“Between Bets” is an article series revealing our staff’s best wagers across the NFL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. This week’s bets feature our favorite wagers for The American Express 2024.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
The American Express 2024 Betting Picks
Patrick Cantlay (+1000)
It’s truly painful to watch Patrick Cantlay play a round of golf. It’s honestly a little painful to even look at Cantlay if I’m being honest. While I’m telling the truth, it’s also really hard to deny that he is a world-class ball striker who plays very well at this tournament each year. He has two ninth-place finishes, plus a second place over the last five years. He had what I would consider to be a down year last year, finishing T26.
The odds are shorter than we typically like to start the card at, but he is clearly part of the class of this field. His off-the-tee game rated out 10th in my stat model, and his approach from the key proximity range was in the top five. It’s going to be hard to ignore Cantlay at The American Express. It doesn’t hurt that he was born in Los Angeles and went to school at UCLA. Cantlay is right at home here!
Xander Schauffele (+1200)
Xander Schauffele has had some of the best approach numbers in the game over the last 24 rounds, and when he’s firing at pins, he’s scoring birdies in bunches. Schauffele is a lot like Cantlay in that they both are incredibly consistent and tend to play well in California. He put on an excellent showing last year, finishing T3 and gaining almost six strokes tee-to-green. His approach game is lights out, and he came in second to only one other player in my statistical modeling this week.
This San Diego native is going to be right at home this week. He grew up playing here and knows how to navigate these courses with ease. If I had to pick between him and Cantlay, I’d go to Schauffele every time. If you have room for both, go for it! I believe one of them wins The American Express at La Quinta Country Club this week!
JT Poston (+3000)
I’m going back to JT Poston this week. He will be a tough pill to swallow in DFS at his projected rostership, so I’ll bet the outright instead. We have been on “The Postman” for the last few weeks, and he continues to deliver. In two starts this season, he has a fifth and a sixth-place finish. He is holding strong as the best putter in the field and has the second-highest birdie or better rate to go with it. His off-the-tee game can be a little suspect from time to time, but his approach game and everything pertaining to the short game have more than made up for it. He has been in the ring boxing this year, and if this is the week he registers the knockout, I want to make sure I’m holding a ticket!
Akshay Batia (+5500)
Umm… How is Akshay Batia +5500 this week? He is playing out of his mind right now. This seems like a misprice for him. I would have expected to see him more in the 30/1-40/1 range. He continues to rate excellently for me. He was No. 2 overall this week, and he is No.1 in terms of shots gained approach. In his last 10 rounds he has not lost strokes in any key metric.
I have been critical of him in the past for control issues, but that just doesn’t seem to be the case as of late. His putter is the least impressive part of his game, and it still rates out inside of the top 25 in this field. This SoCal kid is absolutely live to win here. I put him right up there with fellow California natives Cantlay and Schauffele to be in the final group come Sunday!
Other Outright Bets to Consider for The American Express
Prop Bets to Consider for The American Express
- Top-5 Finish Parlay
- Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele (+1100)
Check out all of our content for The American Express 2024:
- Between Bets: The American Express 2024 Outrights
- PropKings: The American Express 2024
- PGA DFS: The American Express 2024
Thanks for reading my best bets for The American Express, and be sure to catch us live every Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on the 19th Hole Live! Good luck this week!
*Photo Credit: Jamie Sabau – USA TODAY Sports*
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