Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: The American Express

This article is part of our Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview series.

The American Express

PGA West Pete Dye Stadium Course, PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course, La Quinta Country Club
La Quinta, CA

The PGA Tour heads from Hawaii to California for another edition of The American Express.

Well, it didn't take for Chris Gotterup long to silence the doubters. Gotterup came out of nowhere in 2024 to win the Myrtle Beach Classic, but he failed to build upon that win for the remainder of the season. Heading into 2025 it appeared as though he might be a flash in the pan, a guy who sprouts every now and then, but by no means a consistent threat. That all changed this past season when he won the Genesis Scottish Open, but this time, instead of fading away again, he backed it up with strong play the remainder of the season. Any doubt about Gotterup being able to carry that momentum through to this season was squashed when he won his first start of 2026.

Where he goes from here is unknown, but he's obviously atop the FedEx standings right now and he moved into the top-20 in the WGR after this win. He'll have every opportunity to make a huge leap this season as he'll be playing in all the Signature events and likely all the majors.  A year ago at this time it looked like he might have a hard time finding another win on the PGA Tour. Now he's already looking for win number four. A lot can change in 12 months.

As for what's next on the PGA Tour, well, we've got a treat this week. It's not a signature event, but it's a pretty strong field, which isn't often the case anymore for non-signature events. I guess the guys are ready to get 2026 started.  

Among those in the field is Scottie Scheffler, who was unable to take part in early-season events this past season due to a hand injury. It will be interesting to see if he starts well this week, but beyond that, I'm interested in seeing how getting theses reps in, in January will affect his play in the signature events early in the season. This past year there was definitely a delay in finding his best form, but that shouldn't be a problem this season. Can you imagine if he wins this week?

Speaking of that, Scheffler is the clear favorite and as is often the case when he's in the field, there is a ton of value on anyone other than Scheffler. While this past week we had a group of favorites in the 20-1 range, this week, the second favorite clocks in at 20-1.

I should note that we're also in "rotating course" season, where events will often have more than one course in play. This week we have three (all familiar), so for those in daily contests, keep an eye out for which course is playing the easiest early on. 

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LAST YEAR

Sepp Straka shot a final round 70 on his way to a two-stroke victory over Justin Thomas.

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 5:00 PM ET Tuesday.

Scottie Scheffler (3-1) 

It's been a while since we've seen odds this low to win a tournament, but that's what we get when Scheffler is in the field. 3-1 is normally void of any value, but considering there are a lot of big names absent this week, it's actually tempting, and that's coming from a guy that usually finds little to no value in odds this short. Working against Scheffler this week is that he has just one top-10 in five starts at this event, but he also just has one finish outside the top-25. We don't know about his form right now, whether it's really good or "everyone is playing for 2nd"-good, but we'll find out pretty quickly. As I often do with Scheffler, I would advise seeing how he starts and perhaps getting better value, or if he starts well, assume he'll see it through and take him at lower odds than 3-1.

Ben Griffin (20-1)

Griffin was the second-favorite last week as well, the difference is that his odds at Waialae were very close to the favorite, and that's obviously not the case this week. Griffin took a huge leap in 2025 and now feels like he belongs with the best in the game. In order to keep that feeling, he'll need to keep pace when the best players in the world are in the field, and while some are missing this week, many are here. Working in his favor this week is a strong track record, which includes two top-10s in three starts and zero missed cuts.       

Robert MacIntyre (22-1)

MacIntyre is another player that is close to taking his game to the next level. He leveled-up two years ago when he posted two wins and he did nothing but solidify that standing in 2025. The question for MacIntyre is, can he get better? If last week is any indication, he's on his way. He didn't win, but he played well on his way to a T4 at the Sony Open. He closed with a 63, so perhaps he's taking some momentum into this week. Working against "Bobby Mac" is a poor track record. Well, it's not poor as much as it is limited. He's only played this event once, in 2024 and he missed the cut.   

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Sam Burns (27-1)           

Burns has a lot of expectations on his shoulders this season. The reason is his extreme level of consistency over the past four seasons. Burns finished the 2021 inside the top-30 and he hasn't left since. He won twice during the 2021 season and backed it up with three wins in 2022. He managed just one win in 2023, but his overall level hasn't dropped off at all. This past year saw him land in spot No. 17 on the season ending FedEx list, the highest of his career, and he did so while not winning anywhere. The consistency is there, now if he mixes in a win here and there, you could see his numbers skyrocket. As for this week, Burns has two top-10s in six starts, and two additional top-20s. He knows how to get around these courses and I'd be surprised if he weren't in the mix on Sunday.   

