The West Coast Swing is upon us with the 2026 American Express. Not only do we get to see players on the Stadium Course, the Nicklaus Tournament Course, and La Quinta Country Club, but the pro-am format returns yet again, meaning this birdie-fest event gets even easier.

Make sure to tune in as 166 professionals play with 166 amateurs, and compete for their share of an $9,200,000 prize pool and 500 FedEx Cup points.

 

 

The American Express 2026: Daily Fantasy Golf Picks & Projections

The American Express really should be considered the opening event of the season, as this is the first event that truly starts to pull big names due to how much players like the venues. This three course event has seen various homes throughout the years, with PGA West Stadium Course and the PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course as mainstays since 2016, and La Quinta Country Club joining the rotation in 2022. Additionally, this is a unique event in terms of the cut line, which will not be active until after the 54th hole. Even with this event being a Pro-Am event, only 3 amateurs have truly been in the field, with Charlie Reiter, Caleb Surratt, and eventual winner Nick Dunlap. Not only did Dunlap win in 2024, but he set the all time event record at 29 under par. 

 

 

PGA West: Breakdown This Week

As previously stated, this event consists of 3 different courses being used. Each course has a relatively similar set up, with none being longer than 7,200 yards and each of them playing at a par 72. Each course also features dormant, poa overseeded bermuda grass, and all are very scoreable, with more accessible pin locations, slower greens, and reachable par 5’s and short par 4’s.

The Stadium Course, which will be used for the final 18 holes and one of the 3 prior rounds, is the most challenging of the trio. This Pete Dye designs gives shades of TPC Sawgrass and is considered the “sequel” to Sawgrass, and is also the course that has the largest concentration of water hazards, with this feature coming into play on 7 holes. This course also features the toughest Par 3’s of the weekend, with 3 on the back-nine that make up the 1st, 2nd, and 4th hardest holes at the course. 

La Quinta Country Club and the Nicklaus Tournament course are very similar. While these courses lack some of the historical data of The Stadium Course, both of these courses have a better scoring average and share the traits of being much easier to reach on Par 5’s and much more manageable Par 4’s.

At the time of writing, weather looks moderate for this event, with most days hovering between 70 and 75 degrees with almost no rain or wind in the forecast. As a result, weather does not look like it will be a factor here, which should continue to give us prime scoring chances for players.

Given the breakdown of this course, as well as the format, we’re changing up our approach this week. We are not only going to be looking at historical scoring in Pro-Am Events, but given the concentration of reachable Par 4’s and Par 5’s, we’ll be looking more heavily into statistics in this data set, especially in the 350-450 yard range. We will also be looking at Strokes Gained both Around-The-Green, Approach (50-125 and 225+), and Putting on Poa. Unsurprisingly, Birdies or Better Percentage will make an appearance here as well, coupled with bogey avoidance, as low scores are required to remain competitive here.

 

 

 

The American Express 2026 Field: Golf DFS

As mentioned, this field will consist of 166 professionals, and is the first of the season to see top names such as Scottie Scheffler who is the highest ranked player in the world. Past Scottie, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre, Ben Griffin, and Justin Rose round out OWGR top 10 players in contention this week. We also see a large concentration of top 50 and top 100 players in the field this week. 2025 winner Sepp Straka is here to defend his title, and previous winners Nick Dunlap, Si Woo Kim, Andrew Landry, Adam Long, Jason Dufner, Jhonattan Vegas, and Charley Hoffman here as well. 

 

 

This Week’s PGA DFS Optimizer & Lineup Generator

To enhance your daily fantasy golf selections and secure optimal PGA DFS values, it's advisable to utilize our PGA DFS optimizer and lineup generator. This optimizer serves as a valuable resource for daily fantasy golf enthusiasts aiming to develop effective lineups!

It provides projections, updates on player injuries and a range of analytical insights to facilitate the lineup-building process. Essentially, it functions as a strategic advantage for participants in daily fantasy golf and makes their own PGA DFS picks!

PGA Best Bets & Predictions: 2026 The American Express (1-1 Overall, +0.85 Units)

  • Harry Hall: Top 20 (+195)
  • Michael Brennan: Top 20 (+850) 

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: Top Tier

Patrick Cantlay ($11,400 FanDuel/$10,400 DraftKings)

Cantlay has historically been one of the best players at this event, having made 6 straight cuts with 4 top 10 finishes in that span. Over the last 24 rounds played, he leads the field in Birdies ort Better Gained, and strokes gained on Par 5s. His only poor stat in my model this week is his par 3 scoring, but historically this has been a strength for him, and his improved ball-striking puts him in a great spot to bounce back in that aspect.

Ludvig Aberg ($11,800 FanDuel/$10,300 DraftKings)

Aberg is a guy I'm usually not too heavy on in DFS, just due to his volatility, but that volatility is a bit of what I'm targeting this week. With a birdie-fest, putting contest this week, Aberg is a guy who can score in bunches, and when he gets hot with the putter he's hard to compete with. Historically, he hasn't putt the best on Poa, but I believe this is an event to buck that trend, given the easier pin set ups we will see this week.

Ben Griffin ($11,900 FanDuel/$10,200 DraftKings)

Griffin is coming off a top 20 finish at the Sony Open, and has played well here with back to back top 10 finishes at this event. When his putter gets hot, he's hard to beat, and while his approach play was a bit suspect last week, I'm putting that more on the wind than anything, given his ball-striking and approach ranked so well otherwise. He's a great option if you don't want to pay nearly $4,000 more for Scottie.

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: MID TIER

Taylor Pendrith ($10,500 FanDuel/$8,900 DraftKings)

Pendrith came 7th in my model this week, and lines up well across the board here. His 3 putt avoidance could be an issue, but much like Aberg, the easy pin set ups and slow greens should play to his advantage this week. He's top 20 in the field in both scoring and bogey avoidance, and should be in a position to go very low this week.

J.T. Poston ($9,600 FanDuel/$8,000 DraftKings)

Poston is another player that historically plays extremely well in this event. He has 4 straight top 25 finishes here, and has 3 straight top 12's to go along with that, as well as a T7th in 2019. He hasn't played since the RSM Classic, but I fully believe his historical success here can be replicated.

Jason Day ($9,800 FanDuel/$8,100 DraftKings)

Jason Day has had his ups and downs throughout his career, but I fully believe he's back in contention this year. He ended his season strong with top 25 finishes at the BMW and Bank of Utah, and historically has played well here with no missed cuts, and a T3 finish here last season. Day thrives in more laid back events, and can go low with the best of them.

 

 

 

GOLF DFS PICKS THIS WEEK: VALUE TIER

Daniel Berger ($9,400 FanDuel/$7,800 DraftKings)

Berger finished 15th in my model this week, and it's easy to see why. His 3 putt avoidance is bad, but as previously stated I'm weighting that less with the easy set up of the venue. He finished T6tth at the Sony last week, and has 3 straight made cuts at this event with multiple top 25 finishes. He's a solid value play this week.

Carson Young ($7,400 FanDuel/$6,500 DraftKings)

Young came 20th in my model this week. His recent form hasn't been great and he's struggled to avoid high numbers, but the putter can get hot and he can compete with the best of them. With an easy course setup, I think he's got a good chance to be a low rostered swing for the fences, just know he has as much missed cut risk as anyone in the field.

Austin Eckroat ($8,100 FanDuel/$6,900 DraftKings)

Eckroat might have as much upside to win this event as anyone. His putter is his weakness, but if he can get hot with it, he's got the scoring prowess and blowup avoidance needed to win. He's going to be one of my favorite cheaper plays.

 

 

 

PGA DFS Picks This Week (Cheat Sheet)

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