American Express storylines: Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler and a potential 59 watch

The first-round leader of The American Express doesn’t always come from La Quinta Country Club, but if you were in Las Vegas, La Quinta would be the heavy favorite to produce a leader. Last year two players, Patrick Cantlay and Lee Hodges, fired 10-under 62s at La Quinta in the first round to lead the tournament by two shots. In 2020, Zac Blair shared the first-round lead with a 64 at La Quinta. In 2019, it was Phil Mickelson with a sizzling 60 at La Quinta. In 2018, it was a 62 from Jon Rahm that grabbed the first-round lead. And so it goes at La Quinta Country Club. But it is also important to know that of those first-round leaders, only Rahm went on to win the tournament. Still, the opening 18 holes at La Quinta are worth watching.

Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay walk the 11th fairway during the second round of the 2022 American Express at Nicklaus Tournament Course in La Quinta, California. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

The American Express is that rare tournament on the PGA Tour where a 59 would only tie the tournament scoring record. David Duval in 1999 and Adam Hadwin in 2017 have each shot a 59 at the event. A few tournaments on the Tour seem to have players on 59 watch from the opening tee shot, and The American Express is one of those events. Both La Quinta Country Club and the Nicklaus Tournament Course are ripe for a 59 when the best players in the world show up. Which round will produce the 59 watch in 2023?

Adam Hadwin became the eighth player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59. (Photo: Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports)

There are a few players in the field who have a chance to join the nine golfers who have won The American Express at least twice (not counting Bill Haas, who already has two wins in the desert tournament). Of those the most intriguing name is Jon Rahm. Rahm won the 2018 title in a playoff over Andrew Landry and has since established himself as one of the game’s best players on both sides of the Atlantic. Rahm loves playing in the American Southwest, and a victory this week would be a huge feather in the cap of the tournament.

Jon Rahm tees off on the 10th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West during the American Express in La Quinta, Calif., Friday, January 21, 2022. (Photo: The Desert Sun)

A five-time winner on the PGA Tour, Rickie Fowler dropped to as low as 173rd in the world rankings late in 2022, and he hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since the WM Phoenix Open in February of 2019. That said, Fowler, always popular with galleries, posted two top-10 finishes in his first three starts of the 2022-23 season.

Rickie Fowler Friday at the 2021 American Express. (Harry How/Getty Images)

It’s a great field full of top-20 players. But The American Express has a long history of rewarding the outsider, the heavy underdog, with victories. The last winner of the tournament who was ranked in even the top 90 of the Official World Golf Ranking was Rahm in 2018, when he was third in the world and moved up to second after winning the title. Since then Adam Long (417th), Andrew Landry (240th), Si Woo Kim (96th) and Hudson Swafford (166th) have won the tournament. So instead of looking for a winner at the top of the world rankings this week, you might want to look down around 100th.

The 17th hole during the final round of the The American Express at the Stadium Course at PGA West on January 23, 2022 in La Quinta, California. (Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)