LA QUINTA, Calif. — The strength of The American Express field this week is not lost on one of the golfers who is making that field so strong.
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“You want to beat the best,” said Jon Rahm, the No. 4 player in the world ranking and one of five players in the top seven in the ranking teeing off in La Quinta this week. “And I’m glad people are coming. It’s good that more players are trying more events.”
PGA Tour metrics say this year’s The American Express has its strongest field this century. Rahm, a past champion of the desert event in 2018, is joined in the field by No. 2 and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, No. 5 Patrick Cantlay, No. 6 Xander Schauffele and No. 7 Will Zalatoris. Four other players ranked from 10th to 19th are also in the field of the $8 million event.
Rahm said that rather than hurting some tournaments like The American Express, the new schedule of 17 designated tournaments which feature $20 million purses and required attendance from top players in order to qualify for Player Impact Program bonus money may have helped the La Quinta tournament.
“It’s due to some of the new events going on during the year,” Rahm said. “The fact that we have all those big events that we have to play if we want to earn that PIP reward. That opens up to all those three, let’s say lower events that you need to play. It opens peoples’ eyes to maybe some events they haven’t played in the past because your schedule changes a little bit.”
The American Express begins for the 64th time Thursday with 156 pros and 156 amateurs playing on three courses – the Pete Dye Stadium Course and the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West and La Quinta Country Club.
Rahm is certainly one of the centerpieces of the tournament this year. Not only is he one of nine past champions in the field, he comes to the event off his eighth PGA Tour victory, a win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii two weeks ago.
It’s the start of a busy winter on Tour for Rahm, who will play the three designated events on the West Coast Swing at Sentry, WM Phoenix Open and the Genesis Invitational. After playing in this week’s The American Express, he also will play in next week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, where he has won both the 2021 U.S. Open and on Tour in 2017.
For Rahm, the La Quinta tournament isn’t just about great weather and what he calls great conditions on the three courses. It’s also a chance to get back to what he called “normal circumstances” as opposed to Hawaiian golf with stronger crosswinds, grainy and slower greens and more uneven lies on sloping fairways.
“You might get more or less wind on some days, but the golf courses are usually in absolute perfect condition. So you can basically make sure all your new equipment is proper,” Rahm said. “Make sure if you’ve been working on some changes in your swing you’re testing it under pressure with some easier conditions. So I think it’s a great tune-up for what the rest of the year could be.”
Rahm said scheduling with the new designed events has actually not been a problem for the Spanish star, comparing the designated events to the Rolex Series on the DP World Tour that require participation in designated events by members.
“How do I say it? In the past we’ve had a lot of freedom on what we wanted to play,” Rahm said. “And we still do. The only reason for us to want to play all of this is the PIP reward, let’s be honest. And the fact that they’re bigger events and bigger purses. We all want that.
“I chose to play only once in the fall so now I need to play 19 events this year,” Rahm added. “I’m playing all these elevated ones, I had to add two more. So it was a very simple way to decide. I think I’m going to get it done by playing here and Torrey Pines. Which, to think of Torrey Pines as a lesser event to me is mind blowing.”
As for his own game, Rahm said getting the victory at the Sentry tournament to start the year makes the rest of 2023 more comfortable.
“To start 2023 with a win, let’s just say it maximizes my opportunities to get as many wins as possible. It’s a great start,” he said. “I said it a few times too, I’ve seen a few players win that event and then go on a tear for a year. Like Cam Smith being the last one last year. So I’m hoping it’s one of those that can start properly and get a couple wins and hopefully a major in there.”
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