Expert Picks: The American Express

With a new season comes a new evolution for PGA TOUR Expert Picks. Fans of PGA TOUR betting can now see tips and picks for specific markets that the Golfbet team will be riding with each week. The traditional format for lineups and rosters will remain with Experts looking to come out on top in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf.

How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments.

Aside from the experts below, Golfbet Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at The American Express in this week's edition of Power Rankings.

Betting picks

WILL GRAY (Lead, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winner: Chris Kirk (+4000) – Wouldn’t be the first time a player chased a Sentry win with another trophy in Palm Springs. Kirk stayed hot last week in Sony Open in Hawaii, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Approach en route to a T18 result, and he was T3 here last year, including a final-round 64.
• Top 10: Taylor Montgomery (+375) – A fifth-place showing here last year sparked his rookie season, and he returns off a T12 at Sony Open where he finished second in SG: Approach. Expect more success in the desert as he seeks win No. 1.
• Longshot: Erik van Rooyen (+10000) – A middling performance last week at Sony Open, but van Rooyen was largely undone by his short game. Another week of solid ball-striking (16th Off-the-Tee, 10th in SG: Approach) will have him in the mix at an event where he was T6 last year.
• Head-to-Head (H2H): Taylor Montgomery (+105) over Si Woo Kim – What can I say? I’m in on Montgomery this week. This line may be a shade skewed toward the 2021 champ, but I think Montgomery is the more complete player at the moment, so I’m happy to take plus-money odds here.

BEN EVERILL (Senior Writer, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winner: Xander Schauffele (+1100) – Closed like a freight train a year ago to cash a top 10, but this time I’m expecting more from the guy who pops in all the relevant stats. Just needs to find his mongrel.
• Top 10: Tony Finau (+320) – Frankly, Finau should have already been a desert winner here in the past. I expect he will once again push for the title.
• Longshot: Erik van Rooyen (+10000) – A recent winner on TOUR and a solid T6 a year ago make these odds pop this week.
• H2H: J.T. Poston over Eric Cole – The Postman is trending to something big, it could even be the title, so I’ll take him to beat just one guy if there’s a chance he could beat them all.

CHRIS BREECE (Senior Content Manager, Golfbet)

• Winner: Tom Kim (+2500) – His game is flying under the radar right now. This was his best finish in the continental U.S. in 2023 (T6)…until he won the Shriners Children's Open in October. He ended 2023 with top 10s in four of his last six starts.
• Top 10: Nick Taylor (+600) – Yes, this is the second straight week I have Taylor on my card. He was my longshot at Sony Open (T7). I think he continues his good play, and I love this being +600.
• Longshot: Davis Thompson (+8000) – Played his last three rounds at Sony Open 9-under and gained almost five strokes on the field in putting for the entire week, even after a first-round 73. This event is all about making putts. It also helps he finished second here last year.
• H2H: Xander Schauffele (-105) over Patrick Cantlay: – I mean, you have to bet on this matchup. I’ll take Schauffele’s iron game and putting to be better than Cantlay’s. Plus, he’s the underdog.

MATTHEW DELVECCHIO (Social Content Manager, Fantasy & Betting)

• Winner: Sungjae Im (+2000) – A T5 at The Sentry shows me he’s still in good form. A usual favorite for this event with T18, T11 and T12 finishes in his last three starts. Im gets his first win since October 2021 at the Shriners.
• Top 10: J.T. Poston (+300) – No reason to think the hot streak stops now. If his putting and par-4 scoring keep up like it has been, then I have no reason to think he can’t cash T10 this week.
• Longshot: Keith Mitchell (+8000) – His first start of the season last week was solid, finishing T30 at 9-under. What gives him a chance is his SG: Tee-to-Green, where he ranks 11th. T22 last year here.
• H2H: Tony Finau (+100) over Min Woo Lee – I expect a big week for Finau. Underdog odds are always good for a player you have confidence in, now let’s just hope he doesn’t run into a wrecking ball of Lee.

Want to see how to set up your PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf lineup? Scroll below.

THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below.

Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create a team, click the "LEAGUES" tab. Then click on "FEATURED," and then on the PGA TOUR Experts league that populates.

SEGMENT

SEASON

*Brett Jungles joined the Expert Picks league at the beginning of Segment 1 and did not accumulate any points from the FedExCup Fall.