The 65th annual tournament, which is scheduled to take place next month on the American Express PGA Tour, announced a list of stars who have already committed.
World No. World No. Other early commitments included No. Other early commitments include No. 21 Tony Finau.
These high-profile players will be among 156 professionals in the 72 hole event, which is played on three La Quinta golf courses: Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament at PGA West as well as La Quinta Country Club. Rahm, the two-time American Express champion remains a mystery.
Rahm’s name was not included in the list of players for the Tuesday tournament. Rahm was mentioned in recent weeks on social media and other reports as a player ready to jump to the LIV Golf League backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Rahm’s services were valued at up to $600 million.
Pat McCabe is the executive director at The American Express. He admitted that the Rahm controversy was a challenge, but one the tournament could overcome.
“Anytime I can get the world’s No. McCabe added, “I’ll give him a tip of the hat if he hangs on to that spot.” “We’re excited to have Scottie. Tony is a great addition to our team. Tom Kim is a great addition. Even before the announcement of any players, ticket sales were as high as ever.
“There will be 156 players who start on Thursday.” What are the PGA Tour membership numbers? 250 or 300? McCabe said, “We will concentrate on what we control and can control.” “You’ve got Xander, you’ve got Patrick. You have some of the other guys. “Our field gets better and better each year.”
The PGA Tour has suspended LIV players from playing, including two-time American Express champion Phil Mickelson and major champions Brooke Koepka, Bryson deChambeau, and Pat Perez, Patrick Reed, and Pat Perez, past American Express winners. Dustin Johnson is one of the golfers that have resigned from their PGA Tour membership after moving to LIV. Hudson Swafford (2022 American Express champion) did not defend his title in January last year because he moved to the LIV tour.
McCabe stated that even without Rahm, three of the six top players in the Official World Golf Ranking will be playing in the American Express. More names will be announced in the next few weeks. The event featured 10 of the 19 top players from the Official World Golf Ranking the week before the tournament.
John Norris was the special guest at the media day. He said that the current talks between the PGA Tour (PGA Tour) and PIF should not negatively affect individual tournaments such as the American Express.
Norris stated, “We know 156 of our best players will be there.” “We cannot and have never been able control who comes. You’ve seen a fluctuation of five or one of the 10 top performers. Every year, they come, and we have a winner or a story that is great. It’s not changing.”
Norris said that he was encouraged by the fact that the PGA Tour will be able to reach a deal with the PIF in order to create a new company before the deadline he set himself of Dec. 31.
The names of all the stars announced for the tournament on Tuesday were also present at the event in the previous year. Scheffler won six events in the PGA Tour over the past two years, including the Masters of 2022 and the Players Championships of 2023. He won the Hero World Championship, an unofficial tournament in the Bahamas that is a major event for world rankings because of its strength.
Cantlay did not win the PGA Tour’s 2023 season, but he finished in the top 10 in nine other events. Cantlay finished second at the 2021 American Express, despite being an eight-time winner on the tour. He shot a course record 11-under-61 in the final round of the Stadium Course.
Schauffele has had seven tour wins and 11 top-10 finishes. He was a runner up at both the Tour Championship and the Wells Fargo Championship in 2023.
Kim won the Shriners Children’s Open at Las Vegas both in 2022 and in 2023. This was a result of the PGA Tour’s switch to a calendar-year format in 2023. He finished tied for sixth on his American Express debut in 2013.
Finau is a two-time champion in 2022-2023. He has placed as high as 4th in The American Express. He is also an ambassador for American Express.
