There will be weeks like the one I had at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The bets were a clean sheet of nothingness. Corey Conners narrowly missed a +240 payout for finishing top-10 (he was T-12), but the others were not as successful. Only Mark Hubbard missed the 36-hole cut out of the bunch, but the others might have wished they had the weekend to explore Oahu instead of floundering around the links. No bother. I only lost nine units. I never play more than 10% of my allotted bankroll in one week, especially in the beginning of a very long golf season.
Dropping into the red by 1.5 units isn’t going to ruin my outlook for this week, as the PGA Tour touches down in sunny California. PGA West in the Palm Springs area hosts The American Express, a very unique event formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic. There is a pro-am over the first three rounds and the golfers play a variety of three courses. La Quinta Country Club, along with the Nicklaus and Stadium courses at PGA West will be traversed in some order before a 54-hole cut. The final round on Sunday will be played at the PGA West Stadium Course.
I was exactly right in fading the favorites last week at Waialea, as both Sungjae Im and Tom Kim missed the cut. This week offers a similar wildcard feel, but there are also some very prominent names vying for this trophy. It’s hard to imagine a first-time winner with such a strong field, but that is exactly what has happened multiple times in recent years. I have methodically thrown in a mixed bag of bets this week for the AMEX, ranging from juggernaut to relative unknown. You can find all my picks here.
- 2023 American Express: Best Longshot Picks & Predictions
- 2023 American Express Betting Preview, Predictions & Top Pick