The PGA TOUR makes its 2026 mainland debut in the California desert for the 67th playing of The American Express in La Quinta, California.

The reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler (+250) will make his first start of the season, and unsurprisingly regains his place as the favorite at the FanDuel Sportsbook in the field of 156 players spread over three courses.

Coming off one of the top statistical seasons in history, Scheffler kicks off his year on three of the least difficult tracks historically on TOUR. Pete Dye’s Stadium Course at PGA WEST will anchor the three-course event and field of 156 players. The Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course (NT) and La Quinta Country Club (LQ) comprise the other two courses in play. Each player will get one loop on each track before the field is cut after 54 holes. The winning score on this three-course rotation has never dipped below 20-under par. The No. 1 player in the world led the PGA TOUR in scoring average, birdie average and plenty of other categories, but he owns only one top-10 payday in five starts -- a solo third on debut in 2020. The six-time winner in 2025 arrives healthy and cashed a T4 in his previous start last December at the Hero World Challenge in The Bahamas. All systems go!

For the second time in two events in 2026, Ben Griffin (+1700) is listed as the No. 2 choice. His bogey-free 63 in Round 1 at the Sony Open co-led the event, but a quiet week with the irons and putter saw him drift to T19. Griffin, one of five players in the OWGR top 10 in action last week, returns to the desert in search of his third consecutive top-10 payday and fourth consecutive paycheck. The 2025 season saw him rank in the top 10 in both birdies (third) and eagles (10th), two stats that will fuel a big finish in the Coachella Valley.

Notorious horse for the course, Patrick Cantlay (+2000) continues his grind for his first title at Pete Dye’s Stadium Course at PGA WEST. He posted 61 to set a new tournament course record in 2021 but fell one shot short of forcing a playoff. Earning four top-10 results in six trips, his worst aggregate when completing four rounds is 15-under par. Desperately searching for his first victory since the 2022 BMW Championship, this Californian has not missed the final Sunday round in his previous six visits.

Scheffler’s best friend, Sam Burns (+2000), owns a better record in the Palm Springs desert than the world No. 1. A pair of T6 paydays highlight four results of T18 or better in six visits. He earned T29, the “worst” payday from five weekends, when he posted 73 in Round 3 in 2025. A five-time winner on TOUR, Burns and his red-hot putter are made for events like this. Keep putting circles on the card!

Anytime Ludvig Åberg (+2000) is in the field, he should demand attention. The last two times he teed it up were in the deserts of the Middle East. He cashed T23 in Abu Dhabi before sharing third at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. No stranger to big fields or big finishes, the Swede rakes from tee to green. He makes his 2026 and event debut this week. If Adam Long and Nick Dunlap can win on debut, surely the world No. 18 should be a consideration.

The favorite from the Sony Open in Hawaii, Russell Henley (+2200) returns to the California desert after earning T19 money in Honolulu. Making his first appearance in La Quinta since 2022, Henley's T14 paycheck from that event is his best payday from seven attempts and only his third time qualifying for the second and final round on the Stadium Course. Superb throughout the bag, he ranked fourth in Strokes Gained: Total in 2025 and sat third in proximity.

Robert MacIntyre (+2500) thought a poor attitude cost him an even bigger payday last week at Waialae Country Club. Frustrated with his putter on Friday, he missed a 3-footer that came back to haunt him on the weekend. He posted the round of the day with 63 on Sunday, but the dropped shot from Friday saw him miss out on a podium payday. “Don't know if it's a good thing to say, but (I) snapped my putter on 17 on Friday afternoon. Missed a 3-footer on 18 Friday afternoon, so doing that cost me a shot. … Big, big reminder for me that attitude has got to be right for 72 holes, not just 36. Because at the end of the day my attitude cost me this golf tournament and can't be allowing that.” He cashed a T4, he earned his fifth consecutive top 12 result worldwide. He’s hot, gang!

The hottest desert golfer in the world is Matt Fitzpatrick (+2700). The Englishman won the DP World Tour Championship for the third time after knocking out world No. 2 Rory McIlroy in a playoff. The final months of 2025 saw Fitzpatrick earn four T6 or better results from his final six events worldwide.

Las Vegas resident Harry Hall (+2700) opened 2026 with just five bogeys to finish T6 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The Englishman finished 2025 ranked third in SG: Putting and third in Birdie Average. Making his fifth visit, his T21 return from 2025 is the best in four trips. In his last 16 starts worldwide, he owns 14 T28 or better results.

The defending and reigning champion Sepp Straka (+3300) will attempt to join “The Desert Fox,” Johnny Miller, as the only players to win the event in back-to-back years. The Austrian, who was part of the successful European Ryder Cup Team at Bethpage Black, knocked off the rust in The Bahamas with a solo-third-place payday at the Hero World Challenge. On his way to victory last year, he played the Stadium Course 10-under par, including a round of 64, equaling the best of the week. He led the field in par-3 scoring, and he co-led the field in both birdies (27) and greens in regulation, two staples in a shootout!

Other finishers in the top five from the Sony Open in Hawaii include Ryan Gerard (second; +10000), Patrick Rodgers (third; +12500) and Jacob Bridgeman (T4; +10000). Sony Open champion Chris Gotterup is not in the field.

Here's a look at the odds for other selected players entered at FanDuel (not listed above)

• +4000: Harris English, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren, Kurt Kitayama
• +4500: 2021 champion Si Woo Kim, Rasmus Højgaard, Michael Thorbjornsen
• +5000: Rickie Fowler
• +5500: Davis Thompson, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee
• +6000: Adam Scott
• +7000: J.T. Poston, Akshay Bhatia, Justin Rose, Rico Hoey
• +7500: Pierceson Coody, Wyndham Clark, Kevin Yu, Nick Taylor, Keith Mitchell, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Daniel Berger, Max Greyserman
• +8000: Alex Smalley, Will Zalatoris

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