X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Horse For The Course: PGA DFS Course History - 2022 American Express

Joe Nicely's under-the-radar DraftKings, FanDuel PGA DFS picks for the 2022 American Express. His Horse for the Course for daily fantasy golf based on course history.

Hello PGA DFS family and welcome back to Horse For The Course! Well...how about that Hawaii Swing? After a dramatic two-man shootout at the Sentry, we saw a similar scenario play out at the Sony Open, with Russell Henley and Hideki Matsuyama battling down the stretch at Waialae Country Club. It was Matsuyama that emerged victorious, thanks to a final-round 63 and one of the finest golf shots you'll ever see on the first playoff hole, as well as the fact that Henley went into scared-as-hell-to-lose mode on the back nine.

With the PGA Tour's stay in Hawaii now in the books, we head to the mainland for the kickoff of the "West Coast Swing"!

Horse For The Course is an article that highlights players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For my favorite DFS plays of the week check out my Core Four article here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: NICE for an extra discount at checkout!

Featured Promo: Get any DFS Premium Bundle for for 50% off using code SUMMER! Win more with expert advice from proven winners and exclusive DFS tools. Get instant access to RotoBaller's Lineup Optimizers, Research Stations, daily picks and VIP chat rooms across 10 sports! Go Premium, Win More!

 

2022 American Express

As we put beautiful Hawaii in the rearview, we return to the continental U.S. for the start of the "West Coast Swing" in La Quinta, California. This event has been known by many names over the years - Bob Hope, Humana Challenge, CareerBuilder, and Desert Classic - but now seems to have found a rock-solid title sponsor in American Express.

If I'm being honest here, this isn't one of my favorite events on the schedule. That isn't due to the field - which is actually pretty solid and includes names such as Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed, and defending AmEx champion Si Woo Kim. Unfortunately, the "West Coast Swing" is also synonymous with the dreaded Pro-Am format, and after a brief respite due to COVID (I'm sorry, but the tournament was so much better last year!), the AmEx will once again feature amateur hackers partnering up with the pros this year.

In addition to the Pro-Am format, the AmEx features a unique three-course rotation, as well as a cut after 54-holes rather than the standard 36. From a DFS perspective, we can argue that this allows us to be more aggressive in lineup construction, as all of our players will be in action for at least three rounds. The downside is that we're forced to estimate how a player will perform across three different golf courses while also suffering through painfully-slow rounds that can stretch out to as long as seven hours due to the Pro-Am format. There's also no ShotTracker available on either the Nicklaus or La Quinta courses. Yep...brutal.

You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles to help you win big!

 

The Course: Stadium Course at PGA West

Par 72 - 7,133 Yards, Greens: Bermuda, Architect: Pete Dye

The AmEx features a three-course rotation that includes the TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, the Nicklaus Tournament Course, and La Quinta Country Club. Players will play one round on each course before a 54-hole cut leaves the remaining golfers to play TPC Stadium Course in the final round.

The Stadium Course is classic "desert golf" and traditionally plays much tougher than the other tracks in the rotation. Players will face a difficult closing stretch that includes a 20-feet deep bunker on Hole 16, the infamous "Alcatraz hole" at 17, and a par-4 18th that is lined with water. The course rotation makes this a volatile tournament. I'm targeting strong ball strikers who I hope will gain strokes both off the tee and on approach this week.

Check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett for an in-depth breakdown of this week's golf course!

 

Recent AmEx Winners

  • 2021: Si Woo Kim (-23)
  • 2020: Andrew Landry (-26)
  • 2019: Adam Long (-26)
  • 2018: Jon Rahm (-22)
  • 2017: Hudson Swafford (-20)

 

Field Notes

  • 12 of the last 13 AmEx winners have played at least one of the Hawaii events.
  • Golfers will play one round each on the Stadium Course, Nicklaus TC, and La Quinta CC before a 54-hole cut and the final round on the Stadium Course.
  • Two of the OWGR top-five (Jon Rahm & Patrick Cantlay) and five of the OWGR top-25 (Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Abraham Ancer, Sungjae Im, & Patrick Reed) will be in action this week.
  • Notables: Corey Conners, Will Zalatoris, Matthew Wolff, Talor Gooch, & Si Woo Kim

 

The Horse

Jon Rahm

Notable Course History: 6th ('19), Win ('18)
DraftKings Price: TBD FanDuel Price: TBD

Jon Rahm returns to The American Express for the first time since 2019. This time, as the No. 1 ranked player in the world. Rahm stormed out of the winter break two weeks ago with a runner-up finish in the Sentry Tournament of Champions, an event where he posted a mind-blowing score of 33-under par.

