The PGA Tour calendar states that the American Express Tour is held in the Coachella Valley during the third week of the month.
The Tour players are gathering in the desert to compete this week. They do so on a schedule which, while it does not change the American Express week, elevates the importance of the event.
The Tour ended a 10-year experiment by implementing a wraparound schedule, where the FedEx Cup point race began in tournaments held in September and concluded with the Tour Championship played in August. The American Express no longer counts as the 12th tournament of the year because the FedEx Cup points race now coincides with the beginning of the calendar. The La Quinta event is now the third in the chase. It’s preceded by only the Sentry Open and the Sony Open Hawaii.
This will not only result in a 36-event calendar that is shorter, but also a boost to events earlier on the calendar like the American Express.
Pat McCabe said that the season was condensed so players would play more within a shorter timeframe. Even the guys who qualified to play in The Sentry said that they were happy to have an “off-season” and to spend some time with family and friends. Maybe not even touching a club for a few weeks. “So guys are eager and anxious to get started.”
Not only are the players eager to get back to tournament golf. Golfers may have zero FedEx Cup Points heading into the American Express, if, for example, they did not qualify for The Sentry in 2024 (one of eight signature events), or skipped the Sony Open Hawaii. This is important not only for qualifying for August’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, but for possibly qualifying for next year’s $20 million signature event – the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Feb. 1-4.
The top 50 golfers in the 2022-23 FedEx Cup standings will be in all 8 of the signature events. Golfers who are not qualified for the FedEx Cup can earn a spot in the high-paying events by participating in regular Tour events, such as the AmEx. The Tour’s Aon Next 10, and Aon Swing 5, allows 15 players to qualify for the signature events.
The field for a signature tournament is made up of the top 10 players, based on FedEx Cup points, who are not otherwise eligible. The top five point-earners in the series of events that precede the signature events are also included in the field. The American Express points are part of the Swing 5 point chase for the Pebble Beach event, which also includes the Sony Open in San Diego and the Farmers Insurance Open.
McCabe stated, “You’ve heard players who played in Sentry say that they may not be in the next elevated tournament which is Pebble Beach.” “So, what that means is that they have to start playing because they could qualify by playing well for us, Torrey or Sony in order to get into Pebble Beach.” It’s to qualify for these prestigious events that the goal is.
The West Coast Swing features three signature events. The Sentry is the first tournament of the year, and it is filled with golfers who won the two previous years; the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has drastically changed its format and will now only feature two courses instead of three, and there will be no cut for 80 golfers; and finally, the Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods, and featuring a large field and a 48-hole cut.
