Last week, the PGA Tour season opened with the Sony Open in Hawaii. Chris Gotterup took the title by two strokes. While it was nice to get the PGA Tour season started, it was without almost all of the top names. Thankfully, that will not be the case this week. Namely, Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour’s marquee man, will headline a more impressive lineup this week at The American Express at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, CA. Ben Griffin, Ludvig Aberg, Sam Burns, and Patrick Cantlay join Scheffler as respected golf brands on the board.
The American Express was originally founded in 1960 as the Palm Springs Golf Classic, then renamed the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1965 and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1986. Last year, Sepp Straka beat the Golf Betting Lines. There has never been a repeat champion of this event. With an improved field led by Scottie Scheffler, the best player in the sport, gambling interest will be much higher than it was last week.
2026 The American Express Golf Betting Information
| When: | January 22-25, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Where: | Pete Dye Stadium Course, La Quinta, CA |
| Defending Champion: | Sepp Straka |
| TV Coverage: | ESPN+ and GOLF |
2026 The American Express Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | +250 |
| Ben Griffin | +1700 |
| Ludvig Aberg | +1900 |
| Sam Burns | +2000 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2000 |
| Russell Henley | +2200 |
| Robert MacIntyre | +2500 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +2500 |
| Harry Hall | +2700 |
| Sepp Straka | +3300 |
| Taylor Pendrith | +4000 |
| Alex Noren | +4000 |
| Si Woo Kim | +4000 |
| Harris English | +4500 |
| Rickie Fowler | +4500 |
| Michael Thorbjornsen | +4500 |
| All Other Players | +5000 or Higher |
2026 The American Express Top Contenders
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler ranks 1st on the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2025, he finished with six sportsbook wins, 17 Top-10s, and 20 cuts made in 20 events. Scheffler finished 4th in the FedEx Cup standings. Last year, Scheffler won the Procore Championship, BMW Championship, The Open Championship, The Memorial Tournament, PGA Championship, and the CJ CUP Byron Nelson. Previously, Sheffler finished in the Top-10 in 16 consecutive events heading into this week.
Ben Griffin
Ben Griffin ranks 8th on the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2025, he played in 30 events, making 24 cuts, three Golf Betting Lines wins, and 12 Top-10s. Griffin finished 10th in the FedEx Cup standings. Last week, Griffin finished 19th at the Sony Open in Hawaii. In 2025, Griffin won the World Wide Technology Championship, Charles Schwab Challenge, and Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Correlate that Griffin finished 12th or better in his final six events of 2025.
Ludvig Aberg
Ludvig Aberg ranks 18th on the Official World Golf Ranking. Last year, Aberg played in 20 events, making 16 cuts, one win, and six Top-10 finishes. He finished 21st in the FedEx Cup standings. Previously, Aberg was the winner of the 2025 Genesis Invitational. Aberg finished 20th or worse in three of his most recent four events.
Sam Burns
Sam Burns is ranked 25th on the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2025, he cut in 22 out of 25 events with six Top-10 finishes. Overall, Burns finished 7th in the FedEx Cup standings. Burns’ last win was at the 2023 World Golf Championships Dell Technologies Match Play. Burns finished outside the Top-10 in seven of his last nine events.
Patrick Cantlay
Patrick Cantlay ranks 24th on the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2025, Cantlay cut in 17 out of 20 starts with five Top-10 finishes. Also, he finished 2nd in the FedEx Cup standings. Cantlay’s last win was at the 2022 BMW Championship. Cantlay finished outside the Top-10 in eight of his most recent ten events.
Russell Henley
Russell Henley ranks 5th on the Official World Golf Ranking. Last week, Henley finished 19th at the Sony Open in Hawaii. In 2025, Henley cut in 17 out of 19 events with one win and ten Top-10 finishes. Henley finished 2nd in the FedEx Cup standings. In turn, Henley won the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Henley ended 2025 with three finishes outside the Top 14 in his final four events.
2026 The American Express Free Pick
Of course, Scottie Scheffler is an easy casual sector type of choice, but too expensive. Ben Griffin offers a better price and the proven ability to pick up a win.
2026 The American Express Best Bets: Ben Griffin.