2025 American Express Betting Preview: Picks, Predictions and Odds for PGA West

Our expert is taking a flier on a 60-to-1 pick as well as a newcomer to finish top 20 in the desert.

Nick Dunlap won the 2025 edition of the American Express as an amateur. / Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Hawaii tournaments are in the books and now it’s time for the PGA Tour to begin its West Coast swing, starting with the American Express at PGA West.

This week’s event is one of the handful of events that take place at multiple courses. La Quinta Country Club, the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West will be used across the first three days of the tournament. There will be a cut after 54 holes instead of the usual 36-hole cut and then the final round will be played at the Stadium Course.

Last week, we weren’t able to cash in on Cam Davis or Taylor Pendrith but we did win our prop bet on the Sony Open to end in a playoff at +350 odds, allowing us to walk away with a profit. Let’s try to finish in the green for a second straight week.

The American Express odds

The top 15 odds to win listed below are via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Justin Thomas +1200
• Sungjae Im +1400
• Sam Burns +1800
• Patrick Cantlay +2000
• Tony Finau +2500
• Tom Kim +3300
• Kurt Kitayama +3500
• Wyndham Clark +3500
• Si Woo Kim +3500
• Max Greyserman +4000
• J.J. Spaun +4000
• Harry Hall +4500
• Davis Thompson +5000
• Cameron Young +5000

The American Express how to watch

• Thursday: 4–7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
• Friday: 4–7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
• Saturday: 4–7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
• Sunday: 4–7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)

The American Express purse

• Date: Thursday, Jan. 9–Sunday, Jan. 12
• Purse: $8.5 million ($1.53 million to winner)
• 2024 champion: Nick Dunlap (amateur)

The American Express notable golfers

Nick Dunlap: Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Dunlap went on to claim his PGA Tour card and he continued to have a strong 2024 campaign, winning the Barracuda Championship in July and being named the Tour’s Rookie of the Year. Can he go back-to-back at PGA West?

The American Express best bets

Eric Cole to Win +6000 via FanDuel

I'm going to take a shot at Eric Cole at 60/1, fresh off a solo fifth-place finish at the Sony Open. Cole did a lot of things well in Hawaii, including gaining over +1.3 strokes with both his putting and his approach play. His driving and chipping eventually cost him the win, but with an event this week spanning three different courses, I want someone who is going to hit their irons well and sink a few putts.

Cole has teed it up at PGA West, including a T21 finish at this event last year. I think he’s worth a bet to get the win at 60-1 odds.

Jackson Suber Top 20 +400 via FanDuel

One of my favorite ways to bet the first few weeks of the PGA Tour season is to target a young golfer who hasn’t made it on the radar of the general betting public. The golfer that fits that mold for me this week is Jackson Suber, who will be teeing it up for the second time as a member of the Tour after finishing in the top 30 of the Korn Ferry Tour last year.

Suber finished T6 at the Sony Open last week while finishing fourth in strokes-gained approach and 15th in strokes-gained putting. Dunlap showed last season that young golfers can thrive at this event so I’m going to take a chance on Suber carrying his T6 finish last week into a top-20 finish this week.

Si Woo Kim Top Korean +260 via DraftKings

My prop bet for this week is going to be Si Woo Kim to finish as the top Korean at +260. His competition will be Sungjae Im (+115), Tom Kim (+250), and K.H. Lee (+1400).

Kim is a past champion of the event, winning here in 2021, and he finished inside the top 25 in every year since, which proves his consistency at PGA West. While a missed cut at the Sony Open may raise a red flag, it was his putting that led him astray. He still gained strokes in all three other areas including +1.53 strokes off the tee

Meanwhile, Tom Kim also missed the cut while losing strokes in three of the four areas. Im is the rightful favorite to win this nationality prop, he has yet to post a top-10 finish at this event. He doesn’t deserve to be the favorite, but Si Woo Kim does have some betting value at +260.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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