American Express Odds: Jon Rahm Favored Over Patrick Cantlay

It’s a new week, which means that there’s another golf tournament on the horizon. The American Express is the next event scheduled for the 2022 PGA TOUR. Commonly known as the “Desert Classic,” the annual tournament will take place this week from Thursday, Jan. 20 to Sunday, Jan. 23 at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.

As usual, it’s always fun to pick who’ll win a tournament on any given week. Sportsbooks like BetOnline have released odds for the American Express to give a better idea as to who’ll be victorious this year. While Kim Si-woo is the defending champion, it’s actually Jon Rahm who’s BetOnline’s favorite to win at +650 odds.

This year our tournament will be even better ⛳️

Some of the improvements we are making include:
– Quicker shuttle routes to tournament entry
– New tournament entry on the 18th hole
– Additional cell coverage for guests
– Multiple routes leaving the parking lot for expedited exit pic.twitter.com/J7hvebe2eF

— The American Express™ (@theamexgolf) January 11, 2022

Rahm is one of the former champions who’ll be returning to the American Express this season. The 27-year-old Spanish golfer previously won the tournament in 2018, defeating Andrew Landry by a single stroke in their head-to-head playoff. Aside from that, Rahm has competed at the event two other times, playing to 6th- and 34th-place finishes.

Rahm also looked very promising at the Sentry Tournament of Champions just over a week ago. Even though he didn’t walk out with the victory, he still placed second after going 33-under-par — an impressive feat, nonetheless. He may not have competed in many tournaments this season, however, there’s no doubt that he's always a threat whenever he’s present. Keeping that in mind, there’s a good chance that Rahm could see another promising American Express outing.

Desert Classic Odds: Cantlay Trails Rahm

While Rahm is BetOnline’s odds-on favorite this week, Long Beach, California native Patrick Cantlay isn’t too far behind him at +900 odds. That gives him the second-best shot at winning the 2022 American Express.

While Cantlay has never won the event, he did come fairly close to it last year. He was the runner-up to Kim Si-woo (+6000), losing only by a single stroke. That type of loss can be frustrating, which is why he could be out for revenge this time around. Nevertheless, he placed ninth in his only other outing back at the 2019 edition.

While he hasn’t played in too many events on the 2022 PGA TOUR either, Cantlay has enjoyed success in the action that he has seen. He helped Team USA win the Ryder Cup back in September and placed fourth at the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month. If he can find a way to build on that momentum, there’s no reason why he can’t be a credible American Express threat this week.