ET (ESPN+)
Saturday, January 20th: 4-7pm ET (Golf Channel). 11:30am – 7pm ET (ESPN+)
Sunday, January 21st: 4-7pm ET (Golf Channel). 11:30am – 7pm ET (ESPN+)
How to stream American Express:
Peacock and ESPN+ will offer American Express streams, and ESPN+ will provide exclusive early coverage of all four rounds.
ESPN+ has three main streams. The first contains the main feed and coverage of the featured groups.
Primary feed coverage on the first streaming channel will begin at 4:30 PM ET and end at 4:00 PM ET on all four days. ESPN+ will then air featured group coverage from 4-7 p.m. ET.
On Stream 2, the service will feature key group broadcasts on Thursdays and Fridays from 1pm to 4pm ET and Saturdays and Sundays from 12:30pm to 4pm ET. The stream will also feature group coverage from 4pm to 7pm ET throughout the four days.
Stream 3 will feature groups from 12:15pm to 4pm on each of the four days, followed by hole coverage from 4pm to 7pm ET on each of the four days.
Peacock will simulcast all four days of the tournament.Reports can be streamed peacock here.
American Express Featured/Marquee Groups and Halls:
Thursday:
marquee group
1:20pm ET — Will Zalatoris, Daniel Berger
Featured groups
12:14pm ET — Chez Reavie, Kevin Kisner
12:58 PM ET — Billy Horschel, Camilo Villegas
Featured holes: Par 3 4th. Par 3 13th. 16th par 5.Par 3 17th
Friday:
marquee group
12:58pm ET — Tom Kim, Minwoo Lee
Featured groups:
12:58 PM ET — Matt Kuchar, Nick Taylor
1:31 PM ET — Sung Jae Im, Cameron Champ
Featured holes: Par 3 4th. Par 3 13th. 16th par 5.Par 3 17th
Saturday:
Marquee group:
1:31 PM ET — Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay
Featured groups:
12:25 PM ET — Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas
12:58 PM ET — Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau
Featured holes: Par 3 4th. Par 3 13th. 16th par 5.Par 3 17th
American Express Preview:
Despite the absence of defending champion Jon Rahm this week, American Express has some of the top talent on the PGA Tour.
This event has often struggled to attract top players on the Tour, but that wasn't the case this year. Twenty-one golfers in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking will play this week, including four in the top 10.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler missed the Sony Open in Hawaii but returned. Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Windham Clark round out the top 10.
Justin Thomas is making his season debut to get off to a fast start in 2024. After a rocky 2023 season, the former Alabama Crimson Tide player is looking to bounce back.
Daniel Berger will return to the PGA Tour for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open. He was battling an injury and missed the entire 2023 season. In his last appearance, he was ranked 25th in the world, but has since fallen to 644th.
Grayson Murray, who won the Sony Open, is also scheduled to compete this week. Will he be able to maintain that strong record? To make this week a little more interesting, we're joined by PGA Professional of the Year Michael Brock.
With 26 PGA Tour rookies scheduled to participate, the field will likely feature many young players.
Davis Thompson is another player to watch this week. He finished second to Rahm last year, which was his best finish on tour. Akshay Bhatia, Eric Cole, Camilo Villegas, JT Poston and Sentry winner Chris Kirk are among the 15 athletes competing in each of the first three events of 2024.
Rahm won this tournament last year with a 27 under par and is expected to make many birdies this week. Players tend to run at a slower pace in American Express, so the competition will be about who can avoid mistakes and maintain the pace.
