2026 American Express Betting Preview: Picks, Predictions, Odds for PGA West

We had a couple of Sunday sweats at the Sony Open to kick off the 2026 PGA Tour season. Two of my outright bets finished in the top 10, with Robert MacIntyre finishing T4 and Harry Hall finishing T6, but unfortunately, those mean nothing when trying to pick the winner of a tournament.

We move on to the American Express, looked at as one of the most difficult events to bet on each year. It's a pro-am that's played across three separate courses with limited ShotLink data, and the winner typically is the one to hit the most putts, so trying to dive into specific metrics and statistics often proves fruitless.

The good news is, this year's edition of the event has a loaded field as plenty of the top golfers on Tour look to make their season debut, including the best golfer on the planet, Scottie Scheffler.

Let's dive into the odds and my best bets to win.

The American Express odds

Top 15 odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Scottie Scheffler +270
Ben Griffin +1900
Ludvig Aberg +2000
Patrick Cantlay +2200
Sam Burns +2200
Russell Henley +2200
Robert MacIntyre +2500
Matt Fitzpatrick +2700
Si Woo Kim +2700
Harry Hall +3000
Sepp Straka +3300
Harris English +4000
Taylor Pendrith +4000
Alex Noren +4000
Michael Thorbjornsen +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. (Golf Channel)
Sunday: 4–7 p.m. (Golf Channel)

The American Express purse

Date: Thursday, Jan. 22–Sunday, Jan. 25
Where: PGA West
Purse: $9.2 million ($1.314 million winner’s share)
2025 champion: Sepp Straka

The American Express notable golfers

Scottie Scheffler: The No.1-ranked golfer in the world is set to make his 2026 debut this week. Scottie Scheffler racked up six wins in 2025, including a win at the PGA Championship and Open Championship. He hasn't finished outside the top 10 since a T20 finish at last year's Players Championship.

Sepp Straka: Sepp Straka racked up two wins last season, with his first coming at The American Express. The last time we saw him tee it up resulted in a solo third finish at the Hero World Challenge in December. Can he repeat as champion this week?

The American Express best bets

Si Woo Kim +5000 (via DraftKings)

My strategy this week is to largely bet on golfers who impressed me at last week's Sony Open, who I believe are underpriced. Si Woo Kim led the field last week in strokes-gained tee to green. He lost over a stroke per round on the greens, resulting in a T11 finish. He now returns to an event he has already won, winning the American Express in 2021. He has posted three top 25 finishes at this event since then, so there has been some solid consistency from him at PGA West.

A former winner coming off a great ball striking performance is a great bet at 50-1 odds.

Daniel Berger +7000 (via DraftKings)

Is 2026 the year that Daniel Berger returns to his peak form? I was high on him heading into this season, and a T6 finish at the Sony Open is leading me to bet on him at The American Express. He gained strokes in three of the four categories last week, including gaining almost a full stroke per round with both his approach play and putting.

If he continues to improve this week, he's going to be worth a look at 70-1 odds.

Patrick Rodgers +17500 (via Bet365)

Patrick Rodgers is still seeking his first PGA Tour win, but he's coming into this event posting a T7 or better finish in three of his last four starts, including a solo third finish at last week's Sony Open, where he gained over a stroke per round with his putting. A golfer with this much momentum heading into a wide-open golf event deserves better odds than 175-1.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!