While scoring at the AmEx likely won't be quite as low as it was at the Sentry, Rahm's performance there serves as a nice reminder that he's just as comfortable in shootouts as he is in difficult conditions. He grades out first in this week's field in DK Points scored over the last 50 rounds and stands second in Birdies or Better Gained over that same time frame.

His track record at the AmEx includes a win and a sixth over three starts. Rahm boasts a 67.67 tournament scoring average in those appearances. It's fair to wonder how much motivation the world's top-ranked player brings to an event such as this, but it's not a huge stretch to imagine that coming up short a couple of weeks ago at Kapalua will have the Spaniard fired up this week.

 

The Ponies

Patrick Cantlay

Notable Course History: 2nd ('21), T9 ('19)
DraftKings Price: TBD FanDuel Price: TBD

Leading into the year, you've probably heard the word regression attached to Patrick Cantlay's name frequently. The common perception is that Cantlay captured the 2021 FedEx Cup on the strength of red-hot putting that's unsustainable. However, if we dive into the numbers we find that outside of one undeniable outlier performance at the BMW Championship where he gained an alien-like 14.6 strokes putting, his putting numbers were nothing special (he actually lost strokes putting in two of his last four starts of 2021). What seems to go overlooked is that Cantlay gained an average of 4.52 strokes T2G over the last four tournaments of 2021, a number that's slightly improved, but overall in line with his career SG: T2G average of +3.8.

With many expecting a letdown after his white-hot playoff run to end the summer, Patrick Cantlay went noticeably under-owned two weeks ago at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. However, Cantlay out-performed expectations by posting a fourth-place result at Kapalua. The defending FedEx Cup champion looked strong in all facets in Hawaii, gaining 5.9 strokes T2G. It was a complete performance that included positive splits in all major strokes gained categories.

After looking surprisingly sharp in the year's opener, Cantlay brings that form to an event where's performed exceptionally well. He owns a 67.64 career scoring average in the AmEx - the second-lowest average among those in the field this week - and has gone 2nd-T9 in his last couple of trips to La Quinta. With many in the PGA DFS industry shorting Cantlay's prospects at the moment, I'll happily go overweight on him here.

 

Abraham Ancer

Notable Course History: T5 ('21), 2nd ('20), T18 ('19)
DraftKings Price: TBD FanDuel Price: TBD

Patterns in golf are weird. I try to notice them if they're there, while also keeping in mind that they aren't reliably predictive. With that said, I'll throw out something I've noticed with Abe Ancer, a player that's posted back-to-back top-five results in the AmEx. Maybe it's meaningful, maybe it's not.

Stretching back to 2017-18, Ancer's routine has been to close his calendar year at Mayakoba and to open the new year in Hawaii after a multiple-month layoff before then playing in the AmEx. Every player's off-season routine is different and - without any insight at all - I'm guessing that Ancer's might be not touching a club during the entire month of December. He's routinely opened with horrible form in Hawaii, only to look vastly improved once reaching the mainland.

Ancer's results in Hawaii and the AmEx since 2018:

  • 2018: MC (Sony), T76 (AmEx)
  • 2019: T29 (Sony), T18 (AmEx)
  • 2020: T38 (Sony), 2nd (AmEx)
  • 2021: T17 (Sentry TOC), MC (Sony), T5 (AmEx)
  • 2022: T35 (Sentry), MC (Sony), TBD (AmEx)

Once again this year we've seen Ancer get off to a sluggish start in Hawaii, but there was also again incremental improvement between the Sentry - where he lost a massive 6.4 strokes T2G - and the Sony - where he missed the cut but gained strokes T2G over his two rounds. Does this mean that he's now sufficiently knocked the rust off and is ready to contend this week? Patterns aren't necessarily predictive, but this does make me more willing to buy low on Ancer this week while the public perception of him is perhaps lower than normal.

