For the second event of the season, the PGA TOUR is hosting the American Express in La Quinta, California. This event features three courses: the Pete Dye Stadium Course (par 72, 7,210 yards, POA overseed greens), the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course (par 72, 7,147 yards, POA overseed greens), and La Quinta Country Club (par 72, 7,060 yards, POA trivialis/ryegrass overseed greens). Each player of this 156-man field will play one round on each course, and then there will be a top-65 and ties cut, with the players advancing returning to the Dye Stadium Course for the final round, making it the host of the American Express.
Below, I dive into two of my favorite DFS options on DraftKings for the American Express.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $600K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
Harry Hall ($9,300)
After a career season on the PGA TOUR in 2025, making 22-of-25 cuts with 12 top-25 finishes, Hall looks poised to make even more noise in 2026. The Englishman started his season off with a T6 finish at the Sony Open last week, marking his best Sony Open finish to date in four starts at the event. He gained strokes across the board at Waialae CC, and he opened the tournament with a 5-under 65. Hall has now made 20 of his last 21 cuts worldwide, and 14 of these finishes have been top-20 results.
When we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, Hall ranks first in SGP, and he ranks 10th in total strokes gained. The 28-year-old’s elite putting bodes well for the American Express, as this is typically a low-scoring tournament, and four of the last five winners of this event have finished the week top-12 in SGP.
Hall has made 3-of-4 cuts at this event with his best finish being a T21st last season. Hall returns to La Quinta 28 spots higher in the world golf rankings this week, and he should outdo himself with potentially a top-10 finish.
Michael Thorbjornsen ($8,600)
Thorbjornsen had a rough start to his rookie season on the PGA TOUR in 2025, but the Stanford product found his groove in the second half of the season, making 15 of his final 17 solo cuts with seven top-25 finishes during this span. During the fall swing, Thorbjornsen finished T13th at the Procore Championship, third at the Baycurrent Classic and T7th at the RSM Classic in most recent start in November.
The 24-year-old ranks fourth in total strokes gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, and while he missed the cut in his American Express debut a year ago, this is rather irrelevant, as this was just the second start of his rookie season, and Thorbjornsen returns to La Quinta a huge 104 spots higher in the world golf rankings this week.
Thorbjornsen has only shot over par once in his last 18 rounds, and he should start his 2026 campaign off on a high note at the American Express.
Bud Cauley ($6,700)
Cauley is a terrific punt play at only $6,700. The veteran is on the heels of a T24th finish at the Sony Open last week. During this start, he gained strokes in every major category at Waialae CC, and he shot under par in his final three rounds of the event. Cauley has now made four of his past five cuts, and all four of those finishes have been results of T36 or better.
The 35-year-old’s game is trending upwards right now, and this is ideal timing, as he now heads to La Quinta for the American Express, which is a tournament he has flourished at in the past. Cauley hasn’t competed at the American Express since 2020, but in his five starts at this event since the Dye Stadium Course became the host in 2016, he has finished T14th, T3rd, T14th, MC and T4th, in that order.
In that T4 in 2020, he closed the week with a 7-under 65 at the Dye Stadium Course. Cauley returns to the venue this week, 113 spots higher in the world golf rankings, and his fifth top-20 finish at the American Express is a possibility.
