The American Express PGA Tour event in La Quinta continues to add to its strong field for 2023, adding four top 15 players in the world rankings on Monday including former tournament champion and world number five prospect John Rahm.
Will Zlatoris, ranked 7th in the current Official World Golf Ranking, 13th-ranked Sam Burns and 15th-ranked Tom Kim will also play in the 64th annual event from January 19-22.
That group adds to a field that already includes Masters runner-up Scotty Scheffler, No. 6 seed Patrick Cantlay, No. 12 seed Xander Schauffele and Tony Finau. American Express now has commitments from five of the top seven and eight of the top 15 ranked players.
more:Masters champion Scotty Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay leads early commitments for American Express
“Our high-profile field and premium music entertainment is sure to bring an exciting sports and entertainment scene to golf fans in the Coachella Valley and greater Southern California, where championship week comes in,” said Pat McCabe, executive director of The American Express. In a statement declaring commitments. “Although we’re still a month away from American Express’s first-round kick-off, our player field is already filled with more star power than we’ve had in recent memory.”
Big names in the top 10 in the ranking
The $8 million American Express will feature 156 professional golfers and 156 amateurs playing at the PGA West’s Stadium Course (host course), Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta. The American Express is the PGA Tour’s premier regular season event in the continental United States each year.
Ram, who won The American Express in 2018 as the second of his seven PGA Tour titles, is back to make his fifth desert event start in the past seven years. He is one of the nine event champions represented in American Express early commitments for 2023. Joining Rahm are 2021 champion Si Woo Kim, 2020 champion Andrew Landry, 2019 champion Adam Long, 2016 champion Jason Dufner, two-time winner Bill Haas (2010) and 2015), 2013 Champion Brian Gay, 2011 Champion Jhonattan Vegas and 2007 Champion Charlie Hoffman. Defending champion Hudson Swafford will not play due to his Golf Leaf affiliation.
Ram won the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego and has expressed his enjoyment of the courses in the American Southwest.
Zalatoris, winner of the 2021 Arnold Palmer Award as Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour, has returned to The American Express after finishing sixth in his 2022 debut. Zalatoris claimed his first PGA Tour title in the first FedExCup playoff tournament For 2022, the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Zalatoris has runner-up finishes at the Grand Championships, the 2021 Masters Championship, the 2022 PGA Championship, and the 2022 US Open.
Burns is coming off an amazing year on tour with three of his four career wins and a third-place finish in the FedEx Cup regular season standings. All this led to him being automatically named to the US Presidents’ Cup-winning squad in September.
Kim, a 20-year-old Korean rising star with two points on his international team despite being the youngest golfer at the 2022 Presidents Cup, kicked off his 2022 Asian Tour playing schedule ranked 132nd in the world before his meteoric rise. .