The First Look: Justin Thomas set for season debut and more storylines at The American Express

The PGA TOUR returns to the continental U.S. for the 65th annual The American Express, and with some players teeing it up for the first time in 2024, it’s as important time as ever to start collecting valuable FedExCup Points.

Justin Thomas is making his 2024 debut and is one of those golfers looking to get off to a fast start.

The American Express is now the third event of the season as the TOUR returns to a calendar-year schedule. Thomas, like many others, is sitting at zero FedExCup Points. It's his first time teeing it up at The American Express since a seventh-place finish in 2015.

Thomas, who finished 78th on the 2023 FedExCup standings, is looking to make some marked improvements in his game as he tries to find the winner’s circle again. At the PNC Championship in December, Thomas said he was awfully close with much of his game through 2023, but things just didn’t click for four straight days.

Thomas had four top-10 finishes last year and comes into 2024 with some momentum, results-wise. He finished fifth at the Fortinet Championship and added a solo third at the Hero World Challenge to his resume.

“I learned a lot this past season,” Thomas said at the PNC Championship. “No. 1 thing is things are never as bad as people make them out to be. At times I was just a couple putts, shots, swings here and there away from at least having a chance of making a run in the Playoffs. But it's a fine line out here.”

The 2024 campaign for Thomas starts anew this week at The American Express, and he’s as eager as ever to get off to a good start.

Here’s everything you need to know about the TOUR’s return to the Coachella Valley.

FIELD NOTES: World No. 1 and reigning Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler leads the way in the desert. Scheffler has three top-25 results at The American Express in his career highlighted by a solo third in 2020… Daniel Berger is making his return to action on the PGA TOUR. He hasn’t played on TOUR since missing the cut at the U.S. Open in 2022… Shane Lowry, a major winner and Ryder Cupper, will make his debut at The American Express… Patrick Cantlay is back in action at The American Express. Cantlay finished second in 2021, the year that he fired a course-record 61 at PGA WEST's Pete Dye Stadium Course in the final round. Cantlay was winless in 2022-23… Xander Schauffele returns to The American Express after finishing third a year ago on the back of a final-round 62, tied for low round of the day. Schauffele’s 2023 start in the desert was his first there in five years… The two 2024 winners on the PGA TOUR – Chris Kirk and Grayson Murray – are in the field at The American Express… Other notables in action this week include Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Will Zalatoris and Wyndham Clark… Of all the Korn Ferry Tour graduates making their 2024 season debuts, none may be more special than Tom Whitney. The Air Force veteran went to La Quinta High School, less than 10 miles from PGA WEST. This will be his first start as a full-fledged TOUR member. He played The American Express in 2018 (his only other TOUR start) and made the cut.

Comcast Business TOUR Top 10 and Aon Swing 5
*Denotes in the field for The American Express

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap will make his fourth TOUR start after playing two U.S. Opens and the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Dunlap is on top of the PGA TOUR U Accelerated Program (with Gordon Sargent having earned enough points to become #TOURBound) and made history last August by becoming just the second male golfer to win both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur – matching Tiger Woods. Dunlap, who lipped out for what would have been college golf’s first sub-60 round in August, was part of the winning Walker Cup team in 2023… Yuxin Lin returns to the PGA TOUR after making the cut at the Shriners Children's Open last fall. Lin, who turned pro in 2023 after being part of the University of Florida’s NCAA championship-winning squad, was a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur… John Pak will tee it up at The American Express for the third time in his career. Pak, who broke through for a win on PGA TOUR Canada last year, finished eighth on the Fortinet Cup standings and has Korn Ferry Tour status for 2024… Taiga Semikawa finished tied for 30th at the Sony Open in Hawaii and is back in action at The American Express. Semikawa was a two-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour as an amateur in 2022 and then won twice as a pro on the same circuit last year… Raul Pereda and Hayden Springer received invites to The American Express and will make their TOUR debuts as members. Pereda and Springer finished tied for fourth at PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry. It was an emotional finish for Springer, who teed it up just weeks after the death of his 3-year-old daughter… Rounding out the sponsor exemptions are multi-time TOUR winners Patton Kizzire and Ryan Palmer and TOUR veteran Bronson Burgoon.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points.

COURSE: Three courses will once again be in use for The American Express.

• Pete Dye Stadium Course: 7,187 yards, par 72
• La Quinta Country Club: 7,060 yards, par 72
• Nicklaus Tournament Course: 7,147 yards, par 72

La Quinta Country Club completed a two-year project at its course within the last year (greens on the back nine were replanted in 2022, and the front nine greens had the same treatment in 2023). The Pete Dye Stadium Course had plenty of work done to it in 2022 (including the removal of hundreds of trees), but the two-year project has turned into a three-year project: The rest of the work to restore the original Pete Dye design to how it played when the course opened 35-plus years ago was put on hold in 2023. That work will continue this year.

STORYLINES:

1. 59 watch

The American Express has seen multiple 59s shot on its courses (David Duval, 1999, and Adam Hadwin, 2017, on the Palmer Course at PGA WEST and La Quinta Country Club, respectfully), and although it’s been nearly a decade since a sub-60 round was shot at the event, the courses are in prime scoring conditions after some recent work.

2. Could a favorite win?

The first two winners of the PGA TOUR season came from long odds (Kirk was +12500 prior to The Sentry while Murray was +30000). Given the top-heavy field at The American Express, could this be the first week of the year when one of the favorites takes a win across the finish line? With 10 of the world’s top 25 in the field, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, perhaps this is the week.

3. A serious come "back"

Berger, who told Associated Press in May he had a slight bulge in a lower disc and deep bone sensitivity, returns to action on the PGA TOUR for the first time in 18 months. He was No. 25 in the world when he last played on TOUR but has dropped to well past No. 600. Still, Berger has exempt status through 2024 after winning the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Patrick Reed (2014).

18-HOLE RECORD: 59, David Duval (Round 5, 1999 at PGA WEST/Palmer), Adam Hadwin (Round 3, 2017 at La Quinta CC). Stadium Course record: 61, Patrick Cantlay (Round 4, 2021). Nicklaus Tournament record: 61, Will Zalatoris (Round 2, 2022).

LAST TIME: Jon Rahm won for the fourth time in five official starts worldwide, topping TOUR rookie Davis Thompson by one shot after a four-round total of 27-under. Rahm and Thompson shared the 54-hole lead. But a 4-under 68 (to Thompson’s 3-under 69) was enough for the win – Rahm's ninth TOUR triumph. Xander Schauffele finished tied for third with Chris Kirk after Schauffele fired a 10-under 62, tied for the round of the day in Sunday’s finale. Taylor Montgomery rounded out the top five.

HOW TO FOLLOW (all times ET)

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)

PGA TOUR LIVE:

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+

• Main feed: Primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee group: New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured groups: Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured holes: Combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

Radio:

• Thursday-Friday: 1-7 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday: 2-7 p.m.

(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)