After a thrilling two weeks in Hawaii, the PGA Tour heads to sunny Palm Springs for the American Express. The first stop on the annual West Coast swing is one of the few remaining pro-ams on the PGA Tour schedule with three rounds with amateurs on a three-course rotation of the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, La Quinta Country Club and the Nicklaus Tournament Course. The field of 156 players will rotate their first three rounds across the different venues, and those who make the cut will play their final round at Pete Dye’s famous Stadium Course, the West Coast companion to his famed TPC Sawgrass.
RELATED: Pete Dye’s best golf courses, ranked
As is often the case with many of the PGA Tour’s long-standing venues, however, the Stadium Course is no longer the challenge that it once was when it was originally designed. Ahead of the 2025 event, architect Tim Liddy, who was notably part of the original construction process with Pete Dye, returned to renovate the golf course to meet the demands of modern technology. Liddy rebuilt all the greens and bunkers, and we can now expect larger and firmer putting surfaces, and well as deeper bunkers that will retain their concave shaping. Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Sam Burns, Tom Kim, Wyndham Clark and reigning champion Nick Dunlap, will headline the field of PGA Tour stars looking to open their season on a high note.
$9,000+ range Play: Sungjae Im, $10,300:
Sungjae Im feels like one of the safer plays on the slate as he has finished inside the top 25 in all six appearances at the American Express. Coming off a third-place finish to open his season at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, I expect Im to keep his foot on the gas and record another strong finish in Palm Springs.
Fade: Cameron Young, $9,000: 
Maddie Meyer
While Cameron Young certainly showed some flashes at the Sentry, particularly with his putter, I still have concerns about his approach play. Young lost nearly five strokes on approach in Maui, and the Stadium Course features one of the strong correlations with recent approach play on the PGA Tour. This is far too expensive of a price to pay for a player with such shaky iron play.
Sarah Stier
Eric Cole is coming off an impressive solo fifth-place finish at the Sony Open where he gained over five strokes on approach and five strokes with the putter. This formula should work wonders at the American Express as well, which highly accentuates approach play and putting over driving and short game.
Fade: Nick Taylor, $8,000:
I’m expecting a bit of a letdown following Nick Taylor’s surprise victory last week at the Sony Open. Despite his elite ability under pressure to close out tournaments when he finds himself in the mix, the Canadian still possesses a great deal of volatility and an extremely low floor. His course history at the three-course American Express rotation certainly leaves a lot to be desired as well.
RELATED: Nick Taylor’s crazy clutch gene, Ludvig Aberg’s new title and a familiar voice returns to the TV booth
Listen to Golf Digest’s weekly betting podcast, “The Loop,” (above) where we interview the industry’s leading experts (and sometimes tour pros) to help you make your bets and pick your fantasy lineups. And be sure to subscribe to “The Loop” wherever you get your podcasts! 
$7,000 range Play: Ben Griffin, $7,800: 
Sarah Stier
Ben Griffin is coming off a respectable performance at the Sony Open where he gained strokes in all three tee-to-green categories. He now returns to a golf course where he finished ninth last year and was one of the tournament leaders in putting. Griffin is one of the best players in this field on Poa Trivialis greens, and I expect his wedge play and putting to reign supreme again in Palm Springs.
Fade: J.T. Poston, $7,800:
While J.T. Poston certainly excels in easy scoring conditions, I have tremendous concerns about his recent approach play. Poston has now lost over two strokes on approach on both of his starts to open the 2025 season, and I would much rather take my chances on players with a far more reliable iron game.
RELATED:Â How Pete Dye built one of the toughest par 3s in the world
Flier: Andrew Putnam, $7,200: 
Maddie Meyer
Similar to Eric Cole and Ben Griffin, Andrew Putnam is an excellent Poa Trivialis putter and a strong wedge player as well. He has already recorded four top-25 finishes in eight appearances at the American Express and is coming off a 30th at the Sony Open where he gained nearly three strokes on approach.
RELATED:Â Genesis Invitational creates ‘LA Strong’ shirts for fire relief support as dangerous weather still threatens region
$6,000 range Play: Matti Schmid, $6,900: 
Maddie Meyer
While Schmid is coming off a missed cut at the Sony Open, the German now returns to a golf course where he has already recorded a sixth-place finish. Schmid’s driving upside and ability to take advantage of the par 5s deems him one of my favorite value plays on the slate.
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
