The third event of the 2025 PGA Tour season begins on Thursday with The American Express 2025, which is the first of the year in the continental United States. Nick Dunlap is looking to defend his title after winning the event as an amateur last year, but he will have to deal with several notable names in the 2025 American Express field. This week’s tournament takes place in California’s Coachella Valley, featuring a three-course rotation. The top 65 and ties will play the Pete Dye Stadium Course on Sunday. 

World No. 2 Xander Schauffele was the +700 favorite (risk $100 to win $700) in the 2025 American Express odds, but he withdrew on Monday. Now, Justin Thomas (12-1) and Sungjae Im (12-1) top The American Express 2025 odds. They’re followed by Sam Burns (14-1), Patrick Cantlay (18-1) and Tony Finau (20-1) on the PGA odds board. Dunlap is a 50-1 longshot (risk $100 to win $5,000) to repeat and is priced at +500 (risk $100 to win $500) to finish inside the top 10. Should you back one of the favorites with your 2025 The American Express bets, or should you target a longshot like Dunlap, Jason Day (70-1) or Rickie Fowler (90-1)? Before making any 2025 The American Express picks, you need to see The American Express 2025 predictions and best bets from golf insider Patrick McDonald.

McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in 2022 after stops at NBC Sports and RyderCup.com. Covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and more. Featured weekly on the Early Wedge, he gave out numerous winners in 2024, including Jake Knapp (50-1) at the Mexico Open and Xander Schauffele (20-1) at the PGA Championship. Anyone who followed his lead could have been way up.

Now, McDonald has focused his attention on the 2025 American Express field and locked in his best bets and top longshot sleepers. You can only see them here.

Top 2025 The American Express expert picks

We can tell you that McDonald loves the value of Sam Burns. Burns is one of five golfers ranked inside the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking who is in the field this week in La Quinta, California. He put together a strong showing at this tournament last year, finishing tied for sixth at 25-under following a mediocre final round. 

It was not his first impressive weekend at PGA West, as he has been inside the top 18 in three of his other four appearances. Burns was in good form down the stretch last year, and he is coming off a T-8 finish at The Sentry earlier this month. McDonald thinks Burns can keep pace in a low-scoring event this weekend, creating value as a longshot. See who else to back here.

How to make The American Express golf picks

McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2025 American Express and has also selected an epic longshot who’s priced over 60-1. This golfer “has been good in four trips to Palm Springs.” You can only see the picks at SportsLine.

So which players should you target for the 2025 American Express, and which golfer could bring a huge payday of more than 60-1? Check out the 2025 American Express odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald’s top picks for The American Express 2025, all from the expert who gave out numerous winners last year, including Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship.

2025 American Express odds, field

See the full The American Express picks, best bets and predictions here.

Sungjae Im +1200
Justin Thomas +1200
Sam Burns +1400
Patrick Cantlay +1800
Tony Finau +2200
Tom Kim +3000
Wyndham Clark +3300
Max Greyserman +3500
Kurt Kitayama +3500
Si Woo Kim +3500
Harry Hall +4000
Davis Thompson +4000
Cameron Young +4000
Nick Dunlap +5000
J.J. Spaun +5000
Will Zalatoris +5500
Brian Harman +5500
Patrick Fishburn +5500
Eric Cole +5500
Ben Griffin +6000
Nicolas Echavarria +6000
Tom Hoge +6000
J.T. Poston +6000
Sepp Straka +6500
Jason Day +7000
Nick Taylor +7000
Keith Mitchell +7500
Cameron Davis +7500
Adam Hadwin +7500
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +8000
Mac Meissner +8000
Daniel Berger +8000
Michael Thorbjornsen +8000
Lee Hodges +8000
Beau Hossler +8000
Andrew Novak +8000
Jhonattan Vegas +8000
Patrick Rodgers +9000
Kevin Yu +9000
Rickie Fowler +9000
Lucas Glover +9000
Bud Cauley +9000
Rico Hoey +10000
Alex Smalley +10000
Doug Ghim +10000
Michael Kim +10000
Billy Horschel +10000
Samuel Stevens +10000
Jesper Svensson +11000
Harris English +11000
Chan Kim +11000
Mark Hubbard +11000
Chris Kirk +11000
Joe Highsmith +12000
Erik Van Rooyen +12000
Mackenzie Hughes +12000
Matt Kuchar +12000
Jackson Suber +12000
Taylor Moore +12000
Andrew Putnam +12000
Max Mcgreevy +12000
Charley Hoffman +15000
Antoine Rozner +15000
Frankie Capan +15000
Justin Lower +15000
Kevin Roy +15000
Adam Svensson +15000
Henrik Norlander +15000
Chandler Phillips +15000