 

Did you know RotoBaller has a Premium DFS PGA subscription?

Like what you read today? You can show your support for Joe by using the discount code NICE when purchasing a PGA Premium Pass. You get 10% off and full access to all of our Premium PGA articles, DFS tools, and Lineup Optimizer! You also get access to weekly betting picks from Spencer Aguiar, one of the top betting minds in the industry. Spencer is absolutely crushing out of the gate in 2022!

 

Talor Gooch

Notable Course History: T21 ('21), T17 ('20), 4th ('19)
DraftKings Price: TBD FanDuel Price: TBD

As we wade into 2022, one of the hottest golfers in the world is...Talor Gooch?!?

Gooch's talent has long been professed by his peers on the PGA Tour and had surfaced in inconsistent fashion throughout his career with random great finishes in some of golf's biggest tournaments. His game has truly solidified over the last 18 or so months, as in addition to popping up for high finishes like a T5 at the '21 Players Championships, he began to consistently make cuts.

It appears as though everything finally came together for Gooch during the Swing Season. He capped off a tear that included two top-fives and a pair of top-11's with the first PGA Tour victory of his career at the RSM Classic. It doesn't appear as though he's let his foot off the gas yet, as he's opened 2022 with a nice T15 in his Sentry debut and followed with a solid T27 at the Sony -despite being paired with the sloth-like Kevin Na for multiple rounds (Gooch is a notoriously fast player while Na plays at a molasses pace. Advantage Na.). He brings that form  - and what's perhaps a newfound level of confidence - to an AmEx event where he's posted a fourth and two top-25's over the last three years.

 

Adam Hadwin

Notable Course History: T2 ('19), T3 ('18), 2nd ('17), T6 ('16)
DraftKings Price: TBD FanDuel Price: TBD

Since this is a course history article, I think I'm contractually obligated to talk about Adam Hadwin this week. The Canadian's track record in the American Express is astounding and includes a stretch from 2016 to 2019 during which he posted a pair of runner-ups and never finished worse than T6.

Hadwin leads all entrants in this week's field in both career scoring average (67.58) and SG: Total (+45.58) at the AmEx and if there's such a thing as an event Hall of Fame, Hadwin should be in on the first ballot.

With the AmEx resume out of the way, I suppose we should focus on the here and now. This week marks Hadwin's first start of 2022 and he comes into this year's edition with good enough form. He closed out 2021 by making five consecutive cuts, a fall stretch that was highlighted by a T6 at the Shriners in October.

 

Andrew Putnam

Notable Course History: T21 ('21), T10 ('20), T34 ('19), T17 ('18
DraftKings Price: TBD FanDuel Price: TBD

You never know where course history research will lead. We'll close this week's HFTC out with a player that rarely earns much buzz in the PGA DFS industry, but has put together an impressive AmEx track record, Andrew Putnam.

He won the Barracuda back in 2018 and after putting together a career-best year in 2019 that led to him rising to 43rd in the OWGR, Putnam's game promptly fell off a cliff in 2020, with his lone top-10 of that year coming in - you guessed it - the AmEx.

Putnam was able to right the ship a bit last year, notching top-five finishes at Puerto Rico and Bay Hill en route to qualifying for the opening event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He comes into the week off a T27 Sony Open outing that stands as his best in quite some time and will look to add to an AmEx resume that includes a top-10 and two top-25's over his last four trips to La Quinta.

  Win More With RotoBaller

Win more with expert tools and advice from proven winners! RotoBaller's PGA Premium Packages feature several savvy analysts and proven winners for DFS and betting.

Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:

Between all the incredible Premium PGA DFS and Betting content and tools we put out each week, and our Premium Slack Community where we chat with our subscribers before lineups lock, RotoBaller PGA subscribers are armed with the tools, analysis, and advice to win more.

