The next PGA Tour event, The American Express, is a Pro-Am that will be played across three different courses in La Quinta, California. After playing each of these par 72 courses once, a 54-hole cut line is enforced. Golfers who make the cut will play the Pete Dye Stadium Course for a second time on Sunday.

My Sony Open DFS Primer picks were not profitable. The best finish came from Taylor Pendrith (T45), while Luke Clanton (MC), Andrew Novak (MC), and Adam Hadwin (T57) either missed the cut or fell apart after making the cut at Waialae in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Now, I’m back with four more prospects to target while constructing lineups ahead of Thursday’s opening round at The American Express. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more DFS PGA and weekly golf analysis.

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2025 The American Express DraftKings and FanDuel DFS Primer

Previous Winners

• 2024 – Nick Dunlap (-29)
• 2023 – Jon Rahm (-27)
• 2022 – Hudson Swafford (-23)
• 2021 – Si Woo Kim (-23)

Relevant Betting Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Scrambling
• Strokes Gained: Putting

Course Overview

The American Express is played on three different par 72 courses. All of them measure relatively short in terms of distance, running 7,210 yards or less, while comprised of Bermudagrass surfaces on the fairways, rough, and greens.

Water hazards do come into play quite a bit but fairways are short and aren’t flanked by a lot of vegetation or trees due to the surrounding desert. There are quite a few birdie and eagles opportunities with four par 5s on each of these courses, which is why winning scores have been between -23-under-par and 29-under-par.

Golfers who can nail approach shots or sink putts with consistency hold a distinct advantage in this event. Due to the lack of consistency with different courses in the rotation, players who prefer to find a rhythm on one course will struggle. All surfaces are the same, which will help, but accuracy trumps distance in this event.

Recommended Plays: DraftKings

DraftKings maximum salary is set at $50,000

Harry Hall: $8,800

Harry Hall is one of the best putters in this field and he’s available at a solid price, going for under a $9,000 salary. Hall is coming off of a T10 at the Sony Open and a T8 at The Sentry. He ranks 14th in total strokes gained, including 24th putting, and is averaging 6.1 birdies per round. The Englishman is the perfect prototype for a birdie-fest at The American Express.

Christian Bezuidenhout: $7,600

Last year’s solo runner-up, Christian Bezuidenhout, is available at a huge discounted price of $7,600. The South African got hot for one round at Kapalua, before reverting in the final round to card a T40 finish. Bezuidenhout packs a great one-two punch with his irons and putter, so make sure to prioritize him in DraftKings lineups as a great value addition to lineups.

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Recommended Plays: FanDuel

FanDuel maximum salary is set at $60,000

Tom Hoge: $9,800

Under $10,000 is a quality price for Tom Hoge. We’ve seen Hoge get off to red-hot starts before middling out in the final three rounds at both Hawaii events in 2025. Hoge has played well at The American Express in past seasons, including a T17 in 2024 and solo runner-up finish in 2022. Get one of the best ball-strikers on the PGA Tour into FanDuel lineups before Round 1 tees off on Thursday.

Lee Hodges: $8,900

Lee Hodges has been impressive with his putter, which is why I’m interested in acquiring shares of him in FanDuel DFS lineups this weekend. Hodges went T3 at The American Express in 2022, while missing the cut in 2023 and 2024, which is why he’s currently available to roster at under $9,000. As long as Hodges displays his full putting prowess, there should be a lot of production in the form of birdies to climb DFS leaderboards.