The 2026 PGA Tour season got underway in earnest with last week’s Sony Open, but you’d be forgiven for not noticing. Not only did it go up against the NFL Divisional Round, but the field also lacked starpower.
Former Rutgers Scarlet Knight Chris Gotterup took home the year’s first title, holding off a push from a handful of long shots Sunday.
Gotterup was 40/1 before Round 1.
The Tour now shifts from a brief stay in Hawaii to the mainland, kicking off its annual West Coast Swing with the American Express in the California desert.
This is a unique event that incorporates a Pro-Am element and is played on three different courses. It also features a 54-hole cut Saturday.
Scottie Scheffler will make his 2026 debut at the American Express, and he’s a prohibitive +310 favorite to win the event at bet365 Sportsbook.
He is coming off a spellbinding 2025 campaign, but he did start slow, “only” nabbing two top-10 finishes in his first five outings. He skipped this event last year after finishing T17 in 2024.
There’s a precipitous drop in the odds after Scheffler, with Ben Griffin (22/1), Russell Henley (22/1), Ludvig Aberg (24/1) and Robert MacIntyre (24/1) rounding out the top five.
Other notable names include Patrick Cantlay (30/1), Sam Burns (32/1) and Matt Fitzpatrick (37/1).
The American Express has been a happy hunting ground for long shots in recent history, with Nick Dunlap, Hudson Swafford (twice), Andrew Landry, Jason Dufner and Adam Long — who was 600/1 when he outlasted Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin in 2019 — all capturing wins in the last 10 years.
2026 PGA Tour American Express picks
J.T. Poston (75/1, bet365)
If you read a lot of golf preview content, you’re going to notice that Poston is a popular pick this week.
Known as “The Postman,” he has done wonderful work in this event in recent years, tallying three straight top-12 finishes and posting an average score of 66.75 in that span.
It’s not just the course history that makes Poston a threat. He always seems to lurk around the leaderboard at tournaments that are played on short, easy courses.
Don’t be surprised if you see this number crash as we get closer to Round 1 on Thursday.
Betting on golf?
Tony Finau (300/1, bet365)
It’s been quite a fall for Tony Finau over the last 24 months.
A former top-10 player in the world and six-time PGA Tour winner, Finau fell off the boil in 2025, posting just one top-10 finish in 20 starts, while missing five cuts, including at this event.
Despite last year’s MC, Finau does have some otherwise strong history at this tournament.
He finished fourth in 2021, T16 in 2023 and T25 in 2024. This style of golf should suit him, especially as he tries to get his career back on track.
The days of Finau consistently contending on the PGA Tour may be behind us, but he’s still got enough talent to contend in a setup like this one. I’ll bite at this price.
Cameron Davis (600/1, bet365)
Cameron Davis’ career was never on the same level as Finau’s, but there are some similarities.
They both can hit the ball a mile, and were trending in the right direction before a disastrous 2025 campaign sent them into the wilderness.
Davis, like Finau, has some intriguing history at the American Express. The Aussie has bookended two missed-cuts with a T18 in 2025 and a third-place finish in 2021.
On a tougher course, against a deeper field, at a different time of year, I would scroll right past this number, but given how many long shots pop at this event, it’s worth sprinkling a player or two with serious upside at these massive numbers.
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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