Golf DFS News and Player Outlooks


More PGA Analysis and DFS Lineup Picks

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Derrick Lewis

Scores First-Round TKO
Michael Lorenzen

Royals Put Michael Lorenzen on Injured List With Oblique Strain
Stephen Thompson

Loses Controversial Split Decision
Stefon Diggs

Likely to Begin Camp Working on the Side
Gabriel Bonfim

Wins Controversial Split Decision
Calvin Kattar

Gets Outclassed At UFC Nashville
Xavier Legette

Should be More Productive
Steve Garcia

Extends His Win Streak
Cole Bishop

has Good Shot to Win a Starting Job
Nate Landwehr

Gets Knocked Out
Nate Wiggins

Ravens Think Nate Wiggins has Star Potential
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Scores Third-Round Knockout
Kel'el Ware

Collects 21 Points in Summer League Loss on Sunday
Austen Lane

Suffers Submission Loss
Vitor Petrino

Scores First-Round Submission In Heavyweight Debut
Cam Spencer

Contract Being Restructured
Drew Timme

Scores 30 Points in Summer League Loss to Wizards
Quinshon Judkins

More Details Emerge on Quinshon Judkins' Arrest
Tuco Tokkos

Earns His First UFC Win
Alexandre Sarr

Logs Impressive Outing in Summer League Action on Sunday
Junior Tafa

Unsuccessful in his Light-Heavyweight Debut
Kaden Elliss

Could be Atlanta's Most Impactful Pass-Rusher
Kyle Filipowski

Scores 21 Points in Summer League Loss to Warriors
Darius Robinson

Ready to Make his Mark in 2025?
Jauan Jennings

Expected to Report for Training Camp
Trey Smith

the Only Player Still on the Franchise Tag
Cody Williams

Collects 22 Points in Summer League Loss on Sunday
Chase Elliott

Charges to A Finish of Third At Sonoma
Chase Briscoe

Finishes Second With his First Career Road-Course Top-Five at Sonoma
Christopher Bell

Rollercoaster Day Ends With Top-5 Finish at Sonoma
William Byron

Maintains the Regular-Season Points Lead
Kyle Busch

Earns A Hard-Fought Top-10 Finish At Sonoma
Jauan Jennings

Seeking New Deal or Trade From 49ers
Alex Ovechkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
PIT

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs
NHL

Nikolai Kovalenko Returns to Russia
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Tosses Gem Against Giants
Shota Imanaga

Shuts Down Yankees on Sunday
Nathan Eovaldi

Dominant Again in Seventh Win
Tyler Reddick

Evades Near Upset to Remain Alive in In-Season Challenge
Ty Gibbs

One of Three Tylers to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinals
Kyle Larson

Curiously Mediocre at Sonoma Before Late-Race Crash
NASCAR

John H. Nemechek Edges Out Teammate to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Alex Bowman

Ty Dillon Bumps Alex Bowman to Advance to In-Season Challenge Semifinal
A.J. Dillon

Not a Lock for a Roster Spot?
Chicago White Sox

Billy Carlson Goes 10th Overall to White Sox
Cincinnati Reds

Steele Hall Selected Ninth by Cincinnati
Toronto Blue Jays

Blue Jays Select JoJo Parker with Eighth Overall Pick
Boston Celtics

Damian Lillard Drawing Interest from the Celtics
Miami Marlins

Marlins Select Aiva Arquette With Seventh Overall Pick
Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates Select Seth Hernandez with Sixth Overall Pick
Kyle Stowers

Punishes Former Team with Three-Homer Game
St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals Select Liam Doyle with Fifth Overall Pick
Daniel Gafford

Agrees to Contract Extension with Dallas
Colorado Rockies

Rockies Select Ethan Holliday Fourth Overall
Seattle Mariners

Kade Anderson Selected Third Overall by Seattle
Ha-Seong Kim

X-rays on Ha-Seong Kim's Foot Come Back Negative
Los Angeles Angels

Tyler Bremner Selected Second Overall by Angels in 2025 MLB Draft
Washington Nationals

