The PGA Tour moves from Hawaii to California this week for The American Express and the three-course format could present a great chance for Abraham Ancer to return to the winners’ circle, while there are two big prices that also appeal.
Each member of the 156-strong field will get a crack at the three par-72 courses at La Quinta Country Club – the La Quinta, the Nicklaus Tournament Course and the Pete Dye Stadium Course – before the 54-hole cut of low 65 and ties return to the Stadium Course for the final 18 holes on Sunday.
World number one Jon Rahm is the 5/1 favourite to claim the spoils, while reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay is priced at 9/1 and American Scottie Scheffler is a 16/1 chance to come out on top.
Abraham to Ancer the Call
There appears to be some value further down the betting list and the name of Abraham Ancer at 25/1 can’t be ignored, given his strong record at The American Express.
The Mexican, who broke his PGA Tour duck at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational in August last year, was T18 in the 2019 edition, second in 2020 and then tied-fifth in 2021.
Ancer certainly has a liking to the courses and the tournament format and although he missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii last time out, there were enough positives to take from his showing at the Sentry Tournament of Champions the previous week to suggest he can put in a bold bid for victory.
The 30-year-old has shown strong form off the tee this season, ranking fifth in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour, while he has been impressive with the flat stick and is sixth in putting average.
Former Champ Hoping to Rediscover Form
Looking further down the betting and the name of Andrew Landry, who was crowned champion in 2020, sticks out at a huge 125/1 and he could be worth an each-way flutter.
The American hasn’t added to his two PGA Tour wins since that California success and his 2021 ended in disappointing fashion, missing the cut in four of his last six tournaments.
However, the two events the 34-year-old made the weekend he went on to record top-10 finishes, firstly ending up tied-fourth at the Sanderson Farm Championship and then tied-seventh at the World Wide Technology Championship.
A return to a happy hunting ground could be exactly what Landry needs to get him back on the winning trail, with that victory in 2020 improving on his second-place finish at the 2018 event.
Canadian to Finally Land AmEx Crown?
Adam Hadwin has a warm affinity for this tournament and has finished runner-up on two occasions, firstly in 2017 when losing out to Hudson Swafford and then in 2019 when he was bested by Adam Long.
The Canadian is making his first appearance of 2022 and his first outing since the RSM Classic at the end of November. His last three tournaments have not provided much to shout about – recording finishes of T46, T56 and T51 – but a much-needed break should have recharged the batteries.
Having dropped to 152nd in the world rankings, the 34-year-old needs to get his career kick-started and there could be no better place to do that than La Quinta Country Club. At odds of 66/1, Hadwin is another that could give you a run for your money in the each-way department.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
