PGA TOUR
THE AMERICAN EXPRESS
Site: La Quinta, Calif.
Courses: TPC Stadium Course at PGA West (Yardage: 7,113; Par: 72); PGA West Nicklaus Tournament (Yardage: 7,159; Par: 72); La Quinta CC (Yardage: 7,060; Par: 72).
Purse: $6.7 million. Winner's share: $1,206,000.
Television: Thursday-Sunday, 3-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Adam Long.
FedEx Cup leader: Justin Thomas.
Last week: Cameron Smith won the Sony Open.
Notes: Phil Mickelson is the host of the tournament with a new title sponsor and new name. ... Former British Open champion Francesco Molinari is playing for the first time since 2017 and gives the field two players from the top 20. The other is Tony Finau. ... Rickie Fowler, who grew up about an hour away, is playing for the first time in six years. ... Mickelson last played at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in late October, when he fell out of the top 50 for the first time in nearly 26 years. He enters this week at No. 79. ... The tournament gave a sponsor exemption to 17-year-old Akshay Bhatia, who turned pro out of high school. He has missed the cut in five of his previous PGA Tour events. ... Kevin Kisner is among six players in the field who also played the two Hawaii events. ... Americans have won this event all but five years since the tournament began in 1960. ... Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker is in the field. He has not played since the Senior Players Championship at Firestone in July. ... Adam Hadwin, who shot 59 in 2017 and has been runner-up two of the last three years, is not playing because his wife just had their first child.
Next week: Farmers Insurance Open.
Online: www.pgatour.com
