We have had a great start to 2024 with another profitable week at the Sony Open, thanks to Andrew Putnam cashing a +250 ticket for a top-20 finish. The PGA Tour now heads back to the mainland this week for The American Express.

What is needed for success at this historic Palm Springs area stop:

  • Ability to make lots of birdies (winning score around 25-under)
  • Putting

So let’s take a look at three top-20 wagers:

Top 20: Sungjae Im +105

Im has played this event five times and has cashed a top-20 ticket each time. He comes into this event in good form, finishing fifth at The Sentry. Im’s game is a perfect fit for this event. He keeps it in play off the tee and is above average with his short irons and putter. This all adds up to allow him to make boatloads of birdies.

Top 20: J.T. Poston +170

Poston is one of the more underrated players on the PGA Tour. He quietly finished fifth at The Sentry and sixth at Sony. His game is predicated on keeping it in play off the tee and leaning on the strength of his putter to pick off birdies by the bunches. He ranks second in putting and fourth in birdies in this field. He has two top-seven finishes at this event in his last five starts. When we combine that with his improved form over the last year, he is a no-brainer bet for a top 20 this week.

Top 20: Adam Hadwin +225

In his last seven appearances at this event, he hasn’t finished worse than 32nd and has four top-six finishes. Similar to Im and Poston, Hadwin just plods along without making many mistakes and just gives himself a lot of makeable birdie putts. He ranks ninth in putting in this field. We are getting a cheap price on him here after he missed the cut last week at Sony. But overall, his 2024 form is fine as he finished 14th at The Sentry the week before on a course that suits him much less than this week.

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