Sports writers Larry Bohannan and Shad Powers preview The American Express golf tourney
Golf reporter Larry Bohannan and sports columnist Shad Powers discuss the storylines for the 2025 playing of The American Express golf tournament.
[This story has been updated to add new information]
For the second time in two weeks, The American Express golf tournament in La Quinta has lost one of the top players in the world from its field.
Xander Schauffele, the No. 2 player in the world and a winner of two major championships last year, withdrew from the field of the $8.8 million event Monday.
Schauffele was the highest-ranked player in the field following the withdrawal last week of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. While Scheffler withdrew for more recovery time from recent hand surgery, Schauffele gave no immediate reason for his withdrawal, and no reason is required by the PGA Tour if the withdrawal comes before tournament play begins.
In Schauffele’s absence, Philip Knowles has been added to the tournament field. Knowles, a 28-year-old from Florida, is ranked 651st in the world.
Schauffele was among the favorites at The American Express this week not just for his lofty world ranking. In each of the last two years, Schauffele has finished third in the La Quinta tournament. Schauffele played in The Sentry two weeks ago in Hawaii and finished 30th. He did not play in The Sony Open in Hawaii last week but did play in the inaugural TGL tournament on ESPN last Tuesday in Florida.
The withdrawals of Scheffler and Schauffele still leave The American Express with eight of the top 25 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner, is now the highest-ranked player in the field at seventh. The 156-player tournament begins Thursday at three courses in La Quinta.
Schauffele’s return to the La Quinta tournament in 2023 had been part of a revival of the event among top players. Scheffler, winner of the PGA Tour player of the Year the last three seasons, started playing in the desert in his rookie year of 2020 and has returned each year since. Schauffele and players like Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and others have also come to The American Express in recent years, giving the tournament one of the stronger fields among non-signature events on the PGA Tour.
