It should be a birdie-fest this week when several of the world's top golfers descend on La Quinta, Calif. for the PGA Tour's 2023 American Express. A strong field will tee off Thursday beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET, with world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm among the top names. Si Woo Kim, fresh off his Sony Open victory last week, also will compete, alongside the likes of Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris and Tom Kim. The pro-am event, once known as the Bob Hope Desert Classic, has an average winning score of 24 under par over the past 10 years. The American Express 2023 will run over three courses, but all are similar -- short and featuring few hazards. The final round will be played on PGA West's Stadium Course after a 54-hole cut.
Rahm, who won this tournament in 2018 and rallied for victory in his last outing at the Sentry, is the 11-2 favorite in Caesars Sportsbook's latest The American Express 2023 odds. He is followed by Cantlay (19-2), Scheffler (11-1) and Tony Finau (15-1) as top contenders in The American Express 2023 field. Schauffele (19-1), Zalatoris (19-1) and Tom Kim (20-1) also are top choices, while Si Woo Kim is priced at 29-1 at Caesars. Before you lock in any 2023 American Express picks, be sure you check out the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from SportsLine golf insider Patrick McDonald.
McDonald takes a measured approach to his outright selections and is having a profitable 2022-23 season. He just missed a massive 130-1 score last week when Hayden Buckley finished second at the Sony Open. He nailed the Houston Open, backing Tony Finau to win at 25-1, and is up almost seven units on his plays overall, a profit of nearly $700 for $100 bettors.
McDonald also has been on the money on his matchup plays and cashed in huge on Brendan Steele (80-1) as the first-round leader at the Zozo Championship. The expert finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on his outright plays, including hitting Hudson Swafford (250-1) at last year's The American Express. Anyone who follows McDonald's advice has been cashing in.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2023 The American Express field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all of McDonald's PGA picks and analysis.
Top 2023 The American Express expert picks
One surprising pick from McDonald this week: The expert is strongly fading Schauffele, who could struggle even if he is healthy. The 29-year-old pulled out in the second round of the Sentry with a sore back but feels ready to return. Still, he hasn't played in this tournament since 2017 and has missed the cut both previous times in La Quinta. He shot better than 71 once in the six rounds. The mid-range approaches aren't Schauffele's strength – he was 185th on tour from 150-175 yards last season. His putter is better than average, but it won't keep him in contention.
On the other hand, Scheffler's putting can be a weakness, but he can make up for it with every other part of his game. The 26-year-old hasn't been great in this event the past two years, but he did finish third in 2020. He tied for 25th in 2022, and he has been a different player since then. He got his first career victory less than a month later and finished the season with four. He also ranked second in birdie average (4.6 per round) and fourth in scoring average (69.3). Scheffler has four straight top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at the Hero World Challenge. You can see who he is backing this week at The American Express 2023 at SportsLine.
How to make 2023 The American Express golf picks
Before this week's PGA Tour event, McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2023 The American Express. His outright plays feature three major longshots who come in at more than 60-1. One of these players had an excellent finish his last time in Palm Springs and has been in solid form. You can find out who it is, and see the rest of McDonald's American Express picks, predictions, and best bets at SportsLine.
So which 2023 American Express picks should you target? Which overlooked golfer could pull off a victory that would pay off at more than 60-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald's top prop picks for The American Express 2023, all from the expert who is up almost $700 on his PGA Tour picks this season, and find out.
2023 American Express odds, field, top contenders
See full The American Express 2023 picks, best bets, and predictions here.
Jon Rahm +550
Patrick Cantlay +950
Scottie Scheffler +1100
Tony Finau +1500
Xander Schauffele +1900
Will Zalatoris +1900
Tom Kim +2000
Sungjae Im +2100
Cameron Young +2100
Sam Burns +2900
Si Woo Kim +2900
Brian Harman +3400
Aaron Wise +4200
Tom Hoge +4200
Taylor Montgomery +4500
Cameron Davis +4800
J.T. Poston +5000
Sahith Theegala +5000
Adam Hadwin +5000
Andrew Putnam +5500
K.H. Lee +6500
Rickie Fowler +6500
Jason Day +8000
Wyndham Clark +8000
Joel Dahmen +8000
Harris English +8000
Chris Kirk +8000
Taylor Pendrith +8500
Justin Rose +8500
Patrick Rodgers +9500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +9500
Davis Riley +9500
Thomas Detry +9500
Denny McCarthy +9500
Keith Mitchell +10000
Will Gordon +10000
David Lipsky +10000
Sebastian Munoz +11000
Brendan Steele +11000
Martin Laird +12000
Brendon Todd +12000
Luke List +12000
Dean Burmester +12000
Emiliano Grillo +12000
Ben Griffin +12000
Stephan Jaeger +12000
Alex Smalley +12000
Aaron Rai +14000
Russell Knox +14000
Lee Hodges +14000
Jhonattan Vegas +16000
Nick Taylor +16000
Greyson Sigg +16000
Taylor Moore +16000
Patton Kizzire +16000
Sam Ryder +16000
Mark Hubbard +16000
Danny Willett +16000
Nate Lashley +16000
Robby Shelton +17000
S.H. Kim +17000
Justin Suh +17000
Kevin Yu +17000
Byeong Hun An +17000
Ben Taylor +17000
Troy Merritt +19000
Stewart Cink +19000
Callum Tarren +19000
Matthew NeSmith +19000
Erik Van Rooyen +21000
Satoshi Kodaira +21000
Adam Long +21000
Charley Hoffman +21000
David Lingmerth +21000
