Paulie’s Picks: 2026 American Express

The PGA Tour makes its 2026 mainland debut at the American Express, which rotates through three courses during the first three rounds to accommodate all 156 players and their pro-am partners. Players will play the Pete Dye Stadium Course and Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, as well as La Quinta Country Club. Players who make the 54-hole cut will play the Dye course again on Sunday. 

The scores in this event are typically very low as the weather is pristine, the courses aren’t overly difficult (besides a few holes at the Dye), and the conditions of the overseeded greens allow for a large percentage of putts to be made. With the pro-am format, we typically see easier-than-normal hole locations over the first three days. There will be birdies, and lots of them. This year, we have a better field than usual as many players are looking for a warm-up event in the absence of the Sentry at Kapalua. This will likely lead to even lower scoring than we have seen in years past.

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These courses play similarly to one another, with a high emphasis on birdie conversion with short irons and wedges. As Jon Rahm said a few years ago, this is basically a glorified putting contest. As such, we are going to target a few players who are elite putters:

Sam Burns: Top 30, -115

Sam Burns has finished in the top 30 in five of his six starts at the AmEx. He is one of the best putters on Tour and isn’t afraid of going low. With less emphasis on ball-striking this week, Burns’ outlook is improved if this truly becomes a putting contest once again this year.

J.T. Poston: Top 40, +105

J.T. Poston has finished in the top 40 in six of the last seven years at PGA West. He is an elite putter who rarely makes mistakes and plays very well in low-scoring events where he can lean on his flatstick.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout: Top 40, +140

Christiaan Bezuidenhout also has a strong history at the AmEx, with top-40 finishes in three of the last four years. Similar to Poston, he is an elite putter who, at times, can struggle with his ball-striking. He plays well on shorter courses where his lack of distance and accuracy doesn’t hurt as much. 

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