American Express Tea Time Round 1 (ET):
La Quinta Country Club
1st hole:
11:30am – Adam Long, Ryan Palmer
11:41am – Xander Schauffele, Tony Finau
11:52am – Pierceson Coody, Adrian Dumont de Chassard
12:03pm – Ben Griffin, Davis Thompson
12:14pm – Scotty Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay
12:25 pm – Ben Coles, Ryo Hisatsune
12:36pm – Grayson Sigg, Justin Hsu
12:47pm – Zach Johnson, Brant Snedeker
12:58pm – Chris Kirk, Windham Clark
1:09pm – Vince Whaley, Robert McIntyre
1:20pm – Akshay Bhatia, Nico Echavarria
1:31pm – Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas
1:42 pm – Taiga Semikawa, Jacob Bridgman
10th hole:
11:30am – Charlie Hoffman, Kevin Streelman
11:41am – Shane Lowry, Jason Day
11:52am – Jake Knapp, Ben Silverman
12:03pm – Bill Haas, Cheson Hadley
12:14pm – Sam Barnes, Seamus Power
12:25pm – Parker Coody, John Park
12:36pm – Michael Kim, Maverick McNeely
12:47pm – Aaron Rye, Ben Taylor
12:58pm – Tom Hoge, Si Woo Kim
1:09 pm – Brandon Wu, Will Gordon
1:20pm – Christian Bezuidenhout, Alex Nolen
1:31pm – Eric Van Rooyen, KH Lee
1:42 pm – Kevin Doherty, Alexander Bjork
PGA WEST — Nicklaus Course
Hole 1:
11:30am – Karl Yuan, Callum Talen
11:41am – Davis Riley, Matt Wallace
11:52am – Jimmy Stanger, Blaine Hale Jr.
12:03pm – Andrew Novak, Matti Schmidt
12:14pm – Jason Dufner, Andrew Landry
12:25pm – Ryan McCormick, Joe Highsmith
12:36pm – Dylan Wu, Robbie Shelton
12:47pm – David Ringmers, Kevin Yu
12:58pm – Ryan Moore, Joseph Bramlett
1:09pm – Max Glaserman, Raul Pereda
1:20pm – Zach Blair, David Lipsky
1:31pm – Matt Kuchar, Nick Taylor
1:42pm – Roger Sloan, Scott Gutszewski
Hole 10:
11:30 a.m. – Taylor Montgomery, Austin Eckrot
11:41am – Im Sung Jae, Cameron Champ
11:52am – Alejandro Tosti, Rico Hoey
12:03pm – Troy Merritt, Josh Teter
12:14pm – Andrew Putnam, Cam Davis
12:25pm – Matthew Pabon, Paul Burgeon
12:36pm – Stefan Jaeger, Matt Nesmith
12:47pm – Keith Mitchell, Joel Damen
12:58pm – Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith
1:09 pm – Chris Gotterup, Chan Kim
1:20pm – Justin Lauer, Alex Smalley
1:31pm – Tom Kim, Minwoo Lee
1:42pm – Wilson Farr, Nick Dunlap (a)
PGA WEST — Dye Course
Hole 1:
11:30am – Mark Hubbard, Hayden Buckley
11:41am – Scott Stallings, Lee Hodges
11:52am – Hayden Springer, Harrison Endicott
12:03pm – Sam Ryder, Peter Malnati
12:14pm – Chez Reavie, Kevin Kisner
12:25pm – Sami Valimaki, David Skins
12:36pm – Aaron Baddeley, Thomas Detrie
12:47pm – Eric Cole, Adam Schenk
12:58pm – Billy Horschel, Camilo Villegas
1:09 pm – Tom Whitney, Trace Crowe
1:20pm – Will Zalatoris, Daniel Berger
1:31pm – JT Poston, Grayson Murray
1:42 pm – Norman Xiong, Michael Block
Hole 10:
11:30am – Harry Hall, Sam Stevens
11:41am – Ryan Brehm, Chad Ramey
11:52am – Patrick Fishburne, Yuxin Lin
12:03pm – SH Kim, Tyson Alexander
12:14pm – Martin Laird, Lant Griffin
12:25pm – Rafael Campos, Nicholas Lindheim
12:36pm – Garrick Higo, Doug Jim
12:47pm – Ben Martin, Bo Hossler
12:58pm – Tyler Duncan, Patton Kizzia
1:09pm – Nate Lashley, Carson Young
1:20pm – Bronson Burgoon, Tyler McCumber
1:31pm – JB Holmes, Jonathan Vegas
1:42pm – Mac Meisner, Chandler Phillips
Savannah Lee Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through.If you want to know more about golf, please follow us. @_PlayingThrough On all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirls and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
