The PGA Tour's West Coast Swing begins this week when 156 players tee off in the 2024 American Express beginning on Thursday at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. This week's tournament kicks off a five-week stretch that will be followed by stops in San Diego, Pebble Beach, Scottsdale and Los Angeles. The West Coast Swing is widely considered the unofficial start to the golf season. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 5 Xander Schauffele and No. 6 Patrick Cantlay are the highest-ranked players in the 2024 American Express field.
Scheffler is the 11-2 favorite in the latest 2024 American Express odds. Cantlay (9-1), Schauffele (10-1), Sungjae Im (20-1) and Justin Thomas (20-1) round out the top five choices on the PGA odds board. Before locking in any 2024 American Express picks, make sure you see the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from CBS Sports golf writer Patrick McDonald.
After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour. Since July, McDonald has gone 11-7-1 with his head-to-head picks, including an 8-2 record over his last 10. He also nailed Russell Henley to be the first round leader in the Wyndham Championship at 40-1 odds.
McDonald finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on outright plays, with Hudson Swafford (250-1) at the American Express and Joaquin Niemann (70-1) at the Genesis Invitational among his big scores.
Now, McDonald has evaluated the 2024 American Express odds and locked in his best bets. Head to SportsLine now to see the top picks and predictions for the American Express 2024.
Top 2024 American Express best bets
After studying the 156-player field, McDonald is high on the chances of Tom Kim (25-1), who has already won three times on the PGA Tour. Kim started his 2024 season at The Sentry, finishing 45th in the 59-player field. He did not play last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, preferring to rest up for the start of the West Coast Swing.
McDonald likes that Kim has had success at the American Express. "He finished T-6 in this tournament last year and comes in having played well at The Sentry despite what his finishing position may suggest," McDonald told SportsLine. McDonald is using Kim prominently in his wagers. See the rest of McDonald's best bets right here.
How to make 2024 American Express picks
McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2024 American Express and is backing several longshots, including one that is priced higher than 35-1. This player "rolled the rock beautifully a year ago" and is a longshot who could surprise. You can only see his PGA picks at SportsLine.
So which players should you target or avoid for the 2024 American Express, and which player in the American Express 2024 field could bring a huge payday at more than 35-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald's top picks for the 2024 American Express, all from the expert who nailed the 250-1 winner of the American Express two years ago, and find out.
2024 American Express odds, field
See the full American Express 2024 picks, best bets and predictions here.
Scottie Scheffler +550
Patrick Cantlay +900
Xander Schauffele +1000
Sungjae Im +2000
Justin Thomas +2000
Tom Kim +2500
Min Woo Lee +2500
Jason Day +3000
J.T. Poston +3000
Wyndham Clark +3500
Tony Finau +3500
Sam Burns +3500
Rickie Fowler +3500
Eric Cole +3500
Chris Kirk +4000
Si Woo Kim +4500
Shane Lowry +4500
Daniel Berger +4500
Cam Davis +4500
Taylor Montgomery +5500
Stephan Jaeger +5500
Akshay Bhatia +5500
Adam Hadwin +5500
Andrew Putnam +6000
Beau Hossler +6500
Alex Noren +6500
Thomas Detry +7500
Billy Horschel +7500
Will Zalatoris +8000
Tom Hoge +8000
Taylor Pendrith +8000
Keith Mitchell +8000
Davis Thompson +8000
Adam Schenk +8000
Ryo Hisatsune +9000
Matt Wallace +9000
Matt Kuchar +9000
Erik Van Rooyen +9000
Alex Smalley +9000
Aaron Rai +9000
Justin Suh +10000
Ben Griffin +10000
Sam Stevens +13000
Ryan Palmer +13000
Nick Taylor +13000
Nicholas Lindheim +13000
Matti Schmid +13000
Mark Hubbard +13000
Lee Hodges +13000
K.H. Lee +13000
Grayson Murray +13000
Garrick Higgo +13000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +13000
Chesson Hadley +13000
Austin Eckroat +13000
Vince Whaley +15000
Sam Ryder +15000
S.H. Kim +15000
Ryan Moore +15000
Michael Kim +15000
Matthieu Pavon +15000
Jake Knapp +15000
Doug Ghim +15000
Chris Gotterup +15000
Cameron Champ +15000
Brandon Wu +15000
Ben Kohles +15000
Alexander Bjork +15000
Robert MacIntyre +18000
Dylan Wu +18000
Carl Yuan +18000
Alejandro Tosti +18000
Will Gordon +20000
Tyler Duncan +20000
Taiga Semikawa +20000
Seamus Power +20000
Patton Kizzire +20000
Maverick McNealy +20000
Greyson Sigg +20000
Adam Long +20000
Scott Stallings +25000
Robby Shelton +25000
Patrick Fishburn +25000
Joseph Bramlett +25000
Jhonattan Vegas +25000
Jacob Bridgeman +25000
Harry Hall +25000
Davis Riley +25000
Charley Hoffman +25000
Chad Ramey +25000
Callum Tarren +25000
Zac Blair +30000
Sami Valimaki +30000
Nick Dunlap +30000
Nate Lashley +30000
Max Greyserman +30000
Matt NeSmith +30000
Lanto Griffin +30000
Justin Lower +30000
Joel Dahmen +30000
Joe Highsmith +30000
Camilo Villegas +30000
Adrien Dumont De Chassart +30000
Troy Merritt +35000
Roger Sloan +35000
Pierceson Coody +35000
Mac Meissner +35000
Kevin Streelman +35000
Hayden Buckley +35000
Harrison Endycott +35000
David Lipsky +35000
Carson Young +35000
Ben Silverman +35000
Ben Martin +35000
Aaron Baddeley +35000
Wilson Furr +40000
Paul Barjon +40000
Parker Coody +40000
Norman Xiong +40000
Nico Echavarria +40000
Martin Laird +40000
Kevin Yu +40000
Chez Reavie +40000
Chandler Phillips +40000
Chan Kim +40000
Andrew Novak +40000
Zach Johnson +50000
Trace Crowe +50000
Peter Malnati +50000
Michael Block +50000
Josh Teater +50000
Jimmy Stanger +50000
Tyler McCumber +60000
Rico Hoey +60000
Hayden Springer +60000
Bronson Burgoon +60000
Tom Whitney +80000
John Pak +80000
David Skinns +80000
David Lingmerth +80000
Brandt Snedeker +80000
Bill Haas +80000
Andrew Landry +80000
Blaine Hale, Jr. +80000
Scott Gutschewski +100000
Ryan McCormick +100000
Rafael Campos +100000
Kevin Kisner +100000
Jason Dufner +100000
Yuxin Lin +150000
Kevin Dougherty +150000
Tyson Alexander +200000
Ryan Brehm +200000
Ben Taylor +200000
Raul Pereda +250000
J.B. Holmes +250000