Nationals Select Eli Willits First Overall
Jake Meyers

to Miss More Than Three Weeks With Calf Injury
Cooper Flagg

Shut Down for Rest of Summer League
LeBron James

Hasn't Requested a Trade
Quinshon Judkins

Following Quinshon Judkins Arrest, NFL Declines Comment
Travis Hunter

Earning Praise in Jaguars Camp for Work Ethic
Memphis Grizzlies

Cole Anthony, Grizzlies Agree to Contract Buyout
Edward Cabrera

Hopeful to Avoid Injured List
Oneil Cruz

Absent on Sunday
Lars Nootbaar

Placed on 10-Day Injured List
Jake Burger

Scratched on Sunday
Shane Van Gisbergen

Can Anyone Beat Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma?
Tyler Reddick

Better at Sonoma Than Record Shows
Chase Elliott

a Prime DFS Option at Sonoma
Julius Chestnut

Kalel Mullings Competing for RB3 Role
Michael McDowell

Struggling a Bit at Sonoma
Kimani Vidal

Fighting for No. 3 Job
Cam Hart

Recovering From Shoulder Surgery
NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
Quentin Johnston

Might Not Get Many Chances to Prove Himself
Tre Harris

Officially a Holdout
NASCAR

Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Ryan Preece

Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma
Travis Etienne Jr.

Needs to Bounce Back in 2025
Wan'Dale Robinson

Wants More Downfield Opportunities this Season
Quinshon Judkins

Arrested on Saturday for Battery and Domestic Violence
Alexandre Sarr

Plays Well in Summer League Loss to Phoenix
Yang Hansen

Looks Good on Friday Night
Erik Karlsson

Open to Move Away From Pittsburgh
Zach Hyman

Hopes to be Ready for Start of Next Season
SJ

Jeff Skinner Joins Sharks on One-Year Contract
Kon Knueppel

Struggles in Summer League Win
Walter Clayton Jr.

Plays Well on Friday Night
Cody Williams

Scores 21 Points in Summer League Loss
Kyle Filipowski

Leads the Way on Friday Night
Isaiah Jackson

Signs Three-Year Extension
Marvin Bagley III

Joining the Wizards
Herbert Jones

Signing Extension with Pelicans
Jacob Toppin

Returning to Hawks
Ryan Reaves

Traded to Sharks
Vladislav Kolyachonok

Moves to Dallas
Matt Dumba

Lands in Pittsburgh
Mackie Samoskevich

Re-Signs with Panthers on One-Year Deal
Josh Manson

Inks Two-Year Extension with Avalanche
EDM

Isaac Howard Signs Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract With Oilers
Tallison Teixeira

Set For His First UFC Main Event
Derrick Lewis

Set To Headline UFC Nashville
Gabriel Bonfim

Looks For His Third UFC Win
Stephen Thompson

Returns At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Calvin Kattar

In Dire Need Of Victory
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere A Favorite At UFC Nashville
Nate Landwehr

Aims To Bounce Back
MMA

Austen Lane Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Vitor Petrino

Set For His Heavyweight Debut
Gary Woodland

Looking to Find Rhythm at Scottish Open
Aaron Rai

Brings Consistent Play to Scottish Open
Maverick McNealy

a Solid Value Play at Scottish Open
Aldrich Potgieter

Making Scottish Open Debut
Tom Kim

Looks to Rebound at Scottish Open
Brian Harman

a Safe Option at Scottish Open
Luke Clanton

a Sneaky Value Play at Scottish Open
Sam Burns

Looking to Stay Hot at Scottish Open
Nicolai Hojgaard

May Feel More at Home in Europe
Harry Hall

Showing Fine Form Heading to Scotland
Ryan Fox

Playing Well Since Early Spring Struggles
Max Greyserman

has Solid History at the Genesis Scottish Open
Harris English

Aims High for Scotland Next
Corey Conners

Primed for the Genesis Scottish Open
Daniel Brown

Attempts the Scottish Swing Again
Jacob Bridgeman

Needs Putter to Work at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Headlines Field at Genesis Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy

a Smart Play for Scottish Open
Adam Scott

Looking to Build on History at The Renaissance Club
Justin Rose

Hopes Month Hiatus Helps Him Bounce Back at Scottish Open
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF