Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- The American Express

OVERVIEW

My least favorite week is upon us this week as we head back to the continental United States for my least favorite event of the year. There are three courses in play this week, but only the Stadium Course will be played twice. The courses are short and easy, as PGA West & La Quinta consistently rank as the two easiest courses played year after year. The Stadium Course ranked more towards the middle of the pack as far as all courses played is concerned which makes it the toughest of the three, but we’re not going to be concerned with guys struggling to break par by any means. Four of the last six winners placed inside the Top 20 in either of the two Hawaiian events prior to winning. Rahm placed 2^nd at the Sentry in 2018 before winning, Swafford finished 13^th at the Sony in 2017, Dufner finished 9^th at the Sony in 2016, and Patrick Reed finished 16^th at the Sentry in 2014 before winning. Adam Long missed the cut at Sony AND held off a charging Adam Hadwin and Phil Mickelson to capture his first win last year. He played great but following trends isn’t something we have to do just because other people see something in it. It makes sense that winners of this event in the past had performed well in the two weeks leading up to it. The first event is usually around 50 players. A Top 20 in a field of 50 isn’t all that impressive these days.  I think there’s something to be said about how players played last week, but as Adam Long proved – last week means nothing.

 TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND

• The Courses
• PGA West Stadium Course, PGA West Course, La Quinta Country Club
• Par: 72 (all)
• Yardage: 7,100 (Stadium), 7,200 (PGA West), 7,000 (La Quinta)
• Greens: Bermuda (all)
• Location: La Quinta, California
• Corollary Tournaments/Courses: Waste Management (TPC Scottsdale), Valspar (Innisbrook), Sony (Wai’alae)
• Past Champions:
• 2019: Adam Long -26 over Phil Mickelson & Adam Hadwin
• 2018: Jon Rahm -22 in a playoff over Andrew Landry
• 2017: Hudson Swafford -20 over Adam Hadwin
• 2016: Jason Dufner -25 in a playoff over David Lingmerth
• 2015: Bill Haas -22 over Charley Hoffman, Matt Kuchar, SJ Park, Brendan Steele & Steve Wheatcroft

KEY STATS TO TARGET

• Strong Emphasis – SG: APP, SG: P, P4 Scoring 350-400 yards, Birdie or Better
• Important – P5 Scoring, Scrambling

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