Si Woo Kim (27-1)

Kim started slowly at the Sony Open, but he came on at the end and might be a factor this week. Kim opened with a 69, which put him well off the pace, but he fought all week, never going above 70 and eventually landed in the top-15. Kim's track record here is pretty good, never missing a cut, only one WD in eight starts. He also has some high-end finishes as well, including a T9 in 2016 and win in 2021.  

Matt Fitzpatrick (35-1)

This list is littered with guys I'm expecting to play well this season, and Fitzpatrick is definitely on that list. I think the reason I'm leaning towards these golfers is that we don't have much information on current form, so I'm leaning on guys that appear to be heading in the right direction. Fitzpatrick had some struggles over the past couple seasons, but he appeared to get back to form late in 2025. He has no track record here, so this is definitely a leap of faith, but you're getting 35-1 on a guy that could be a top-10 golfers at the end of the season.  

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LONG SHOTS

Daniel Berger (50-1)     

Berger was still working his way back on the PGA Tour at this time last year, but he's firmly back heading into this season. Berger appears fully healthy and ready to get back to where he was a few years ago. He got off to a good start this past week, with a T6 at the Sony Open and he's returning to an event where he hasn't missed a cut in over a decade. He's also never finished inside the top-10, which isn't great, but Berger knows how to win, so if he's in contention it wouldn't be a shock to see him win.

J.T. Poston (75-1)           

Poston didn't win this past year, but he knows how to win. Poston has won three times on the PGA Tour, so if he's in position, he should be able to handle the pressure. As for getting into position, Poston has done that a few times here. He enters this year's Amex on a streak of four straight top-25 finishes.   

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Ben Griffin – Griffin is working his way up the PGA Tour ladder, but he's not quite in the "save for a signature event" category yet. There are, however, a lot of those guys in the field this week, so I expect Griffing to be quite popular. There are better picks this week, but I'm not sure you want to burn a Cantlay or a Burns, so Griffin could be the way to go. Griffin now has the confidence to go up against the big names in the field and he has the track record here that shows he knows how to get around these courses.  

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Si Woo Kim – Kim was a popular play at Waialae, which shows that he's the perfect type of player to take in non-signature events. He knows how to win, he's very consistent, but you don't feel like you're burning a high-end golfer. Those that took him this past week are probably feeling okay about that selection, but he might be a better play this week as he's won this event before.

Lightly-Chosen Pick: J.T. Poston – I'm not sure I'd go with a sleeper this week because there are plenty of good options in that middle tier, but if you want to avoid the popular plays, Poston could be your guy. He didn't play this past week, so we don't know his current form, but this event is always held early in the year and Poston has often fared well here, so I would expect nothing different this time around.         

Buyer Beware: Russell Henley – Henley was the favorite at the Sony Open and it didn't really work out as he was never in contention. He played well in stretches, finally landing in the top-20, but he doesn't appear to be locked-in right now. That's going to be a problem this week as he's had a lot of trouble at this event over the years. Henley has missed the cut in four of seven starts here and has zero top-10s. He's also chosen to skip this event the past three years, which could be an indication that he's not really fond of this event or maybe the courses.    

My Pick: Si Woo Kim – Kim was heavily used in my OAD pool this past week, so I was definitely keeping an eye on him and what I saw was someone who was seemingly getting better as the week wore on. I generally like using guys that were popular the week prior as well, kind of like a rebound effect. Kim has a strong track record here, he's a previous winner, and his form is about as good as anyone in the field. He's got a lot going for him this week.     

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Sam Burns ($11,600)
Middle Range: Si Woo Kim ($10,400)
Lower Range: Michael Kim ($8,700)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: Sam Burns – Keep in mind that the Survivor format has changed a lot with the creation of the signature events, which often have no cut. With that in mind, you can use bigger names in non-signature events. Specifically, you want to use guys that you probably wouldn't use at a major. Burns is climbing his way up the PGA Tour and perhaps by the end of the season he might be a guy you would use at a major, but for now, he's not, so why not use him in a spot like this?

Previous Results