It’s far too early to talk about the field for The American Express PGA Tour event in La Quinta next January, in part because no one knows for sure what the PGA Tour will look like next year.
If a deal is ever finalized to bring LIV golfers back to the PGA Tour, some of those golfers will likely show up in the desert for The American Express. One of those players could be Jon Rahm, the two-time American Express winner who did not defend his title in 2024 because of his move to the LIV Tour.
Still, with two majors down for the 2024 season and two yet to play, some of the golfers who made The American Express field so strong last January have already been making big news this season. Immediate past history says many of these golfers will be back in the desert for the 2025 American Express in La Quinta, making for another strong field for an event that has grown in stature in recent years.
For instance, think about these golfers, who all played in The American Express this year and who are playing very well in 2024.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler played in the 2024 American Express as the No. 1 player in the world and has only strengthened his hold on that spot with four victories in the current season. That includes his second Masters victory in three years. Last January, Scheffler discussed how The American Express and its courses were a great place for him to get his game into shape early in the season. Little reason to believe that will change in 2025.
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Xander Schauffele
For years Schauffele’s absence from The American Express was a puzzlement. He was a Southern California golfer who starred at San Diego State, but he had not played in La Quinta for several years. But that changed in 2023, and the result was a third-place finish in the event behind winner Jon Rahm and runner-up Davis Thompson. In 2024, Schauffele returned to the desert again and tied for third place including a final-round 65. With Schauffele now the PGA Championship winner, a 2025 return to The American Express won’t change the depth of the field since he’s already been a stellar player. But it will add to the luster of the event to have a reigning major champion in the field.
Wyndham Clark
At one time before the 2024 The American Express, it looked like three reigning major champions would be in the field, with only PGA champion Brooks Koepka not playing in La Quinta. But when Rahm moved to the LIV Tour and Brian Harman played in Abu Dhabi on the DP World Tour, only U.S. Open champion Clark was playing in The American Express. Clark won his Open title in a battle with Rory McIlroy at Los Angeles Country Club, and he was never in contention at the 2024 AmEx. But he was in the field and added to the event’s depth.
Jason Day
Day is another golfer who has returned to playing in The American Express in recent years. A past PGA Championship winner, Day has rediscovered his winning form in the last two years. While he has faded on the weekends of both the Masters and the PGA this year, his name has been among the leaders at some point in each of those majors. With two majors remaining, Day could contend in each and bring that caliber of golf to The American Express.
Justin Thomas
Thomas performed well under the pressure of playing in front of his home crowd in Louisville last week, tying for eighth and breaking 70 in each of the four rounds. Thomas had been absent from The American Express for several years, but he finished in a three-way tie for third last January, showing that concerns over his game in 2023 could be set aside. Perhaps playing so well in La Quinta will bring him back to the desert in 2025.
Shane Lowry
The Irish star made a splash in the 2024 American Express, missing the cut but nearly making the weekend with a hole-out eagle on his final hole on Friday. In recent weeks, Lowry, a past British Open champion, has been playing strong golf, winning the team-based Zurich Classic in New Orleans with partner Rory McIlroy, then attacking the leaderboard at the PGA Championship with a third-round 62. Lowry finished sixth in the PGA with a final-round 70, but his game and growing and he would be a welcome sight in The American Express field again.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Major winners in 2024 have been fixtures in American Express tournament recently
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