The 2026 American Express will be the first event of the PGA Tour season in the mainland United States after Chris Gotterup kicked off the campaign with a victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday.
Several big stars will make their season debuts this week in La Quinta, Calif., including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Aberg, and Patrick Cantlay.
Let’s dig further into the field by checking out the odds before making my 2026 American Express predictions.
2026 American Express Golf Odds
All golf odds used for these 2026 American Express predictions are current as of Wednesday, Jan. 21, and courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Scottie Scheffler (+290)
- Ben Griffin (+2000)
- Ludvig Aberg (+2200)
- Sam Burns (+2500)
- Russell Henley (+2500)
- Robert MacIntyre (+2500)
- Patrick Cantlay (+3000)
- Si Woo Kim (+3500)
- Harry Hall (+4000)
- Taylor Pendrith (+4000)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (+4000)
All other players have odds of +4500 or longer.
2026 American Express Golf Winner Predictions
Si Woo Kim (+3500)
Kim was my first click on Monday morning at +5000, and he’s seemingly been a popular choice throughout the week, as his odds have steamed down. While the odds aren’t quite as appealing now, there are still plenty of reasons to like the 2021 winner of this event.
Kim started the season with a T-11 finish at the Sony Open, but he led the field in strokes gained from tee to green (+11.51). Unfortunately, his terrific play was undone by a freezing-cold putter, which cost him 4.58 strokes to the field on the greens (the fifth-most among all players).
While that’s not particularly out of the ordinary for the Korean, putting is the stat most likely to flip from week to week. If Kim can continue his sensational ball-striking, he’ll be near the top of the leaderboard at a tournament where he’s posted four top-25 finishes in the last five years.
Back him to win the 2026 American Express with one of your best golf betting picks today.
Daniel Berger (+6000)
At this point in the year, we don’t have much recent form to go on, so I’m backing another player who made a strong showing at the Sony.
Berger finished T-6 last week, gaining strokes to the field off the tee (1.08), on approach (3.96), and with the putter (3.68). That’s a solid combination for this week, as players should be hitting plenty of fairways and greens on this resort-style, three-course setup.
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The 32-year-old’s most recent win came in California at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and while injuries have derailed his career since then, he got back to his best at times in 2025 with top-five finishes at the Phoenix Open and RBC Heritage.
Berger is an elite talent who could well outdo his T-21 finish here from last season.
2026 American Express Golf Best Bets
72-Hole Matchup: Harry Hall (-115) vs Kurt Kitayama
For someone with one career PGA Tour win, Harry Hall’s outright price (+4000) is a little steep for me. However, this matchup prop against Kurt Kitayama is appealing.
This tournament has been labeled a putting contest, and Hall is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. He finished third in strokes gained last season, gaining an average of .881 strokes to the field per round.
Kitamaya does not share that ability with the flatstick. Last season, he finished 148th in putting, losing an average of .269 strokes to the field per round.
Hall would have won this matchup last week at the Sony, where he beat Kitayama by six shots over four days. The Englishman also won this matchup at last year’s American Express by five shots, finishing at 15-under to Kitayama’s 10-under.
Top-20 Finish: Jason Day (+310)
While I’m generally looking to back players who shook off some rust last week, I don’t mind taking a chance on Jason Day to finish in the top 20.
The 38-year-old Aussie has a pair of top 20s in his last three starts here, including finishing in a tie for third last year.
Day is plenty capable of competing in a birdie-fest when his putter is cooperating, and he’s historically played well in California.
With that in mind, consider this wager with our top sportsbook promotions for 2026.
